Games that have aged well enough to go on modern systems unchanged.

[Tickled_Pink]

There are a lot of classic games out there for modern systems these days. Generally I haven't been that impressed. There have been some great remodellings (Pac-Man CE and DX on 360) but I've yet to come across a game that really works well unchanged. There are plenty of those, most of which are running on emulators, especially on mobile phones and tablets.

 

Are there any classic arcade, computer of console games that would still work well with original graphics, sound and gameplay? By working well, I mean would they stand any chance of being commercially successful?

 

The only one that springs to mind is Gauntlet. There have been reincarnations of the Gauntlet franchise which bump up the graphics with particles and shaders galore but sometimes more is less.

 

Any others that might make the grade?

[+save2600]

I'd like to see a Joust 2000 type of game.

 

And how about a new new Rally X?

[Keatah]

If you are today's youth I would have to say no to all classics. YMMV. Feel totally free to disagree, but M.A.M.E (and other emulated games) are of little interest to kids today.

 

Graphics and sound must all be enhanced beyond what was being done back in the day. And it has to be made with additional downloadable content, somehow, or else some people will get bored quickly. Changing patterns of alien attacks or ghost movements aren't enough. This includes the basic style of gaming popular back then - the same playfield over and over again with difficulty and speed increasing to point where the player breaks and makes errors. Too many of today's kids don't develop their personal sense of accomplishment or drive as early as we did, and the type of challenge presented by games of our era are lost on them. As soon as they can't go any further, they stop and that's the end of it. Next game please.

 

And it must be downloadable/purchased from an app store in the first place or many people will absolutely outright refuse to run it. No kidding! The thought of someone approaching someone with a USB stick offering a classic game is akin to getting a shot in the ass at the doctor's office. They run away! Virus and malware fears and all that.

 

The internet has speeded up their heads and modern media shortened their attention spans to zero.

 

If you are an adult, there's the nostalgic factor in favor of many games. And yet you're serious about your mobile devices. You worry about how much of the artificially-limited space on the cloud it's going to take up. And how much it's going to cost. Only geeks and enthusiasts are going to go for them. And that's a limited market, not enough to be successful and pervasive like the old days. In the 1970's and 1980's both techies and non-techies had to have some sort of videogame console. Everybody was in on it. It was a national craze. It was new. And advertising constantly bombards us with old=bad & new=good.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Keatah

[cimerians]

 

 

...stick a little DLC in and it will succeed.

 

Edit: Forgot, also throw in a limited edition box, season pass and some cool multiplayer like the video above. You can't lose.

[Rex Dart]

Nope.

[+wongojack]

I think indie games have proven that retro-styled graphics will work. The game would need to have modern updates, but I could see it working. Just check out Ultratron and Titan Attacks. They are updates of Robotron and Space Invaders and have done well. http://www.puppygames.net/

[Reaperman]

The big thing the retro games have going for them is that they were AAA titles at one time. The best art styles possible, the best music, the best controls going up against genres now populated by very inexperienced developers looking for weed money.

 

Nintendo seems the best at getting away with selling classics unchanged. Over and over again to the same people. Looking at the quality of the average platformer today, it's easy to see why, as many aren't up to the quality of those sold 20 years ago in terms of gameplay or, sadly, graphics. Yes, some new games are more than up to the task, but for the genre, the typical Super Mario game is still 'above average,' and people would praise its simplistic 'retro' tunes and rock solid controls if it were just released. Super Mario World strikes me as the one to choose with its more rounded style, complex overworld, and 'more secrets than game' gameplay.

 

Metal Slug games are another fine choice, as they've largely been unchanged from their birth in the mid-90's and people keep buying the new ones. If the series never existed, and the original were to drop today it would be snapped right up. X or 3 would do even better. Weirdly the run-and-gun genre has recently picked up a few popular retro-styled-rejects that are uglier and play worse. progress!

Edited November 27, 2014 by Reaperman