Video games have come from humble origins to become a multimillion-dollar industry, with the budgets for developing a project reaching over $100m in some instances.
Modern video games come with realistic, pin-sharp graphics, and special effects have combined with more complicated storylines to make games more immersive than ever before.
And yet, despite all that, there is still a market for old school games and arcades, with fans continuing to build collections of retro games. Online casinos have even gotten in on the retro revival by offering retro slot versions of old favorites including the likes of SafeCracker, Western Belles, Evangelion and Crazy 7.
Online casinos, of course, provide lucrative cash bonuses via a no deposit welcome bonus that can get visitors playing those old slot games for free at first. That is why plenty of customers are lining up to visit the best casinos in the Garden State.Other retro casino games that have become popular again online include Jackpot 6000, Reel Rush, Rubiks Riches and Creature from the black lagoon.
There are several reasons why arcades and old school games have undergone a renaissance in popularity. Nostalgia is, of course, a big factor in this resurgence. Many long-term gamers enjoy going back to simpler and more innocent times and being reminded of their reasons for playing when younger.
However, this renewed popularity is also due to the fact that many of the classic games of old were extremely well designed and also make for very tough playing. Longer games were expensive to make and thus were rare at one time, but that was compensated for by developers making the games more difficult to complete.
Many gamers believe that modern games, for all their fancy graphics and storylines, are actually far too easy to complete in comparison with their illustrious predecessors. Price is another factor in the appeal of vintage games.
While retro gaming has gained in popularity in recent times, it is still relatively inexpensive to get hold of some vintage hardware and games, particularly in comparison to the modern hardware and costly games of the Xbox or PlayStation.
Simplicity is also a big part of why people are going back to games from the past. There are times when minimalism is actually more engaging. There is something about the complexity and overstimulation provided by state of the art modern games that lacks the simple fun and addictive quality of old-school efforts, such as Space Invaders or Tetris.
The consoles of old may be more primitive with their old school 3D polygons and painfully pixilated graphics, and yet there is a charm to them that is lacking in many modern efforts. Another, often neglected, reason why older games have managed to gain new fans is that modern gamers often want to check out how gaming began. Particularly in regard to an ongoing series or franchise that is still releasing new installments but has been around for a very long time.
Many vintage games are also physically simpler to operate than is the case with the more complicated controls of modern gaming consoles, which in turn makes them more appealing to a wider audience. Retro games also demand less of a time commitment than is the case with the great majority of modern games, making them simple to play for short periods when someone has a bit of free time. Their simplicity also means that a gamer who has not played a game for a while will still be able to pick it up and get back into it easily.
Many fans have even argued that the constraints of the older games are actually benefits in disguise, making the goals of the game clearer, individual levels much more distinct and the limitations resulting in less steep learning curves for newcomers. Whatever the reasons, the reality is that there is now an enormous worldwide community of retro gamers who are as passionate about vintage titles as they are about new releases, if not more so.
Many retro gamers like to point out that just because technology has improved, that does not necessarily mean that modern games are somehow inherently superior to the old ones, an argument that has also been raised by cinema enthusiasts.
Good games do not stop being good games just because time has passed, and it is not just the older generation who can enjoy reliving the games of their youth. The new generation can also enjoy and appreciate their quality and entertainment.
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.
