“An Intense Hobby”: Meet the People Making New Retro Games
It’s easy to think that consoles like the original NES, Sega Mega Drive, or even the Atari are nothing more than museum pieces, mere footnotes in video gaming history. However, there’s plenty of interest in retro gaming: And people are even making new games for these old consoles.
Nowhere was this clearer than at Gamescom 2022 in Cologne, Germany, where a decent-sized section of a massive hall was dedicated to retro gaming. It featured grizzled hobbyists showing off their collections of vintage games as well as teenagers playing games like Daytona USA 2, a racing game from 1998, or trying out Pong on an Atari arcade clone.
Most striking, though, especially if you’re not familiar with retro gaming, is that a lot of these older consoles are getting new game releases. In fact, there’s a cottage industry dedicated to developing games for the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other classic consoles. More surprising yet, there’s also a decent-size market interested in buying them.
According to Chris Noll, who owns Retrospiel, a small store in Cologne, Germany that sells retro games for all kinds of older consoles, it’s not just guys with graying temples buying them, either. “When I started the shop in 2002, I thought I’d only get customers my own age. Now, though, kids as young as 12 or 14 are buying games.”
Christian Gleinser, who makes four-player games for the Commodore 64 under the banner of Dr. Wuro Industries, has the same experience. According to him, there is an assumption that graphics are the main attraction for younger generations. Put them behind an older console, though, and “kids can see both kinds of games can be fun.”
According to Gleinser, this is because there’s practically no learning curve to retro games. “Our games
Read more on howtogeek.com
