Going back to the well.

[Flake]

Is it just me or does it seem that so many games are being re-made or updated that the games I am having trouble distinguishing between the gaming news of today and that of ten years ago.

Game companies keep going back to the well. Capcom, Square, Nintendo and Sega being the prime offenders but the list certainly doesn't stop there.

I can't figure out if this good for gaming. People complain enough about franchises and sequels...but isn't this even worse? True some software gets to live on even after it's native hardware is obsolete...but is it good for companies to get into the habit of repackaging the game a dozen times?

[Xeogred]

The HD remakes idea is hit or miss for me. When you've got a budget pack of a trilogy or something then I think it's definitely worth it, if you don't have the games already or whatnot. But, it seems to be quickly becoming yet another TREND of modern gaming and the more HD remakes I see pop up the less interested I am in them altogether. If I can get an old game looking good on my HDTV with component cables instead or something, I'm completely content with that.

The MGS one is a prime example of a good deal though to me. Two big games, based off their re-released releases (okay I laughed typing that) that had extras, plus a port of a PSP game I've been dying to play, and other stuff. That's not bad at all.

But stuff like the RE4 remake is just atrocious. I don't care at all. I've argued it before but I think in this case, "cleaning up" such a game like this one is only going to ruin the charm of the original. I see absolutely no point in updating CV either. So we get that, still instead of a real REmake for RE2/RE3?

Now if we're talking PSX/N64 era updates, I think these are more interesting because they can often benefit tremendously with smoother textures and a better framerate. Perfect Dark HD is a great example of this. If you go back and look at the N64 version in comparison to the HD port, it's like you're watching the game in slow motion. Yikes.

But yeah, as for a lot of PS2/Xbox/GC games, it's just them slapping on some updated textures I probably could have made in Maya studios back in high school, maybe making it widescreen, improving the framerate a tad... just nickel and diming us.

It is getting a little out of hand. But can we really argue this is a new issue? It's kind of just like ports taken to the next level I guess. I can't see this trend ever stopping from here on. It's cheap and easy money for developers probably and once again we can probably point fingers at consumers ourselves for making it a potential issue in the near future.

[AppleQueso]

I see it as the same thing as re-releasing an old film. It's a way to both help bring something old to somewhat more modern standards visually while at the same time giving people a chance to experience these games who may not have before.

Not everyone wants to go out of their way to buy an old console just to play an old game, so honestly I more or less support the idea. This also goes for all the virtual console, psn, xbla, etc type rereleases of older games.

[CRTGAMER]

Most of my gaming is on older consoles, though the Wii has been getting a lot of play time lately. So maybe I'm partial to support older 8 and 16 bit games released again for a younger gamer to discover. On the other hand, maybe innovative games don't get put out due to the focus of a tried and true rehashed block buster. As for the HD upgrade of more recent games such as God of War and ICO, its great as long as the price isn't sixty bucks a pop.

[TEKTORO]

yea and to stuff coming back,is it even fan demand stuff?or stuff just to suck fans in to get their wallets?

Ill take a HD remake of leisure suit larry:MCL.

[hashiriya1]

Nostalgia is very profitable in any industry. As long as people keep buying they'll keep making.

[J T]

I don't get really excited for sequels anymore. I don't care about remakes as much as I used to. Re-releases for games I already own hold almost no interest.

Yet, I'm glad they release these things. The new gamers should have a chance to play the classics, and I should still be able to play games I missed out on the first go round. And even if I am a little disappointed every time Nintendo announces another Zelda or Mario game instead of a new IP, I would feel even more disappointed if they announced that they would not make anymore Zelda or Mario games.

I guess what I'm saying is that there is a place for this stuff in the industry, it's just not top priority material most of the time.

[NintendoLegend]

Well, going back to the well is good, as long as it is a good well and there are still people making new good wells as well.

[Croooow!]

I see it as the same thing as re-releasing an old film. It's a way to both help bring something old to somewhat more modern standards visually while at the same time giving people a chance to experience these games who may not have before.

This. As a big fan of classic movies I see this trend ing gaming as positive as it has done wonders for my access to and appreciation of classic films.

[s1mplehumar]

I'm very selective with re-releases. Typically I prefer everything on original hardware. That's the video game purist in me.