Gaming has long been one of the most popular forms of entertainment for millions of people. It has come a very long way since the very first video game called Pong to the recent Cyberpunk 2077, which is this huge open-world triple-A title that everyone is losing their minds about.
Based on how incredible the recent video games look and feel, it can be pretty easy to forget where everything started and how popular the 8-bit games were back in the day. Today’s kids might not even know what Castlevania or Street Fighter is, while the ‘90’s kids’ were spending hours and hours playing them.
The same can be said about casino gaming. Back in the day, during the times when the first concepts of gambling games were drawn, every single element of the game was physical. This is actually true for more recent casino games as well. Take a look at slot machines: in a full-fledged slot machine, you have several reels that accommodate a limited number of symbols, and you can spin these reels by pulling the physical lever down.
If you take a look at the casino slots online, you are not bound by physical/spatial limitations. Want to introduce some more symbols or more reels into the game? No problem, modify the software just a tiny bit and you can have a slot game of your liking. This wasn’t possible in a time when you had to actually fit the reels and symbols inside a giant clunky machine.
Modern or retro gaming - Head to head
So, it’s pretty obvious that the video games of today are way ahead of their retro 8-bit counterparts in terms of their visuals, gaming mechanics, and even storylines. And we’re not even talking about the gaming consoles, which have evolved beyond anyone’s comprehension.
However, despite such an apparent superiority of modern-day AAA titles, old-school games are still making a pretty significant comeback into the global gaming community. It wasn’t that long ago that Activision released the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, which immediately became one of the most popular retro games of today. We also saw the release of the Snes Classic for a Nintendo console, which was even more successful in that right at the pre-order it was already sold.
As for the consoles, we can pretty much see the same trend rising. One can never go wrong with either a PlayStation or Xbox console, particularly since Sony and Microsoft are about to release their new PS5 and Xbox Series X respectively that will take the high-end, super-powerful console gaming to the next level.
Yet we’re also seeing that the retro consoles like Sega and Nintendo are still claiming quite a lot of fame these days. Just recently, Sega announced the comeback of its legendary Genesys console dubbed Genesys Mini. It has pretty much the same design, and what’s more important, Sega Genesys Mini still runs the classic retro games, such as Streetfighter and Castlevania.
Why are retro games making a comeback?
So, whenever we see such a counter-intuitive development on the video gaming market, we’re bound to ask ourselves: What is it that drives people to get back to those 8-bit retro games that are, in almost all ways, inferior to the recent blockbusters?
Well, the fundamental reason for this occurrence is the nostalgia that the Millenials have over their childhood. In today’s technologically advanced gaming culture, instant gratification is pretty much present in every corner. It gets even ‘worse’ (although there’s absolutely nothing bad about it): the companies such as Google, Nvidia, and Sony have come up with a way to allow people to actually stream the games from their low-end devices. This means no download or install times and no powerful pieces of hardware.
And when the ‘90’s kids’ experience instant gratification, they cannot help but look back in time and remember their childhood when they had to wait for quite a long time before they could purchase a console, as well as the game alongside with it and fire it up in their basement. This nostalgia for simpler times - the times when you had to figure out for yourself how to activate that deadly sword blow of Yoshimitsu in Tekken, without any actual guide from the developer, not to mention the internet forums.
So, yeah, it’s pretty easy to imagine how the Millenials of today can be drawn to the appeal of their childhood-favorite 8-bit games. It was an entirely different experience to first choose a console, then go to the games store and get a game that you had absolutely no idea how it would turn out; it was like a blind shot, a leap of faith that had its own appeal.
The two worlds can co-exist
There is absolutely no doubt that the modern-day gaming has the biggest spotlight for its enhanced graphics, improved mechanics, and many other features. Just look at some of the most acclaimed titles, such as The Witcher III, Red Dead Redemption II, and God of War 4, and you’ll immediately see what I mean.
However, we’re increasingly seeing people getting back to their childhood games. 8-bit retro titles, alongside old-school consoles, are making a comeback, and we can see why that is the case: people want to remember the times when they were the enthusiastic kids. They want to feel the urge to dig deep into the world of their favorite games, find new combinations, and have some struggle getting through them.
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