The Past is the Way of the Future

There is a current trend in computer gaming that is reflected in the new generation of consoles. Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo's Wii's expected online services and guesses at the PS3's online content all show a leaning towards retro games. With the recent release of Street Fighter 2 on Xbox Live Arcade and the promise of some classic 2D platform action in the vain of the Playstation classic Castlevania, added to the presence of Gauntlet, Smash TV, Joust and Robotron. The trend has already been set. Nintendo has followed suit, with plans to make available a very extensive back catalogue for download to the Wii. I am unsure what Sony's plans are for the PS3's online content but it would be a safe bet that retro gaming will feature in some form.

What is it about retro gaming that has everyone so excited? Do we really miss the old pixellated and simplistic gameplay that much? I am very interested in playing the old classics. I splashed out on Street Fighter 2 on Live Arcade as soon as I could. More recently I bought a PSP so that I could get my hands on Ultimate Ghosts 'n' Ghouls and the Gradius Collection. I love all that stuff and a lot of other people do too. The thought that I could sit in my house in front of a Wii and play Mario Allstars on a 42" HD LCD TV has got me very excited indeed. Its not just geeks like me thnat are buying the retro classics. A large portion of the market is casual gamers who want something that they can pick up and put down as easy as possible. These older games are perfect for that.