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Would you buy old 8-128 bit era games for 20-40 dollars each if they were presented as a Criterion Collection preservation project?

I've seen remakes, remasters, up conversions and so forth. However, I always feel like they never satisfied the itch of a true preservation project. I would like to see something like this for games kept in their original aspect ratio with historical contexts.

Advertising of the time including tv commercials, magazine advertisements and reviews
The original instruction manual from different regions to show the artwork.
Strategy guides of the era which show extra artwork and how to beat the games
The original packaging such as scans of the box and cartridge
Interviews from the people at the time or even now
The game itself and how it was developed along with how they pushed technology, explanation of mappers or additional hardware.

I always loved the Criterion collection for movies as they preserve film and explain so much. But I always wondered why video games never got such treatment? It would be a boon for archivist and people that would love to delve into the history of gaming.
 
Yes because I'm a sucker.
I'm not talking about those bare bones collections or compilations. I'm talking about a full reveal of the game. Everything that has come with it. If it was Street Fighter 2 alone, I would buy that at 40 if it provided me access to all the commercials, reviews, strategy guide artworks, box arts for all the different variants and so forth.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
I sometimes pay up to 40€ for NES-to-GCN games as it stands, so obviously yes.
 

brap

Banned
Only if it included every available version of the game on every system including regional variants and all public and private demos. This would also include beta versions of the game if available.
This sounds cool.

I always loved the Criterion collection for movies as they preserve film and explain so much. But I always wondered why video games never got such treatment?
I mean there's not really much to preserve. A rom is a rom.
 
This sounds cool.


I mean there's not really much to preserve. A rom is a rom.
The rom is a rom, but the presentation of that rom helps understand what the game is. Just because a rom is put on an emulator doesn't mean its preserved properly. There's frame lag, display issues, improper sound emulation, intentions of how the graphics are to be interpreted.

There's a lot to consider.
 

brap

Banned
The rom is a rom, but the presentation of that rom helps understand what the game is. Just because a rom is put on an emulator doesn't mean its preserved properly. There's frame lag, display issues, improper sound emulation, intentions of how the graphics are to be interpreted.

There's a lot to consider.
True.
 

TexMex

Member
I'm not talking about those bare bones collections or compilations. I'm talking about a full reveal of the game. Everything that has come with it. If it was Street Fighter 2 alone, I would buy that at 40 if it provided me access to all the commercials, reviews, strategy guide artworks, box arts for all the different variants and so forth.

Yes I read your original post.

I wasn't being sarcastic. No matter how many times they re-release the classics I find myself buying them over and over no matter what they do or don't do to them. Even to use your example - Street Fighter 2 with box art and TV spots is still a sucker's purchase at $40. A rom and some goodies that are readily available all over the internet at an instant is not a $40 product. And that's ok - I'm buying it right there with you. But it's still a sucker's purchase.
 

ROMhack

Member
Yeah I would and you do raise a good point. I argued some years back for a website I wrote for that we don't get enough interviews/director's commentary in games. It's always seemed really weird as I'm convinced it would add a lot to the industry in terms of making it a more mature medium and also appeal to people who do actually like games.
 
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JSoup

Banned
Each? If it's just the game as it was, not a remake/remaster/something new, no.
As a compilation or a sub for a Virtual Console service that doesn't suck? Yes.
 
Each? If it's just the game as it was, not a remake/remaster/something new, no.
As a compilation or a sub for a Virtual Console service that doesn't suck? Yes.
This thinking is the reason sega keeps shitting out the genesis compilations instead of something definitive.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
What i want is the valve dev comments thing to come back.
Such a damn shame almost no games did this.

Duke nukem 3d was so cool because of this.
 
I've seen remakes, remasters, up conversions and so forth. However, I always feel like they never satisfied the itch of a true preservation project. I would like to see something like this for games kept in their original aspect ratio with historical contexts.

Advertising of the time including tv commercials, magazine advertisements and reviews
The original instruction manual from different regions to show the artwork.
Strategy guides of the era which show extra artwork and how to beat the games
The original packaging such as scans of the box and cartridge
Interviews from the people at the time or even now
The game itself and how it was developed along with how they pushed technology, explanation of mappers or additional hardware.

I always loved the Criterion collection for movies as they preserve film and explain so much. But I always wondered why video games never got such treatment? It would be a boon for archivist and people that would love to delve into the history of gaming.

I would be down for this. As much as remasters and remakes are cool...having the original game is really it's own beast, something I'd be willing to get again. A big reason why I love retro gaming is to experience the games in their original form on the original system/equipment. Something like what's mentioned in the OP, the adverts, original packing, interviews, how the games were developed, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

It's a reason I'm drawn to beta versions of games and sites like Unseen64, which provide such looks into the development/history of games when possible. In general there should be video game museums with this sort of material
 
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Lupin3

Targeting terrorists with a D-Pad
No. Too expensive. Plus I pretend to be done with collecting stuff. I will never ever probably maybe not buy something like that again. Perhaps.
 
Yes, especially for the hidden gems and games that never got their time to shine originally but are otherwise generally held in high regard.

I would be down for this. As much as remasters and remakes are cool...having the original game is really it's own beast, something I'd be willing to get again. A big reason why I love retro gaming is to experience the games in their original form on the original system/equipment. Something like what's mentioned in the OP, the adverts, original packing, interviews, how the games were developed, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

It's a reason I'm drawn to beta versions of games and sites like Unseen64, which provide such looks into the development/history of games when possible. In general there should be video game museums with this sort of material

Technically the Smithsonian kinda started something with putting a Virtua Fighter cabinet in its collection, but I don't know if they've added any other games to it since. Or if any other museum's been doing similar, honestly.

It's a good idea though, and would like to see it become more popular in time.
 
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Nero_PR

Banned
No. Too expensive. Plus I pretend to be done with collecting stuff. I will never ever probably maybe not buy something like that again. Perhaps.
Yeah, I like the concept and all, but the more I think rationally, the more it seems unnecessary. Not that I would never buy it, but it is a little over the top. The problem is not money or space. Maybe it's I, lately my head has been filled with more eminent problems.
 
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Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
I'm not talking about those bare bones collections or compilations. I'm talking about a full reveal of the game. Everything that has come with it. If it was Street Fighter 2 alone, I would buy that at 40 if it provided me access to all the commercials, reviews, strategy guide artworks, box arts for all the different variants and so forth.
Depend. Is are. Games like Pocky & Rocky I do it 😛
 

johntown

Banned
No way, personally it is too much money and like others have said we have ROMS available. I am not against those that want to support it. I just would not pay money for something I can get for free even if it adds a few extra things (those extras don't do anything for me so that factors into this as well).
 

Shifty

Member
Myself I'd like to see these fabled 64-bit / 128-bit games before going in on such a thing.
 
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Yes, especially for the hidden gems and games that never got their time to shine originally but are otherwise generally held in high regard.



Technically the Smithsonian kinda started something with putting a Virtua Fighter cabinet in its collection, but I don't know if they've added any other games to it since. Or if any other museum's been doing similar, honestly.

It's a good idea though, and would like to see it become more popular in time.

One of my favorite things about NintendoWorld/NY is that it's like a Nintendo video game museum! Never gets old looking at all the machines they produced including deep cuts like the Virtual Boy. In general if anyone makes/made a dedicated video game museum, I'd pay money to visit it and take a look inside and stuff, provided it's well maintained and is dedicated to the love of video gaming
 
One of my favorite things about NintendoWorld/NY is that it's like a Nintendo video game museum! Never gets old looking at all the machines they produced including deep cuts like the Virtual Boy. In general if anyone makes/made a dedicated video game museum, I'd pay money to visit it and take a look inside and stuff, provided it's well maintained and is dedicated to the love of video gaming

My first time hearing about NintendoWorld, so I'll have to check it out. But it's very cool to hear at least one gaming company's taken that type of step for their own past works. I know many others have vaults with locked-away assets, prototypes, hardware etc. but they probably treat it more like a warehouse than a museum.
 
My first time hearing about NintendoWorld, so I'll have to check it out. But it's very cool to hear at least one gaming company's taken that type of step for their own past works. I know many others have vaults with locked-away assets, prototypes, hardware etc. but they probably treat it more like a warehouse than a museum.

What a shame. Reminds me of when Nintendo closed down/destroyed the original building where various classic games were made at, and fans were upset/furious at that. Many argued it should've been kept as a museum or historic building, but those calls were unfortunately ignored.
 

Pejo

Member
Neat idea, but that's a lot of money for old games I've already bought up to 5-6 times by now. I prefer emulation for ease of access and consolidation.

Still, I'm a sucker for some of my old favorites, so I'd likely do a Criterion Collection type release of like FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Blood Omen, etc. It would be a very case-by-case basis.
 

Thaedolus

Member
The right games? Yes. I think I paid $50 for a Chrono Trigger cart a few years back? I really value playing games on the systems they were made for on the displays they were made for, but if someone can do that all justice in a more modern way where I don’t keep 30 year old hardware hooked up, I’m very open to that
 

Cybrwzrd

Banned
There are very few games I'd do it for, notably pretty much any Working Designs title ever. I'd easily pay 60 each for a modern port of the Sega CD and PSX version of the Lunar Series.
 
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