There’s an interesting thread over at Evil Avatar about backwards compatibility and the future of video games. Basically, the editorial suggests that developers release “greatest hits” packs containing selections of classic games, primarily for those who have never played them before.
The discussion brings up an interesting point: Why is it that you can go to Best Buy and pick up a movie that is fifty years old, but you can’t find a game that was made more than a few years ago? Can you imagine if someone wanted to watch a movie, but couldn’t get anything that was released prior to 2000? Or if a salesman said, “Why do you want to watch that old movie? You should check out of these new movies that just came out!” For some reason, we have great respect for the history and tradition of movies, but games are still stuck in the “newer is better” mentality. And of course, as a side effect of the short release cycle for games, they typically retail for $50, to maximize the profits during their relatively short shelf life.
This strange dichotomy between movies and video games just struck me, which is why I wanted to mention it. Hopefully the Wii, with its downloadable games from the first three generations of Nintendo consoles, will allay this accepted practice somewhat. Instead of a game that uses two analog sticks, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons, I could show my son a game that uses one joystick and a jump button. I think need to remember where we came from to truly appreciate the games of today.
