You know the saying? Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be? Well, that definitely isn’t the case when it comes to gaming. There’s nothing like playing an old school classic and getting into the game worlds of yore. And it’s not just you and I who think this way either. Retro gaming has shown to be big business.

From retro gaming cafes and bars to tournaments, the games of our past are here to stay. Today we take a look at three industries that have dedicated space to old school gaming.

1. Console gaming

Backwards compatibility has always been an important selling point for consoles. The newly released PS5 supports (the majority of) PS4 games but not PS1, PS2, or PS3 games. The PS4 had plenty of backwards compatible PS3 and PS2 games. The latest X Box consoles offer four generations of backwards compatibility.

But perhaps the king of retro gaming in the console world is the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online offers plenty of classics in the form of NES and SNES games, including Super Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Kirby’s Dreamland 3, Donkey Kong Country, Metroid, Dr. Mario, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and more. There are also ports of old games available like Final Fantasy IX: Nintendo leverages their name as leaders of the old school by continuing to provide players with their old school retro classics. You can even purchase the original controllers for use with the Switch through Nintendo themselves.

2. Online casinos

If you’ve ever stepped foot in a casino, or clicked onto an online casino site, then you’ll be aware of the wide variety of games available. Old school classic-style fruit reels live alongside super-modern slots. Especially in the table games division, online casinos lean towards old school true to life graphics. We like to be reminded of having a whiskey and a cigar at the poker table – even if we have never actually done it in real life!

There are also the themed slots to check out. Old games like Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, Hitman, Bloodrayne, Resident Evil and Street Fighter have all been given the slots treatment. Sure, they are nothing like playing the original games, but getting a dose of that old school gaming nostalgia is a fun experience when you’re having a bet or two.

Plenty of casinos are offering benefits in the form of free spins and other bonuses so make sure to take advantage of them for more bang for your buck.

3. Graphic design

One industry that always needs to keep up with the latest and greatest trends is graphic design. Graphic design is to do with business branding – art for business, really. It’s what can help trigger interest in one business over another one, all by ‘judging a book by its cover.’

In terms of graphic design, it is constantly evolving. What looks good now will look aged in just a few years, meaning that those working in the field need to constantly be keeping up with trends.

Retro gaming themes in graphic design are a great way to give a nostalgic digital feel to something. 8-bit graphics are well-represented in the field, especially to give 30-somethings with disposable incomes a bit of a thrill.

Retro gaming will always be cool, because we grow up as kids with video games. While the window of time creeps ever closer, this will wind up being the games released today. But we still listen to the greats of the 60s music scene, plus there are plenty of industries still influenced by the hits of the past too. We are nothing without our rich history, and we continue to derive new ideas from the past, making them modernized and for the new generation as well as for the older generation. Much as it seems like time is speeding up and change is more rapid than ever, we are still able to glean much from the past – and thus the great games of today will be forever etched in our culture. Just you wait until 2050 and see the kids out there having a great old time playing Mario Kart and chatting to their grandparents about it.

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