Given the technological demands of modern games, costs have grown considerably more expensive, experts say. The original Final Fantasy VII cost $40 million to make, which was considered a high sum for a video game in the ‘90s. “But when the remake came out - I’ve put a lot of time into it. “I tried the Final Fantasy VII remaster on Xbox it was a little too far gone for me,” said Preston Bakies, 27, of Findlay, Ohio. Other developers like Sega and Sony quickly followed suit.įans have largely been receptive to the reimagined game, and its modern systems have made it accessible to new players, who found the original mechanics difficult. and Donkey Kong packaged in a replica of the original Nintendo Entertainment System console, was a huge hit when it came out in 2016, selling out almost immediately. Nintendo’s NES Classic, which offered 30 games like Super Mario Bros. Initially, publishers capitalized on the nostalgia trend by curating games from the 1990s on plug-and-play devices. “When you’re taking a game that you know has a Metacritic of 90-plus, the only thing you can do at that point is screw it up,” said Marco Thrush, president of Bluepoint Games, a studio known for developing high quality remasters and remakes. Generally, games that have high review scores and strong followings tend to be safe financial bets for a second look. Some titles that have been rereleased or remastered in hopes of cashing in on cult status fall back into obscurity, like 2017’s Constructor HD or White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. That sentimentality does not necessarily lead to instant sales. 3.” “It’s the same when you go back to it it’s the same as it was when you were 7.” “Because you can actually revisit those virtual spaces, it’s a more powerful type of nostalgia,” said Alyse Knorr, assistant professor of English at Regis University and author of the book “ Super Mario Bros. But the remastering shows how nostalgia is driving publishers’ decision making. Though the game received decent reviews when it was first released, it was by no means a classic. Children (and adults) who received SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom in Christmas of 2003 can now buy a “rehydrated” remake, which hit stores in June. The remake trend isn’t extending only to the most highly rated games either.
In May, Activision Blizzard, the developer behind World of Warcraft, announced that two games from the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, originally released in 1999, would be brought back later this year. “Any game that doesn’t have meaningful nostalgic value isn’t likely to be successful.” “I think nostalgia is the major driving force for the success of a remake,” said Doug Clinton, managing partner for the venture capitalist firm Loup Ventures, which focuses on emerging technology and gaming. Like Hollywood remakes or remasters old movies, video game publishers are overhauling and rereleasing games to tap into ready-made fan bases for popular franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and World of Warcraft. Over the years, memorable games have garnered strong followings. Turns out, it’s equally lucrative for video games.įrom its beginnings with the likes of Pong, a two-dimensional table tennis game, the video game industry has grown into a $120 billion business. Nostalgia has always been a powerful source of revenue for Hollywood.