Yes, it's been a particularly rough start to 2024, especially for studios seeking funding. Finishing out 2023, it felt like venture capital funds closed the faucets of years' past, and publishers hit the pause button. Thankfully, the vibe at GDC was slightly more positive, with new deals being announced by both publishers and VC funds.
We're in the era of the perennial game: plan accordingly | Opinion
05.04.2024 - 11:43 / gamesindustry.biz
How old does a game have to be before it becomes "retro"?
To answer that, of course, we need a working definition of the term "retro." For the sake of argument, I'd suggest that it implies a game which, while quite possibly fondly remembered and even beloved, has now fallen outside the window of what might be considered a contemporary game, thus becoming a historical curiosity rather than an entertainment product competing for attention with this month's new releases.
Lots of people go misty-eyed at the mention of their favourites from the 8- and 16-bit eras or the original PlayStation, and some may even go back to play them every now and again – but nobody expects those games to compete with modern games or to be judged on the same criteria. We understand that they're outside that window.
So, returning to the original question; how wide is the window? How much time must elapse before a new game ends up being considered retro?
Depending on your age and a few other factors, you may answer that question very differently. For a very long time, console hardware generations gave us a decent line in the sand; within a few years of the PlayStation appearing, the 2D games of prior generations seemed obsolete, while the PS2's vastly improved visuals made PS1 games look outdated.
The line was never perfectly focused, but each console created a step change in consumer expectations that shoved the previous generation's games out of the "contemporary" window.
Today, that mode of thinking seems outdated to the point of being retro itself. We're in the fourth year of the PS5's lifespan, and the notion that a PS4 game could be considered "retro" – or even on the way to earning that label – is nothing short of baffling. Even the vast majority of the PS3 / Xbox 360 era of games is still more or less within the "contemporary" window, especially when given a slight digital lick of paint thanks to things like Microsoft's high quality backwards compatibility systems.
You have to reach back to the PS2 before you start hitting games that most consumers would agree are "old" in the sense of being an artefact of a different generation, rather than being a game that more or less stands up alongside present-day releases.
If that assertion raises an eyebrow for you, consider the data from Newzoo's recent PC & Console Gaming Report, which showed that in 2023, the average years elapsed since launch of the top ten most-played games in the world (judged by monthly active user figures) was more than seven years.
The number is even higher on the PC, where the average age of the top ten games was nearly ten years. Of course, these games are not exactly as they were at launch – most have been updated and patched and given fresh content along the
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The Fallout TV show gave the Fallout games a huge player bump, as everyone remembers they like Fallout
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12.04.2024 / 10:57
Baldur's Gate 3 Wins Best Game, Four Other Honors at BAFTA Games Awards 2024: See Full List of Winners
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