Some of the video game companies are trying to cash in on the nostalgia older players feel toward the games of the past. Is this a good marketing idea or the companies being lazy?
At the same time this method doesn’t allow companies to take a chance on the next great intellectual property. If Nintendo didn’t take a chance, we might not have the Mario Brothers or the Legend of Zelda. This could also bump games that could be the next great game because companies aren’t trying to find that game. The way the economy is now, companies can’t afford to take the crazy risk. One bad move could kill the whole company.
History. Does it sell in the video game industry? It would appear that if you combine history with memory, then yes, history does sell. Take the games that Nintendo released on the NES originally and then brought them back on the Game Boy. Is that great marketing or cashing in on something already proven? It could be a little of both, if you ask me. Mario All Stars has been brought back a couple of times, once for SNES and then recently for Wii. I don’t mind the game being released again but I do have a problem with the game being the same for both systems. The only difference was the Wii version had a soundtrack CD to go along with it.
I’m a sucker for video game music and grabbed that copy of Mario All Stars for Wii, even though I already had the game for SNES. Am I a sucker for buying the same game twice or does Nintendo know how to get people to buy the same game multiple times? This time I would have to say Nintendo knows how to get people to buy the same product only with minor changes. Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda fall into this group as well. The Zelda franchise has brought Ocarina of Time to the masses a few times and the Pokemon games get released again on the handheld system/better hardware out at the time, such as Heart Gold and Soul Silver. The fans pester Nintendo for these remakes sometimes and who is Nintendo to not give the people what they want?
To conclude, Video game companies try to cash in on the nostalgia factor of classic games and older players. It allows fans to recapture their youth and at the same time, relive great video games as well. It also allows new generations of players to witness a game for potentially, the first time. However it pushes the companies away from taking the plunge into the unknown and they could miss the next up and coming franchise. The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker will be brought back on the Wii U in HD, thus updated graphics is the soundtrack Mario All Stars had. Is it the fact that it’s a Zelda game enough to hide the fact that it’s a re-release? Only time will tell?
