The Ultimate Retro Console Collectors’ Guide
Despite the interactive entertainment industry’s manic obsession with relentless technological progress, improved audio visual capability and cutting-edge artificial intelligence, the enduring popularity of vintage software proves that good old-fashioned gameplay remains the biggest draw for most players. All three current console manufacturers offer the ability to digitally download past classics to their systems, and on the PC, retro enthusiasts are ably served by the likes of Steam and GOG. Clearly, all the deferred rendering, anisotropic filtering and bump mapping in the world can’t change the fact that good games never die, they just mature. While it’s unquestionably a positive thing that modern-day players have access to such a wide range of retro titles through current-generation hardware, there’s a definite buzz to playing on the original systems. The unmistakable feel of the authentic joypad, the sound of a cartridge clicking home and the strangely addictive pleasure of sourcing games in their original packaging – all of these elements drive a retro gaming industry which is worth millions worldwide, and shows no signs of flagging. Many collectors do it for the love of the systems; they might have owned a particular console when they were younger, and now that they possess a large disposable income wish to revisit their misspent youth and attempt to replicate the thrill they got when they saw Street Fighter II running for the first time on a Super Nintendo. Younger collectors don’t have that nostalgic link, yet the high esteem in which some of these ground-breaking machines are held means that even those who weren’t even born during the original release period still crave a piece of history. Read more…
