I've been looking at chasing new releases more and more as a futile money pit over the last few years. I have enough quality retro games to last me for the rest of my life, and I'd much rather play those than continue throwing cash at whatever is new and hot now.
I have thousands of games in my retro library— more than I will ever realistically have time to properly enjoy in my remaining time on this rock. One of the benefits of beginning to collect games before prices skyrocketed was that it was fairly inexpensive to build a formidable library. I’ve been at it now for 7 years.
I am ready for the transition. Funny enough, it’s been the (re-) release of older games, like the Arcade Archives series, that’s made my PS4 and Switch worth owning. Playing Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Life Force, and Mat Mania just like I did back in the 80s has been pretty freaking awesome. Sure, I could’ve just emulated, but buying these just felt right.
I just prefer the older stuff. Some people are more patient when it comes to waiting for huge installs or patches, or more understanding of DLC and microtransactions. They prefer unfocused, open-world sandboxes to play in. They want to play online, with friends, in co-op or in competitive mode.
Modern console video gaming is for these people. Not me.
I play alone. I want to pop in a cartridge or disc and start playing within a minute or two. I prefer focused, linear games that keep me moving to my main objective. I like cheat codes and unlockable bonuses, as opposed to paying additional fees for all of these. I miss the days when game developers and publishers stayed focused on the game at hand when talking about it instead of revealing more paid content months before release that won’t be included in the purchase price.
By going full retro, I can return to the times I enjoyed the most, instead of being increasingly more frustrated by the direction that things are going in. I have to stop fighting the current and jump out of the water.