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[Punished Miku]

Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival?

Retro video games and aesthetics are having a moment, but it’s not just gen X and older millennials reliving their heyday: younger millennials and gen Z are getting in on the nostalgia too

www.theguardian.com

Retro video games and aesthetics are having a moment, but it’s not just gen X and older millennials reliving their heyday: younger millennials and gen Z are getting in on the nostalgia too

On TikTok, #retrogaming videos have amassed over 6bn views. On YouTube, uploads have increased 1,000-fold. Spotify users are creating 50% more retro-gaming-themed playlists than they were at this time last year, and live streamers are cashing in on the repetitive catchphrases and mechanical movements of NPCs (non-player characters). So why, in this age of hyperrealistic graphics and ever-expanding technological possibility, are younger generations captivated by an era of technological limitation?

This sentiment seems to resonate with a growing segment of gen Z and gen Alpha, too. The popularity of channels such as Ellis’s reflect a broader fascination with retro tech that’s evident in the rise of reaction videos, the resurgence of web 1.0-era Frutiger Aero aesthetics (think futuristic optimism, glossy buttons, gradients and Windows XP screensavers), a filter transforming people into PS2 characters, and the increasing adoption of Y2K-era devices by young consumers. Last year, Urban Outfitters sold out stock of refurbished iPod Minis, and a 20-year-old Olympus digital camera was dubbed the “hottest gen Z gadget”.

But for Gabi, 27, (known on TikTok as @babesgabes), and a growing community of so-called cosy gamers, the appeal of older games lies not in their modern interpretations, but the comfort and simplicity of the past. Though cosy gaming can encompass recent titles too (“It’s like comfort food – different for everyone,” Gabi says), the crossover is common. “I game for nostalgia,” she says. “[It] eases my mind and lets me escape into a different world. [It’s] an excellent stress and anxiety-reliever.” A 2022 study revealed that half of gen Z said gaming improves their mental health.

In a world of relentless technological advances and increasing AI anxiety, Rivera wonders whether gen Z’s affinity for retro gaming is connected to its stability. “It provides a constant – it’s not going to morph into something else tomorrow,” she says. Given the continually disrupted times that this generation has grown up in, it’s not hard to see why younger players might find something comforting and unthreatening in pixelated graphics, the janky character animations of an early Grand Theft Auto, or ever-predictable NPC soundbites.

And as technology fixates on the latest and greatest, retro gaming offers a refreshing break, perhaps a comforting idealisation of simpler times. But more than that, the games of the 80s and 90s are the foundation on which the gaming giants of today were built. “The music, the graphics, the dialogue, the clothes – it’s a whole experience,” says Gabi. “There is a deeper cultural significance. It’s a piece of history.”

 

[SHA]

They like the 80s and the 90s, don't ask for a reason.

 

[Punished Miku]

I thought this was extremely interesting. Could be a lot of different things happening here.

• Retro games were easier to pick up and play, more focused on fun and gameplay.
• Retro games were a lot more positive, and were created for kids, teenagers, young adults and not jaded 40 year olds.
• Retro games weren't woke.
• Retro games provide an easier way to even get into gaming compared to modern dual stick games that a lot of these kids didn't grow up with.
• Retro games have infinitely better visual clarity, and aren't bogged down with an excessive focus on hyper-realistic graphics, which often obscure people's ability to play and react. It's not an accident that kids are playing things like Roblox and Fortnite also. I highlighted the importance of visual clarity in a previous thread, and how lacking it is in most modern games. This is why you need Witcher detective vision, which always sucks.
• You see this phenomenon happening in movies, film and music as well. Millenials / Gen Z is the 1st to grow up fully in the social media generation, and when we are this connected we have no more sub culture. No one is isolated enough to generate their own customs so nothing new gets created in isolation. I've definitely seen a lot of younger people wearing Nirvana shirts, or seen articles about people going back to older shows. Seems the same is happening with gaming.
• This definitely should be a wake up call to AAA devs worried about the future, but gives me hope for Gen Z since they seem to realize what they've missed out on. It shows that the draw isn't just nostalgia since these kids have none. The games were different.
• Retro games are cheap / free on PC and not $70 a pop.

 

[Lambogenie]

Because they're annoying idiots who want to stand out in the modern faff of social media. Nostalgic people who lived it not included.

If they end up actually enjoying it, that's great though.

 

[Kilau]

They lack the attention span required for todays "modern cinematic experiences".

 

[Quasicat]

I’ve worked with 8th graders for the past two decades and I can tell you, anecdotally, that it comes down to how easy it is to emulate and download older games.

My students have school issued Surface devices that are limited only by their internet connection at school, so once they go home, they have whole internet to download and setup whatever they want. Then, they come to school and can play whatever they want on their device. This means Fortnite is out, but emulation works perfecting. I have seen kids playing everything from Pokémon Blue all the way to Ocarina of Time all with a keyboard. By the time they hit their 20s, its just as nostalgic for them as it is for us older gamers that played them at release.

 

[jufonuk]

a good game is good forever.

 

[OverHeat]

Game where more fun. The end

 

[nush]

that it comes down to how easy it is to emulate and download older games.

That was what I was going to post, it's free and easy.

 

[Clear]

Probably because modern pop-culture generally is just shit.

They are basically spoon-fed a monoculture created by algorithms, so its only natural they try and seek outside of that at a time in life when thy are trying to find their own tastes and identities.

 

[Punished Miku]

Probably because modern pop-culture generally is just shit.

They are basically spoon-fed a monoculture created by algorithms, so its only natural they try and seek outside of that at a time in life when thy are trying to find their own tastes and identities.

Yeah, I think this is the 1st generation maybe ever where we can say "it was better when I was a kid" and it's not just nostalgia. Pretty significant cultural differences.

 

[STARSBarry]

Because games where made by small groups of developers as passion projects, there wasn't an established "meta" of some trend to chase.

Games where also complete experiences, you bought it and that was that. They sold you the full product to enjoy as a form of entertainment, not as a storefront designed to snag whales.

Not to say modern day games can't work, Helldivers proves if you scale back on fucking over the player you can have an experience worth playing. But how many games have launched so broken entire parts are almost unplayable recently? Even Baldurs Gate III suffers from this.


This is all avoided in retro games.

 

[Wildebeest]

When I was a kid, I watched all sorts of films and shows that were made before I was born, and nobody called it a "retro revival". If the games industry wants to act like anything older than current gen is unplayable nostalgia fodder then maybe they should try to innovate even slightly in any area other than graphics, monetisation and making financially safe and uncontroversial content.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

The old games that are famous are the best of the best; they are the ones that were preserved. Of course there were bad games back then, but they got proned by the sands of time.

On the other hand, modern free to play games try to rob you blind by making games unfun intentionally to make you pay for conveniences. Compare that to old games and you see which is more entertaining.

 

[Guilty_AI]

They're cheaper, more acessible, and more often than not aren't a victim of current cultural rot since that mostly affects big tech companies.

You can buy both DOOM 1&2 for $4 total, download GZDOOM and play an infinitude of games on pretty much any hardware, games better than half of what comes out today. Spend a bit more and you can buy modern games that follow the same rules and aesthetics.

All in all, there's just little incetives to play modern AAA releases for anyone minimally invested in the medium. The only reason those can continue to survive at all (albeit barely) is that they know how to gain mindshare with marketing, impressionable trailers and famous IPs.

 

[Toots]

a good game is good forever.

And sometimes even a bad game can become good with time.

 

[StueyDuck]

Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival?

Retro video games and aesthetics are having a moment, but it’s not just gen X and older millennials reliving their heyday: younger millennials and gen Z are getting in on the nostalgia too

www.theguardian.com

Retro video games and aesthetics are having a moment, but it’s not just gen X and older millennials reliving their heyday: younger millennials and gen Z are getting in on the nostalgia too

Probably cause a kid got famous with tetris and tiktok people purely care about fame

 

[Guilty_AI]

Btw, does that mean we will go back to seeing kids punching each other over which is better, N64 or Ps1?

 

[Hugare]

I'm playing on my Odin 2 way more than on my PS5. I was loving FF VII Rebirth, but I havent played it in weeks.

Games today dont respect our time. I have very limited playtime during my day, so something that I can pick up and play for some minutes is the best option.

 

[gaming_again]

The kids are all right.

 

[jufonuk]

And sometimes even a bad game can become good with time.

So Dennis Dyack was banned for no reason ?

 

[Bry0]

Because it went viral on TikTok, I give it a month.

 

[Buggy Loop]

The games back then were raw pure gameplay for the most part. There's so much bullshit in modern games that when you revisit some old classics it hits you like a truck "Oh shit, that's a game!"

It's why also even with a good PC build, I mostly play indies and retro shooters.

 

[mitch1971]

Because over the last few decades us oldies have seperated the wheat from the chaff, the diamonds in the rough and left a legacy of games for those damn kids to enjoy. You're welcome you brats!

 

[Danknugz]

this sentiment has probably been already stated in this thread but it's clear that modern games suffer from a shit cornucopia, from top to bottom, too much obesssion with dog whistling political agendas to young kids who just want to have fun and not thought policed, also seems like a lot of people being hired to do art/music/coding are just there to have a job and make money based on what they were taught in art school or whatever, etc

 

[Kataploom]

In my opinion, and because I've seen it a lot, they just play they can in the devices have since consoles and PC are expensive devices for them and they have to rely on old games more often than not. That's also the reason why I see most of young people playing on phones and not getting many consoles.

 

[ButchCat]

The same reason this happened.

 

[Toots]

So Dennis Dyack was banned for no reason ?

He threw stones at someone elses's house and then came back for drinks as if nothing happened, nothing to do with his crappy game...
Or maybe the ban will be lifted when too human become good

 

[InterMusketeer]

This is good. Those older games are fun and safe for kids to enjoy. No online interactions with strangers, no micro-transactions, no privacy issues, no ads.

 

[onQ123]

So I randomly made this thread about a reset for the kids before I went to sleep last night then wake up to this lol.

With the next generation of consoles I'm hoping for a reset to simple graphics (for the kids)

The older generations had the chance to witness games going from simple blocks moving around on screen up to what we have now. I think next generation would actually be a good time for a reset as we move into full Ray-Tracing & Volume Rendering . The last real reset that we had was going from...

www.neogaf.com

 

[diffusionx]

Most new games suck and have insidious business models. Especially on mobile. When you can download an emu and play something that starts quickly, all the content is laid out right there for you, has progression that is simple to understand, and has fun intuitive gameplay that has stood the test of time (because the bad games have all been forgotten), then it really all makes sense. Like I was playing some games on Dolphin and they are just really "clear" to understand. You play something like Waverace Blue Storm and it's like, you go in a race, you unlock content, etc. It's all there. Unlike the 5 million currency systems and baffling meta-narratives that modern games have that are outside of your control as the player (see Helldivers 2 with the bot stuff, seasons, etc.). It's almost like... These days, the game plays you as much as the other way around. It wasn't always like that.

Also, as us boomers were growing up, we were enraptured by the progress of technology to the point where a game that was a few years old could look completely, insanely outdated. Like, by 2004, many PS2 games released in 2001 looked ancient, that was how fast the tech progressed. But at some point it stalled out. GameCube/PS2 games can still look pretty good, especially with modern emu features. If you're a young person, you load up F-Zero GX or Burnout 3 on an emu, it doesn't just still hold up, it looks BETTER than the mobile shit that's out there. The only thing that looks dated are 360/PS3 piss filter games, but I bet at some point that will be re-evaluated, and that was the time when these bad business models and progressions started creeping into games, anyway.

 

[El Muerto]

My 10yr old nephew loves bomberman. I gave him my old DS with a flash cart and he got hooked on that thing with all the games i loaded on there. My other nephews love the hitman games. Plenty of bangers on older consoles. Such a weak output this gen for both consoles.

 

[rm082e]

Anecdotal: I tried to start my son off with SNES games via emulation on PC when he was 6. He was asking to play games and I figured I would start him off with the classics, then work him through the PS1 and PS2 era stuff so he had some context for the newer games.

The first day I tried to show him Super Mario World he said "This game looks old. I want a new game that looks good." I wound up buying a few of the Lego games on sale and it was transformative for him. He wound up putting hundreds of hours into Lego Marvel Super Heroes and the Batman games, which were also great for couch co-op. Then he got Minecraft (again, hundreds of hours building shit), and eventually he got into Cuphead, Super Meat Boy, and Fortnite.

More recently he's gotten curious about some older games and on his own, he downloaded some emulators for PS2 and Gamecube. But the only 16-Bit era stuff he's sought out are the old Sonic games.

 

[Thanati]

It’s really, REALLY quite simple.

Those games didn’t rely on fancy graphics. They were, first and foremost, fun.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Based. I love seeing younger people understand what makes gaming so awesome. I'm 43 and really digging back into retro gaming and having a blast. The 3DS and Wii U are my go-to as of late. It's awesome getting to play so many games natively on those devices.

 

[StereoVsn]

I'm playing on my Odin 2 way more than on my PS5. I was loving FF VII Rebirth, but I havent played it in weeks.

Games today dont respect our time. I have very limited playtime during my day, so something that I can pick up and play for some minutes is the best option.

Ok, let’s not get crazy here. Old JRPGs didn’t respect your time whatsoever (for the most part). Grinding was seen as a natural part of games since devs used that to extend the time to complete.

But overall I agree with the OP and what folks are saying here.

- Retro games are cheap and can run on crap hardware
- Retro games don’t need Internet connections, MTX, daily logins or other crap.
- They haven’t been created to wage a culture war.
- Retro games are generally easier to pick up and play (maybe not Saga games, lol)
- There is something comforting in simpler 3D or 2D graphics. This can be seen in recent success of 2D-3D games from SE and others.

This trend makes me feel better about gaming and future of our hobby with Gen Z.

 

[diffusionx]

Ok, let’s not get crazy here. Old JRPGs didn’t respect your time whatsoever (for the most part). Grinding was seen as a natural part of games since devs used that to extend the time to complete.

A lot of people like grinding. It's been designed out of a lot of games but at the same time, how different is grinding from the progression of roguelites and shit. I'm an old guy but JRPGs have become too stripped down.

Not to mention if you're a kid who likes numbers and min-maxxing and shit, well old CRPGs are made for you, whereas a lot of that has been designed out of newer titles.

 

[Guilty_AI]

- There is something comforting in simpler 3D or 2D graphics.

This is something i always felt but could never quite put my finger around why. I assume simpler graphics are easier to process and leave just enough to the imagination to make it interesting.

 

[StereoVsn]

A lot of people like grinding. It's been designed out of a lot of games but at the same time, how different is grinding from the progression of roguelites and shit. I'm an old guy but JRPGs have become too stripped down.

Not to mention if you're a kid who likes numbers and min-maxxing and shit, well old CRPGs are made for you, whereas a lot of that has been designed out of newer titles.

There true. One thing I miss from a lot of more modern titles is fixed level ranges for zones. Most newer games embrace level scaling, but you miss the feeling of being completely overpowered when you go into earlier zones with monsters even running away in some games.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I assume simpler graphics are easier to process

Spot on.

Modern games that go for realism are filled with assets and props that do nothing and are there just to make places look more alive or realistic or whatever, which in the end leads devs to have to paint the interactive stuff with yellow paint because otherwise the player would never be able to assert which elements are interactive and which are not.

 

[Alebrije]

The reason is retro games are simple, faster to finish, fun....new generations want rewards easy and fast.

 

[jufonuk]

He threw stones at someone elses's house and then came back for drinks as if nothing happened, nothing to do with his crappy game...
Or maybe the ban will be lifted when too human become good

Hehehe yeah I wasn’t a member then and I had to look Into it. But yeah it was a bit

 

[jufonuk]

The reason is retro games are simple, faster to finish, fun....new generations want rewards easy and fast.

NES games were hard as balls

 

[Guilty_AI]

NES games were hard as balls

Not with the power of save states

 

[Danknugz]

Based. I love seeing younger people understand what makes gaming so awesome. I'm 43 and really digging back into retro gaming and having a blast. The 3DS and Wii U are my go-to as of late. It's awesome getting to play so many games natively on those devices.

crazy that you're 43 and consider 3ds and wii u retro. i barely have touched my 3ds and I consider it next gen still

 

[Guilty_AI]

crazy that you're 43 and consider 3ds and wii u retro. i barely have touched my 3ds and I consider it next gen still

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

With those old NES games you press the power button and within like 10 seconds you’re doing something fun. The controls are simple. When you fuck up, you know what you did wrong and immediately get the urge to try again. Your connection to the game feels direct and immediate. You play because the act of playing it feels fun, and it’s satisfying to master.


I think Dreamcast was the last console that felt that way. You played the games because they felt fun and satisfying to play, not because you wanted to experience some “Hollywood blockbuster” story or farm loot or some shit.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Gen Z has also loved TV shows like Friends as well. Stuff from before social media.

In fact, outside of tik tok, i really don't see teens that much on social media tbh.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

crazy that you're 43 and consider 3ds and wii u retro. i barely have touched my 3ds and I consider it next gen still

I'm playing native GBA games on the 3DS and native GCN games on the Wii U, btw. Those are definitely now retro.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

They're embracing it because
A) older games are often much better than what we get today.
B) They're not woke


Why do I favor remasters/remakes so much? Simple. Playing those older games with a fresh coat of paint and achievements/trophies is often more fun than the crap we get today.