Naked Snake
Member
I have been wanting to ask this question for a while...
With HD collections of classic PS2 games being released and announced left and right (God of War, Sly, ICO & Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid, Zone of the Enders, Silent Hill, etc.), I'm starting to feel that my PS2 game collection is suddenly becoming next to worthless.
Don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of improving older games. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and often find myself enjoying old games more than new ones, and I always cheer whenever a remake of a beloved classic is announced. And I am thankful for these HD collections. But they are a different beast from proper remakes. Here's why:
When an old game is remade (e.g. Resident Evil REmake, Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Metroid Zero Mission, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Final Fantasy III + IV DS), the remake often differs substantially from the original to stand as a subjectively different experience. So it does not automatically, and necessarily, make the original version obsolete. Differences in art style, gameplay mechanics, difficulty, and numerous other aspects mean that the original game remains a valid, unique, and valuable version for many reasons: personal preferences, historical preservation, and sometimes can even be an objectively better game than a badly produced remake. So for a fan of game X, both the original and the remake can peacefully co-exist side by side in his or her library and each offer something unique and perhaps complement each other.
Enter the "HD re-releases" that we are seeing more and more these days: These are not remakes, and none of the points raised in the paragraph above apply to them. An HD release of a previous-generation game has the exact same art, gameplay, difficulty, etc. but now it's rendered in higher resolution, runs at a smoother framerate, and has faster load times. So virtually the same game only now it's objectively better. There is no room for preferring the older version for any reason (you might prefer the packaging of the original, but packaging is not the game, and that will soon become irrelevant when everything goes DD).
So when a game is re-released in HD, it instantly makes the SD version pretty much worthless in my eyes. It's like DVD vs. Blu-ray; when I buy a movie on Blu-ray, I have no reason to keep my old DVD copy (unless the DVD has worthwhile special features that were not included in the BD, which is rare), because it's exactly the same movie, but now it is objectively and substantially better, making the DVD inferior in every way, and not worthy of my time or real estate on my shelf. Not to mention re-sale value is obliterated.
That's all I wanted to say on the subject. I'm NOT discouraging the release of these HD collections, on the contrary I welcome them. But I feel that they suddenly make the copies I already own far less valuable. And that's a bit sad.
Edit: Read this post for important clarification.
With HD collections of classic PS2 games being released and announced left and right (God of War, Sly, ICO & Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid, Zone of the Enders, Silent Hill, etc.), I'm starting to feel that my PS2 game collection is suddenly becoming next to worthless.
Don't get me wrong, I have always been a fan of improving older games. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and often find myself enjoying old games more than new ones, and I always cheer whenever a remake of a beloved classic is announced. And I am thankful for these HD collections. But they are a different beast from proper remakes. Here's why:
When an old game is remade (e.g. Resident Evil REmake, Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, Metroid Zero Mission, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Final Fantasy III + IV DS), the remake often differs substantially from the original to stand as a subjectively different experience. So it does not automatically, and necessarily, make the original version obsolete. Differences in art style, gameplay mechanics, difficulty, and numerous other aspects mean that the original game remains a valid, unique, and valuable version for many reasons: personal preferences, historical preservation, and sometimes can even be an objectively better game than a badly produced remake. So for a fan of game X, both the original and the remake can peacefully co-exist side by side in his or her library and each offer something unique and perhaps complement each other.
Enter the "HD re-releases" that we are seeing more and more these days: These are not remakes, and none of the points raised in the paragraph above apply to them. An HD release of a previous-generation game has the exact same art, gameplay, difficulty, etc. but now it's rendered in higher resolution, runs at a smoother framerate, and has faster load times. So virtually the same game only now it's objectively better. There is no room for preferring the older version for any reason (you might prefer the packaging of the original, but packaging is not the game, and that will soon become irrelevant when everything goes DD).
So when a game is re-released in HD, it instantly makes the SD version pretty much worthless in my eyes. It's like DVD vs. Blu-ray; when I buy a movie on Blu-ray, I have no reason to keep my old DVD copy (unless the DVD has worthwhile special features that were not included in the BD, which is rare), because it's exactly the same movie, but now it is objectively and substantially better, making the DVD inferior in every way, and not worthy of my time or real estate on my shelf. Not to mention re-sale value is obliterated.
That's all I wanted to say on the subject. I'm NOT discouraging the release of these HD collections, on the contrary I welcome them. But I feel that they suddenly make the copies I already own far less valuable. And that's a bit sad.
Edit: Read this post for important clarification.
