The Globe and Mail has an interesting column up by Chad Sapieha about the timelessness, or lack thereof, of video games. Basically, his argument is that video games, unlike film and literature, are not timeless. That a game played today will not echo with the same resonance ten years down the line. He has a point.
The problem with such arguments is that many tend to dismiss any game past a generation old. In other words, if it hasn’t been released in the past five years many will argue the title is irrelevant and, more absurd, no longer fun. Seriously? Why do people believe this?
In the case of the film and literature argument, perhaps technology is the bigger culprit than lack of quality in titles. Consider that up until this most recent generation, it was virtually impossible to play classic titles without owning the original system or resorting to piracy. While the Wii’s Virtual Console has somewhat did away with this issue, it still remains in large part. It even wreaks havoc on PC gamers. Want to play the original King’s Quest games? You had better track one of the shoddy compilations released and pray it runs on your system.
Sites such as GameTap are somewhat addressing this issue, as well. Still, if video games can’t build a legacy, how can they be expected to remain relevant? You can walk into any bookstore in the country and purchase a copy of Animal Farm, but what are the odds your local GameStop will have a copy of the original Metroid for sale? Maybe the remake Zero Mission, but isn’t that like watching the horrible remake of The Fog? Even if the remake is good, as in the case of Zero Mission, it still isn’t the original.
Part of the argument for a unified console is that development of said console could continue on a steady track with a consistent OS. That way you could buy Mega Man once and continue to play it for years. Developers would only have to publish their title once and it would forever be available. Of course, this cuts into the sizable profits double and triple dippers such as Square Enix and Nintendo enjoy. Then again, no one ever argued their first concern was relevance.
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