Topic: Do you miss the good old days of gaming (80s and 90s)?

What with the remakes of classic 8-bit games including the Konami ReBirth titles, as well as the increase in popularity of smaller retro-ish games via WiiWare, PSN and XBLA, we're almost in a bit of a Retro Renaissance now.

There seems also to be more and more backlash -- well, that's not reallty the right term, but along those lines -- by game programmers and such on how the industry has changed to be more like the Hollywood film industry, with multi-million dollar projects worked on by hundreds of people that end up emphasising flash and super-realistic graphics rather than actual compelling or fun gameplay (like what Trent Reznor said in that recent interview, not that he's in the biz, but he articulated the point well). In turn, we end up seeing more small games that are actually fun to play, and not just prettier, re-skinned versions of what we got last year -- of course, the problem always comes down to money, as the smaller games are harder to get published, paricularly in a marketplace that's all but owned by a handful of production companies.

I think i rambled a bit. But my point is that the nature of the game climate now may have us on the cusp of a "Retro Renaissance" so to speak, much in the same way that people are speculating about a second video game crash in the near future (which i personally think won't happen, as too many major corporations have money tied into the biz these days).

It's apparently not enough revival games to be called it's own period, though.

True. If there was to be a second crash (which, again, i don't think can happen), i think the industry would drift towards a more retro renaissance so to speak. Regardless, I won't be surprised to see retro-flavored games (both in the sense of graphics and/or gameplay) take a larger spot in gaming as a whole for the reasons i mentioned. That, along with the fact that there are more developers gaining prominence that were big gamers in the 80s/90s -- Matt Bozon and the WayForward crew comes to mind, as do the developers of Shadow Complex (and as an aside, any "Metroidvania" fan with a 360 should download this game immeidately).

BTW, i love the "I pity the fool who doesn't pity fools." tag in your sig!

I don't expect retro graphics to take a strong hold any time soon, even if there were a crash, which seems highly unlikely for the near future. 2D could still make a comeback, and to some extent has, but if you mean games like Mega Man 9 breaking into the retail market, I wouldn't expect that. I actually like the direction we're moving in. Games with retro action and/or graphics are coming mostly out of independent developers, so they may be few and far between, but they are made with much more love than games made by large companies... plus, they're usually free!

I also like their place in downloadable territory. Keeps the games affordable and convenient for the player and the earnings make their way more directly to the developer, who in these cases usually needs the money much more than Gamestop.

And as an aside to your aside, I badly want Shadow Complex. Too bad I don't have any other reason to get a 360.

@Adam: Don't worry...I have a friend who's convinced it'll wind up on PC sooner or later.

I don't really want too many games like Mega Man 9. That game was harder than any of 1-8, and not very much fun at all, IMO. Retro FEEL with certain modern conveniences is more my cup of tea, which is something those indie devs are generally pretty good at. I am also all for more quality (note I said quality) 2D games being made. Murawhatsit Demon Blade seems good, and A Boy and His Blob looks great! I also just saw the N-Power coverage of the upcoming Shantae games and it looks GORGEOUS! 2D FTW!