[News Excerpt] The Rise of Retro Games and the 'Cost' of Nostalgia

The following translated excerpts are from an interview I gave with Esko Kykkänen, a journalist from Finnish newsletter, Aamulehti. I obtained permission from Esko and the editor to translate select excerpts from the story. Find the full story here.

Retro is popular

Retro gaming is now popular, confirms doctoral researcher Richy Srirachanikorn from Concordia University in Montreal. Srirachanikorn, who is conducting research at the University of Tampere, studies nostalgia, its relationship to the future, and video games and nostalgia.

According to Srirachanikorn, the popularity of retro games, like other old things, is partly based on the fact that they offer a kind of security in turbulent times.

"When the news reports something unprecedented, we resort to nostalgia."

Nostalgia offers something familiar and safe, and retro games bring generations together.

“According to psychologists, even those who have never played games can feel nostalgia when they see a replica of, say, a Mario game or an Atari console. They may realize that ‘hey, my son or neighbour used to play that,’ and thus feel a sense of belonging to a cultural timeline.”

Sales potential

From the perspective of gaming companies, old games are easy to resell. Srirachanikorn gives the example of the vinyl record market in North America, where the largest buyers of records are members of Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012. Many of them want a record even though they don't own a record player, because the object may remind them of their parents, for example.

Game companies have previously advertised their new products using the latest technology, for example. As the technical differences between new and old products become less significant, marketing has shifted to emphasizing game series or company history.

According to Srirachanikorn, old games can be recycled for new generations who have never seen the original versions, as the games have different meanings for them, just like vinyl records.

Ways of nostalgia

So what defines retro? Srirachanikorn notes that some people will always remember new devices and technologies.

"Whenever you keep an object, it is possible that it will become retro."

An old phone dug out of a desk drawer can evoke feelings through the connection experienced with it. Srirachanikorn explains that nostalgia researcher Katharina Niemeyer calls this digital nostalgia.

“It doesn’t just mean longing for the device or model, but also for the human relationships associated with it.”

He points out that there are new ways to engage with old games. In Tampere, for example, the Lategame café and Noob bar are places where you can play old games while eating or drinking. According to Srirachanikorn, people long for community, not just objects. Digital nostalgia.

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Find the full story here.