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Can we stop griping about remasters?

I don't like the idea of remasters. I feel like everyone just wants to continue to live out the past in gaming. I can sort of agree with late last gen remasters because those consoles were putting out games on their dying breaths. Older than that though, I think games should be played on the consoles they were built on. Maybe that's the purist in me.

I also am shocked at how complacent everyone is at playing the same games over and over again. The fact that there are so many people hyped about a remaster of a remaster is insane
REREMAKE
. FWIW, I know I can ignore the remasters and remaster hype, and I generally do.
 
TLOU ps4 was my first experience with the game and it was amazing. Being able to continue playing GTA online on PS4 is another great example. Can't think of anything else worth buying though..

YES remasters are awesome! I could play them on my pc too but that can never beat a dedicated system with a comfy couch.
 

Springy

Member
Let me put it this way: I asked someone why I should buy a PS4 a few weeks ago and he told me the two most compelling reasons were TLoU:R and GTA5. I have a PS3 and those two already. I may be more receptive to remasters if they weren't being so prominently positioned over original content.
 

molnizzle

Member
Let me put it this way: I asked someone why I should buy a PS4 a few weeks ago and he told me the two most compelling reasons were TLoU:R and GTA5. I may be more receptive to remasters if they weren't being so prominently positioned over original content.

It's not really the remasters' fault that devs have thus far failed to deliver this gen.
 
Let me put it this way: I asked someone why I should buy a PS4 a few weeks ago and he told me the two most compelling reasons were TLoU:R and GTA5. I have a PS3 and those two already. I may be more receptive to remasters if they weren't being so prominently positioned over original content.

To be fair this is more indicative of the state of current gen games. Those ports are pretty good and their last gen versions left a lot to be desired.
 

braves01

Banned
Damn, just going off OP's numbers really makes it sink in how much of current gen is just the definitive version of last gen. 30% is a little high, imo.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
How about that they dilute the total software lineup. A bunch of remasters is not incentive to buy a new machine, and makes their software lineup look stale. These aren't PS2 games; we already played these games in HD. The difference isn't nearly as big, and we are seeing these "remasters" a lot earlier in the generation this time.

It's making the software lineup look stale, especially when combined with the yearly franchise releases like CoD and AC which are clearly losing their power in the market due to franchise fatigue. As well as many games being cross gen already, so essentially it seems like you are already buying a remaster as it is.

When you combine cross gen games, yearly releases, and remasters, this gen's software support is looking very stale so far imo.
They dilute the software lineup? I don't follow. The PS3/360 had a ton of crap games but they also had their fair share of great games too. I also take exception to your argument about looking stale because it assumes that there are remasters are being released left and right and that is just plain not the case as The last 3 months have shown.
 

dose

Member
This is just another stupid thing you only see on gaming forums. If I went to a movie forum I doubt I'd see people griping over old movies coming out on bluray. And that's despite bluray players being fully backwards compatible with dvd.
Worst analogy ever, and makes no sense. A comparable analogy is if some of the 'new' bluray releases were old movies remade again using better equipment.
 
I think the argument will be tricky as there's already a basic statement we view very differently. "Only three." I think three of thirteen is a ridiculous number.

But unless you disagree with the OP's argument that remakes aren't diverting resources away from new games, who cares? Do holiday seasons typically have more than thirteen big games releasing?

I totally agree with the OP, I'm all for remakes. If you look at other media, classic books, movies, and albums are released all the time. Books (and usually albums) are a little different, but just like it's nice having old movies in better-looking formats, I think it's nice having updated versions of classic games.
 

Jamix012

Member
I like remasters (I have 2 as of now), but I also think there is a genuine problem worth complaining about. By buying remasters as consumers we're signalling we want the same shit over in a new package. As a result more resources will get pumped into samey sequels and more remasters.
 

Altima

Member
I want remaster edition only for games that I never play before (or haven't finished yet.).

I miss a lot of PS2 games and I want to play them on my PS4.
 
You don t have to shoot movies again before getting them to bluray.

Remasters give a bad signal to industry leaders. Don t cry when more paid dlc for on disc content and other anti consumer practices come out.
Also, it s worrying because it means people are ok to replay the same games with just update technical parameters.

I thought we could make it to page 2 without this. Even page 3 on a real good day.

But here we are. That's intangible, tinfoil link between a bad practice and thing-I-don't-like, despite OP's very carefully laid out post.

Next, the worry, because this poster is so worried about the state of the industry, and how the leaders are going to be affect, he doesn't mind grouping remaster buyers into a single category - people who have already played the game prior.

Nevermind the fact that there are many people who missed out on TLOU like I did, or people who didn't finish it the first time, or even people who just want to enjoy one of their favorite games in a better format.

Nevermind the fact that remasters have existed in other ways with ports on older systems that were clearly better than their previous versions (but that depends on the port. See: Mega Man DOS), so if anything, this is a generation that has less remasters than ever.

(Maybe you want to get nitpicky and play semantics here, and call ports of previous gens just ports, when many followed this upscaled/technically better suit and were remade for a purpose, but that's fine)

Nevermind the fact that there are literally less remasters as a whole in this generation right now than original titles.

I could go on, but you all get the point - no matter how many times you make this topic and explain to those who are unaware, some people won't listen. No matter how farfetched they sound.

I don't like the idea of remasters. I feel like everyone just wants to continue to live out the past in gaming. I can sort of agree with late last gen remasters because those consoles were putting out games on their dying breaths. Older than that though, I think games should be played on the consoles they were built on. Maybe that's the purist in me.

I also am shocked at how complacent everyone is at playing the same games over and over again. The fact that there are so many people hyped about a remaster of a remaster is insane
REREMAKE
. FWIW, I know I can ignore the remasters and remaster hype, and I generally do.

If you can ignore the remasters and their hype, why not do so? You say you can, but yet the first paragraph is demeaning people who'd like to play a game again due to your purist nature.
 

molnizzle

Member
If you love remasters so much get a kick ass PC and play every game as a 1080p 60 fps remaster

What a stupid post.

My most-wanted remasters are first-party PS3/360 releases, Red Dead Redemption and the Mass Effect trilogy. Of those, the ME games are the only ones technically available for PC — but they don't have native controller support because BioWare were being stubborn dumbness at the time.

I have a capable gaming PC and still want more remasters.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
I don't agree, remastering games from two years ago is just plain boring and it takes away people who could've
developed a new game (it doesn't matter if the AAA number outnumbers the remastered games, the point is that they could've developed another one).

This implies that resources from new games are being taken away from the usual skeleton crew that are delegated to releasing Remasters which generally does not happen.

Final Fantasy Type 0 not happening wasn't going to make Final Fantasy XV come out sooner, the resources were already allocated, just the same The Last of Us Remastered would not have any negative influence on Uncharted 4 getting a release.

Different teams do different things in a development environment. Just the same if Last of Us Remastered didn't come out, it wouldn't mean The Last of Us 2 being greenlighted earlier, it would just mean The Last of Us Remaster not happening.
 

lord

Member
I like remasters, just how old movies are remastered to blu ray, they're worth buying most of the time. The problem is a new movie format lasts 10 years, while a console only 5-7 so it seems like too much, but I'm all for the preservation of old stuff, and making it easily available to the market.
 

HC Luvva

Neo Member
I'm not a fan of remasters that don't bring anything new to the table.

Saying that, I'm pretty happy with what's been released in the last year. In regards to price, I would have to agree that some are too expensive, but the pricing really depends on the title.
 

bigkurz

Banned
Worst analogy ever, and makes no sense. A comparable analogy is if some of the 'new' bluray releases were old movies remade again using better equipment.

you mean like remastered movies, where someone restores the original film using state of the art equipment and creates the best version ever? like that?
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Remasters are just ports. Complaining about them sapping resources makes as much sense as complaining about games that are multi-platform as opposed to single format.
 

FyreWulff

Member
I'll complain about remasters as long as they keep getting outsourced and not done by the original developer. The only exception to this rule is Bluepoint.

This is because remasters tend to miss finer details or deeper functionality from the game they are remastering. There's no passion behind the remaster, so it the cold treatment the porter has given their game just leaves it feeling empty.
 
You have good points, the problem I have with remasters is that they're based on pervious gen's limitations, whether thats tiny maps or minimal NPCs or unexplorable areas and such(all of which would be resolved if the game was built from the ground up for current gen).
That doesn't sit well with me, because I've experienced that exact game, or people can still go experience that exact game on last gen consoles. When I buy a next gen console, I expect those kinds of things along with the better graphics, but remasters are generally ONLY better graphics. And with all this talk about people not caring about graphics and only gameplay, you're playing the exact same thing!

Sure, you can outsource a remaster to some studio who's never seen the code before, let them hack it together over a year, and basically have a 1080p version of the game with possibly more bugs(see MCC and such for examples). I guess reliving that game you loved 5 years ago at a higher resolution is nice, but my point is that as a gamer I might not necessarily want that memory of the "great" game I played a decade ago possibly ruined.
 

Zia

Member
5. "Get a PC" - Again, people assume that others have several hundred dollars to blow for the privilege of playing games with the best possible settings.

This argument always grates. You can build a "gaming PC" for a little more than the price of a PlayStation 4, and it's so much more than a proprietary games box with Netflix support. It's like saying, "Not everyone has money to blow on a vehicle to commute to and from work!" when you own a pair of jet skis.

The more remasters the better, I say. The newer consoles have a much greater chance of being supported on future hardware imo, so its likely PS4 games will carry forward with x86 to PS5.

Releasing during the Age of the App Store and Steam, everyone thought this round of consoles were guaranteed to include BC as well.
 

Springy

Member
But unless you disagree with the OP's argument that remakes aren't diverting resources away from new games, who cares? Do holiday seasons typically have more than thirteen big games releasing?
I feel like there used to be a wider catalog, sure, but I don't think remasters are to blame. They're a symptom, not the cause.

Remasters are just ports. Complaining about them sapping resources makes as much sense as complaining about games that are multi-platform as opposed to single format.
See: gaf reaction to every cross-gen release this year.
 

molnizzle

Member
This implies that resources from new games are being taken away from the usual skeleton crew that are delegated to releasing Remasters which generally does not happen.

Remasters also give devs the chance to get some experience on the new hardware without having to worry about the actual game design. For third party devs migrating to PS4/XBO probably wasn't much of an ordeal, but for studios like Naughty Dog that shit is monumentally different. They're having to completely rebuild most of their tools. Not a small endeavor. Remasters are perfect trial runs for stuff like that.

Releasing during the Age of the App Store and Steam, everyone thought this round of consoles were guaranteed to include BC as well.

There's a legitimate reason why the consoles can't have BC this time though.

Next time there won't be.
 
I held off on a lot of big releases the past couple years in hopes that there would be a remaster of it. My backlog at the time was already big enough. I'm glad as hell I did. Currently going through tomb raider on ps4 and it looks fantastic.. the way it should be played. If I had already played it that would of been kind of a bummer not to experience it this way... but I don't see why I'd complain about it. Maybe I'd feel differently I'm not sure. However.... I played both versions of TLOU and only felt even better about the game after the remaster. *shrugs*
 
My problem isn't with the re-make. My problem is that when you combine these remakes with all the cross-gen software; publishers are not putting out original current generation AAA software. This is not good for the industry or my hobby.
 
I honestly want more remasters on the Nintendo front. The Wii U has a fantastic collection of games right now (depending on your taste), and a fantastic collection of games coming up, but I'd love to supplement the drought with quality wii and gamecube titles I missed (or want to replay) when the franchise takes a year off.

For example, no mainline mario game next year, could they please remastered sunshine, and galaxy 1 and 2?

Sony, please remaster Ratchet and Clank. I never had a chance to play all of them!
 
This argument always grates. You can build a "gaming PC" for a little more than the price of a PlayStation 4, and it's so much more than a proprietary games box with Netflix support. It's like saying, "Not everyone has money to blow on a vehicle to commute to and from work!" when you own a fleet of jet skis.



Releasing during the Age of the App Store and Steam, everyone thought this round of consoles were guaranteed to include BC as well.

To be fair, he did say at best possible settings, which would imply a good 600 to drop down, deals not included. A better way to put it would be maybe some wouldn't like to build their own out of personal preference?

And nobody thought either console would have BC after the fiasco money trouble that it put Sony in with the PS3. The cost is far too large, because you essentially have to place a PS3 inside a PS4, as they did with the PS3 and the PS2. I'm assuming the dongle didn't pan out so well.

My problem isn't with the re-make. My problem is that when you combine these remakes with all the cross-gen software; publishers are not putting out original current generation AAA software. This is not good for the industry or my hobby.

But what does that have to do with the remakes? They aren't holding them back. Because you don't like cross-gen games and remakes doesn't mean it's the fault of those games, rather, the publisher.

Did you like the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era? Because the same could be said of that, and before then as well. I get that the software lineup has been thin (not for me, but still), but this shit has happened for years.

It's called porting.
 

Hiko

Banned
Worst analogy ever, and makes no sense. A comparable analogy is if some of the 'new' bluray releases were old movies remade again using better equipment.

Err, no. In both cases you're taking something with bad image quality and remastering it to better image quality.

And if starting resolution is so important, let's not forget that people gripe about ps2 HD remasters as well.
 

molnizzle

Member
I honestly want more remasters on the Nintendo front. The Wii U has a fantastic collection of games right now (depending on your taste), and a fantastic collection of games coming up, but I'd love to supplement the drought with quality wii and gamecube titles I missed (or want to replay) when the franchise takes a year off.

Yeah, where the fuck are my Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime remasters?
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
For a long time, much of gaming has been dominated by confusing content with technology. This is understandable, for a young medium predicated on technology that has evolved rapidly in just a few decades. The result though, seems to be a general attitude that older games = outdated because they were hosted on older technology. In another medium this might be akin to saying that Chinatown is outdated because it doesn't feature the hot CG effects of the latest Marvel film, and people who buy it on blu-ray are "living in the past".

It is inevitable that as the history of the gaming medium grows long, older works will be brought back and appreciated in a new context.

Let me put it this way: I asked someone why I should buy a PS4 a few weeks ago and he told me the two most compelling reasons were TLoU:R and GTA5. I have a PS3 and those two already. I may be more receptive to remasters if they weren't being so prominently positioned over original content.

The thing is though, that remastering games like those can't possibly require such resources that it would have any real impact on the development of new titles.

The problem lay in the industry's push for every larger, more expensive games that in turn take longer to make, resulting in less new content. The new consoles seem to be proving that we're seeing a real effect of the AAA sprawl that consumed the previous generation.
 

MilesTeg

Banned
They dilute the software lineup? I don't follow. The PS3/360 had a ton of crap games but they also had their fair share of great games too. I also take exception to your argument about looking stale because it assumes that there are remasters are being released left and right and that is just plain not the case as The last 3 months have shown.

I never claimed remasters are being released left and right. I said that with remasters combined with cross gen games and yearly releases, the software lineup on the new machines feels stale.
 
I have no problems with remasters. The "make new games!" complaint doesn't sit well with me because all studios are making new games. What's to get up in arms about?

If you don't like them, ignore them and move on.
 

Springy

Member
Sony, please remaster Ratchet and Clank. I never had a chance to play all of them!
I can't understand the argument of wanting a remaster because it's otherwise eluded you. I could buy a PS2 and all three R&C games for the price of a new PS4 game today.
 
Remasters also give devs the chance to get some experience on the new hardware without having to worry about the actual game design.
I can see that but it feels kinda like a copout. You can make a bunch of tests on new hardware without having to make a brand new game from scratch.

I can't understand the argument of wanting a remaster because it's otherwise eluded you. I could buy a PS2 and all three R&C games for the price of a new PS4 game today.
I am in the same camp as you however, people like playing games on their new boxes. It just how it works. People already have their PS3s in closets because they have a PS4 and want reasons to never hook their old systems back up even if that means playing games they already played before. The upside is that at least these remasters usually are better on a technical level.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
My problem isn't with the re-make. My problem is that when you combine these remakes with all the cross-gen software; publishers are not putting out original current generation AAA software. This is not good for the industry or my hobby.
I completely debunk this ridiculous argument in my opening post and like most anti-remaster people you choose to ignore it.
 
This argument always grates. You can build a "gaming PC" for a little more than the price of a PlayStation 4, and it's so much more than a proprietary games box with Netflix support. It's like saying, "Not everyone has money to blow on a vehicle to commute to and from work!" when you own a fleet of jet skis.

This is a dumb argument

A. Not everyone wants to build a computer. Some people might not know how do it, or have time or are afraid they might mess up, etc. It would be easier just to by a PS4 and get a similar experience

B. Most computers out there are lower end machines used to browse the web, watch videos, write documents, etc. Not for gaming

C. The car analogy is by far one of the stupidest things I've heard on Gaf. That assumes that all computers are primarily built for gaming (they aren't) and that people actually use a PC as their primary computing device in the age of iPads/laptops/smartphones and yes, game consoles.
 
I like remasters. But let's not pretend that the lack of backwards compatibility is anything but just a way to re-sell games they already made. It's a nice side benefit, but remasters are 0% of why I would buy a next gen console.

I have Tomb Raider and the MCC. If Rockstar craps out RDR, I'm buying it, too. But I probably buy none of them if I could just play my last gen version.
 

Nestunt

Member
If they are done by some up and coming team that needs them on their portfolio to gain some financial support for their own innovative projects.
 
I can't understand the argument of wanting a remaster because it's otherwise eluded you. I could buy a PS2 and all three R&C games for the price of a new PS4 game today.

If he already has a PS4, that's a moot point.

If he wants the games to run better for his next outing and Sony is willing to give it to him, that's a moot point.

If someone is doing something you don't like and you can't understand the "argument", well, that's a moot point. You might not personally want to, but without understanding someone's situation, why try to convert them?

It's so odd. Like people don't get that there are these things called opinions...
 

OmegaDL50

Member
Remasters also give devs the chance to get some experience on the new hardware without having to worry about the actual game design. For third party devs migrating to PS4/XBO probably wasn't much of an ordeal, but for studios like Naughty Dog that shit is monumentally different. They're having to completely rebuild most of their tools. Not a small endeavor. Remasters are perfect trial runs for stuff like that.



There's a legitimate reason why the consoles can't have BC this time though.

Next time there won't be.

If anything this supports my initial post I made in this topic that goes against the idea that a Remaster some how hinders a new project coming out or an existing new project from coming out faster.
 

BouncyFrag

Member
I'm getting remastered out a bit. However, I am looking forward to Grim Fandango which I've never played and hear its amazing. I kept my 360 to play games like Mass Effect. I'd welcome a remaster to that trilogy but I'm more than happy playing it on the original platform.
 

Springy

Member
People already have their PS3s in closets because they have a PS4 and want reasons to never hook their old systems back up even if that means playing games they already played before.
All those people have spotless designer kitchens and are not to be trusted.

If he already has a PS4, that's a moot point.

If he wants the games to run better for his next outing and Sony is willing to give it to him, that's a moot point.

If someone is doing something you don't like and you can't understand the "argument", well, that's a moot point. You might not personally want to, but without understanding someone's situation, why try to convert them?

It's so odd. Like people don't get that there are these things called opinions...
What? If Sony releases a R&C Remaster Remaster, then I'm happy for this guy. But if they don't, and he is sitting around lamenting being unable to play R&C, then I have news for him and you.

And the existence of the PS4 certainly does not render buying a PS2 moot.
 
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