Videogames=Music CDs? When?

While in the car earlier this evening, I was wondering if videogames will ever become popular and commonplace enough that their availability would rival music or movies?

Currently, one can walk into a music or department store and find recent and classic music and movies very easily. For instance, I hear how great the Beatles' various records are, so I decide to go pick some up--easy. And just like that, an entirely new area of popular music and personal enjoyment is opened to me.

But I'm curious, will we ever see the day when one can do nearly the same thing with video games? It'll always be easy to find the most recent releases, but classics can be very hard to come by right now, let alone twenty years from now.

In the future, I just think it would be great to be able to walk into a store and pick up games from the past that I missed. Plus, think about, brace yourself now, our kids and/ or grandchildren--should they have the interest to experience the "early days" of videogames, will that ever even be a realistic option for them?

I think it will happen someday, but it's going to be a while. We're getting closer, but I think the biggest obstacle to overcome right now is hardware. I don't think anything like this would happen until there was ONE piece of hardware on the market, thus dumbing things down enough to satisfy a truly mass market.

I'd love to expand on this because there are so many different ways to approach it, but I really don't feel like writing a book this evening.

What do you all think?

PC/Xbox + teh romz + teh emulatorz = "ONE piece of hardware on the market, thus dumbing things down enough to satisfy a truly mass market"

like it or not, it's the best and easiest way to preserve the classics (which is the only real reason roms should be around anyway--not so you can play a game that just came out yesterday...)

That's true. Probably the only way it'll ever happen.

Very interesting topic, but I'm afraid that the availibility of classic videogames won't be equal to classic records for a reason you mentioned: too many different formats. You can walk into the Virgin Megastore and get stuff from any time period because they all play on the same format: either a CD player or a record player. But videogames..? If you're gonna have 2600 games in stock right next to the Xbox, you have to have the hardware in stock as well, and that takes up precious inventory space. It wouldnt be good for business to carry "Pitfall" and then tell the consumer that he can find the console on eBay, where he/she could get the software as well. Imagine keeping the hardware in stock for every system ever made....

The only comparison I see between gaming and music is the availibility of classic titles and VINYL. You'll be hard pressed to find the older titles of both formats in mainstream stores, even though they both have hardcore followings.

Companies port old tunes from vinyl to CD often enough, and you do see 'classics' packages for some of the recent machines.

I believe it will happen, I do still think it will be frustrating as the games you really hanker after will inevitably be the ones that get passed over.

BlackSpy said:

Companies port old tunes from vinyl to CD often enough, and you do see 'classics' packages for some of the recent machines.

I believe it will happen, I do still think it will be frustrating as the games you really hanker after will inevitably be the ones that get passed over.

Click to expand...

True about the porting of the old to new. However, in say 20 years, the Williams Arcade Collection for the PS2 probablly wont be on storeshelves when the PS4 or 5 is around. In addition, some folks, ie the vinyl and cartridge collectors, want the nostalgic feel of non-CD/DVD media.

ProfessorFrink said:

wondering if videogames will ever become popular and commonplace enough that their availability would rival music or movies?

Click to expand...

The videogame industry already surpasses the movie industry in revenue gained per year.

Re: Re: Videogames=Music CDs? When?

CurtWRX said:

The videogame industry already surpasses the movie industry in revenue gained per year.

Click to expand...

Revenue is not the way to measure cultural impact.

$50 x 100,000 = 5 mil

$8.50 x 588,236 = 5 mil

For every game that sells 100,000 copies, more than half a million people have to see the movie in the box office for the numbers to match up. (This isnt taking into consideration DVD sales in movies, or hardware sales in games)

Games have been a bigger money maker than movies for quite a few years now.

Re: Re: Re: Videogames=Music CDs? When?

BlackSpy said:

Revenue is not the way to measure cultural impact.

Click to expand...

Yup, a movie ticket costs 6 to 8 dollars.
A game costs 30-60 new. Even to rent one is almost 10 dollars.

Not to mention the used game market (they dont depreciate in value very much, except for ultra common games and sports games)

All I know is that I'd kill for a CD soundtrack to the Ninja Gaiden games, and a few others from the past. I'm definately going to be purchasing that METAL SLUG 5 Ost, that's for "head bangin' damn sure!"

MERCENARY X99

Thinking about this a little further I was considering what the answer to this question means for collecting and Neo Geo in a no new games world.

There is a huge global market for antiquarian books (I've taken a day off work this month just to attend an auciton of old books) and it seems to me that (some) games could fall into that space in time. I think constant 'reprinting' or porting of games will make that all the more likely. As the second, third, fourth editions continue to show what is great so the original will become more desireable. People will always buy new books, but there will also be an abiding interest in the classics, titles everyone can recognise even if quite what they are about escapes them. Some people will seek them out in whatever format to enjoy the content and some will try to secure the original version. In short, I reckon that in a hundred years time I'll still be able to have a conversation about Slug 3 and still be able to buy it.