When you look back at the evolution of gaming we have to begin with the Spectrum and then the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga era. It is these retro games machines that shaped the future of today’s games. Their popularity created a demand for games consoles and handheld gaming devices which led to some of the best computer games ever invented
Video games really began to take shape when the NES, SNES, and SEGA became popular along with the old ‘Green and Black’ matrix screens of the handheld Nintendo Game Boy. There is actually a very interesting article by the BBC that goes through the timeline of Nintendo releases. Nintendo sold 61.9 million NES consoles and 118.7 million Game Boys devices!
Many of the games on these very consoles and computers influenced some of the most popular e-sports games we see today, and some of those e-sports are now producing millionaire pros, multi-million dollar sponsorship deals and flourishing merchandise industries, plus they are part of a billion-dollar global online betting industry!
Retro Games from The Past Still Popular Today
Many of the games from the NES, SNES, and SEGA MegaDrive era were so popular that they are still played today under the very much alive and kicking retro gaming niche.
Perhaps the most influential retro game that has influenced games, game themes, and game developers the most is the fantasy game of Zelda. This game has been around since the start of time. And if you were thinking Mario, Sonic, and even James Bond, then you are also spot on.
However, none of these games made an impact on today’s MOBA market, while Zelda is arguably one of the main reasons MOBA games such as Overwatch, Dota, LOL, and World of Tanks. If you look at the fantasy theme for Zelda and how many online gaming developers based their new games on the same fantasy theme but using different characters.
The old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em’ then join ‘em’ and that is how many game designers saw the gaming industry. Zelda worked and still works today as Zelda fans still flock to new versions of the game, so using the blueprint to Zelda’s gameplay and popularity, the fantasy gaming theme kicked off which led to what is today’s huge MOBA market.
Today’s Retro Born E-Sports Market Vs Sports
Today’s MOBA market is so popular that it is held with the same regard as Premier League Football, world cricket, tennis, and even alongside US sports leagues such as the NFL, NHL, MLS, and NBA on the multi-billion dollar sports betting markets. risk free or enhanced payments offers are popularly used for e-sports markets where fans can place bets on their fav teams and players.
What is also surprising is that e-sports have professional world competitions with million-dollar prize pools, yet games such as EA Sports FIFA football games only have small world cup events with very few betting markets covering the pro players on these e-sports.
It is still the retro born fantasy games that take up the lion’s share of the attention and money in current e-sports. You will rarely find bookies offering odds on EA Sports games while there are plenty of betting opportunities for MOBA games such as LOL, Dota 2, Overwatch, King of Glory, CS: GO, DreamHack, Merkur Masters, and other games that all belong to the retro gaming niche.
Other games that are more popular than sports games when it comes to sportsbooks and online betting that are not from a retro background are Counter-Strike and Call of Duty which typically comes from the popular war and fighting niche.
Weighing up how retro games have influenced today’s world, you have to say that the popular million-dollar games creating spin-off markets such as merchandise, and surprisingly sports betting, are really retro games using retro characters but just redefined to take advantage of modern tech. When we say take advantage of modern tech, we mean that these games are retro-themed games using modern-day graphics-we hope you agree!
This is the general editors account for Old School Gamer Magazine. Press releases and other general information sent to Old School Gamer are often posted here.
