Retro Gaming Popularity & Zuckerverse Red Pill?

[neobium]

I'd like feedback - what's your take on this? The conclusion felt like a little bit of a reach 2 years ago when I wrote it, but now it no longer does in light of Zuck's VR push...

 

I wrote it about why retro gaming is popular because I got tired of hearing that it was nothing but a bunch of middle aged guys on a nostalgia trip. I laid out several arguments, contrasted retro gaming with modern gaming, and the world of realistic simulation.

 

The final section, where I talk about people crawling into virtual worlds is suddenly very relevant, now that Zuck has gone full Metaverse.

https://retrogamestart.com/answers/why-retro-video-gaming-so-popular-its-much-more-than-nostalgia

[NeonSpaceBeagle]

Well it might not be nostalgia, but in reality much of it is just second hand nostalgia.   One can be (at least I can) nostalgic for things and places they were never actually part of.   Also Zuckerberg essentially ruined the internet, why do people want him and his ilk to ruin gaming as well?  

[neobium]

To be clear - I make the point that nostalgia is definitely in the mix, but it's not the only (or most important, I contend) driver.

 

23 minutes ago, NeonSpaceBeagle said:

One can be (at least I can) nostalgic for things and places they were never actually part of.

I completely agree. When I was in my early 20s (early 1990s), I became a bit obsessed with the 1940s. I owned a vintage Stetson, and listened to a ton of big band music. But maybe this nostalgia for something we weren't around for is actually a recognition of the praiseworthy qualities of that thing? So I'm not wanting to relive my personal memories, but I'm recognizing value in something and thinking it's worth reviving.

[neobium]

34 minutes ago, NeonSpaceBeagle said:

Also Zuckerberg essentially ruined the internet, why do people want him and his ilk to ruin gaming as well?

I agree, and compelling arguments have been made that Zuck, and social media overall have had a huge negative impact on society in general. So yes - seeing this as the case, why in the world would we want to follow him down the rabbit hole? Do we think it'll be better this time?

[fiddlepaddle]

Suckerberg is Meta-stasizing; I'm stayin' clean and on my vitamins.

[Mikebloke]

I think I agree with most of it, but a bit jealous of the alleged £7.43 or less you guys pay for a retro video game (wow! can't believe I pay a lot more than that for my games!).

 

There are plenty of reasons why younger people can appreciate older (or older styled) stuff. Their reasons for liking it can be totally different for the reasons we do, and yes, at some point it eventually becomes "ancient" and what "old people used to do" even when its living memory for us (haha!).

 

Even though I am an avid gamer, and likely play games most days of the week - there are whole sections I am not in or don't understand - such as Eve Online - League of Legends - Second Life - and those other early VR/3D environments where people buy and sell made up objects in a game for substantial amounts of real money, in some cases more money than I currently owe the bank to live in the house I'm in that will require my remaining working years to continue paying off said house so I can retire then rely on equity release to pay for care in my old age.

 

Is the future VR? Possibly, it makes sense. We've gone a long way since the beginning of the internet and virtual spaces that are multi-layered with physical dimensions being implemented into digital dimensions is the obvious extension from the traditional discussion board system (like this), IRC chat rooms, and webcam roulette websites that have come before now. Personally, as someone who works with children, I imagine it will become a safeguarding nightmare waiting to happen, but hey ho. 

 

When it comes to gaming, I think we'll continue to see VR in a limited capacity, I still don't think VR games will become the norm. Some games may offer a VR effect but not be the intended playstyle - but I can't imagine a huge push to drag everyone into it. For a start, a lot of people get seasickness from it. Hell, the Wife who has spent countless hours playing Skyrim in her time can't stand open world environments now because THAT makes her seasick - and those aren't even in VR. Technology continues to reinvent our lives, and there is times amazing benefits that comes with it, but the "hand controller" has been around from the start, and its still here.

[youxia]

I don't really see this as anything particularly mysterious or complicated. Retro gaming is popular for a multum of reasons, one being the fact that old games are super cool and still exteremely playable, some folks really are looking for the nostalgia fix, others are fed up of modern gaming, then there are collectors, for others yet it's a mix of all that. Also gaming is still a very popular hobby so there's a link to the past.  And of course internet amplifies any trends by magnitudes.

 

Tbh I don't really see it having much to do with VR, if anything it'd be an antidote or a break from modern ways (it's the latter for me at least).

[neobium]

On 11/19/2021 at 11:29 AM, Mikebloke said:

When it comes to gaming, I think we'll continue to see VR in a limited capacity, I still don't think VR games will become the norm

With Zuckerberg's big push toward the Metaverse, there's a lot of money that's going to be behind moving life - not just gaming - into the VR space. If they can force a tipping point, things could change dramatically. It remains to be seen.

 

To your remark about price: most of my games, I have paid maybe US $6 or $7 for. Is the cost of everything that much higher in the UK, or are games just that much higher? Is there a smaller supply of games there?

 

[Mikebloke]

17 hours ago, neobium said:

With Zuckerberg's big push toward the Metaverse, there's a lot of money that's going to be behind moving life - not just gaming - into the VR space. If they can force a tipping point, things could change dramatically. It remains to be seen.

 

To your remark about price: most of my games, I have paid maybe US $6 or $7 for. Is the cost of everything that much higher in the UK, or are games just that much higher? Is there a smaller supply of games there?

 

I think a VR dominated world is a pipedream. Is VR getting better and more common? Sure, but gaming globally is weighted towards the countries that can afford it, and the standards are based on that. As master system and mega drive dominated the South American scene for years, the idea of a VR global dominance is a pipe dream until its economically attainable for most people. What did happen is that everyone ended up getting a mobile phone, and mobile gaming became a much bigger thing. PC and console usage is still low in many countries in the world. If mobiles were used to power a VR headset then there is some chance, but I don't think we're there yet as the power technology of the really expensive phones has not trickled down to medium and budget priced phones yet. 

 

And yes, supply and demand and VAT push prices up, at least here. Hard to find games under £10 ($13-14) for any pre-PS3 console game.