Exploring the Disconnect: Understanding Why Modern Gamers Overlook Vintage Video Game Titles

Quick Links

• Poor Platform Availability
• Old Games Can’t Compete With Modern Technology
• Kids Are Constantly Exposed to New Games
• A Lack of Multiplayer
• Older Games Are to Blame, Too

Key Takeaways

• Kids can’t play some older games because they’re not readily available on modern hardware.
• Outdated graphics aren’t necessarily the main reason kids don’t play old games; poor mechanics, controls, and lack of multiplayer are more significant factors.
• Children are constantly exposed to new, viral games that shape their gaming preferences, making it challenging to introduce them to classics.

I grew up in the early 2000s playing games like Call of Duty 2 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, but I also played older games like Altered Beast, Doom, and Prince of Persia. To my surprise, my younger brothers (aged 10 and 13) hadn’t even heard of these games, so I asked them why.

Poor Platform Availability

Unfortunately, many old video games are simply not available. While you can technically still purchase thousands of old games, just as many have been delisted or replaced by remastered versions. This is what happened with Warcraft 3 and the original 3D GTA trilogy. Licensing issues can also lead to games getting delisted or altered, resulting in a diminished experience compared to the original.

There’s another, more technical reason why you can’t run old games on new hardware. The PlayStation 5 isn’t backward compatible with consoles older than the PlayStation 4. Outside of some remastered or adapted classics, you can’t (natively) play older games on a PS5. The same is true for Nintendo games on the Switch, and Sega doesn’t even make consoles anymore. Windows PCs are best in terms of backward compatibility, but there’s still a host of random issues like weird aspect ratios, graphical glitches, and compatibility problems.

The best way to experience old games is on original hardware, but kids aren’t exactly standing in line to buy consoles that are older than their parents. My brothers’ oldest console was the PlayStation 3, so they didn’t play games much older than FIFA 16, Uncharted 3, and Gran Turismo 5. Video game emulators are a valid option, and I’ve played emulated games as a kid, but that’s only because my dad set it up for me.

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My younger brothers don’t even know what an emulator is, or why they’d have to use one instead of downloading a game from a store, and that’s a fair point. Regardless of how easy it is to emulate games now, it’s still an extra step over just downloading and playing a game from Steam. Emulators also raise legal and ethical considerations .

Old Games Can’t Compete With Modern Technology

I initially thought that outdated graphics were the biggest reason today’s kids don’t like old games. While graphics are a factor, they’re not the main one. Kids don’t care about ray tracing the same way adults do. My 10-year-old brother said he doesn’t mind the pixelated graphics in old games at all; in fact, he loves simple graphics and prefers games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox over the semi-realistic graphics found in games like Forza Horizon 5.

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My other brother, who is 13, said that while he doesn’t like outdated graphics, the poor physics and game mechanics are the worst parts of old video games. I had him try Burnout Paradise Remastered, and he hates how clunky the cars feel. He couldn’t get the hang of how to smash opponents’ cars and where to find the new cars he had just unlocked. He also said that he couldn’t find his way around the interface.

Admittedly, while Burnout Paradise is a fun game, its interface might be the most unintuitive one I’ve ever seen. I played the original when I was around his age, and I couldn’t figure out how to change the resolution and graphics settings until my older cousin showed me how.

Another technical issue that you might face when playing old games on a new platform is poor controller support . It’s a common technical issue, as some old games don’t recognize modern controllers and have no way to rebind the buttons.

Others, like 1992’s Alone In The Dark, use weird control layouts that don’t hold up today and can be difficult for young kids to grasp. Remember, some classic boomer shooters like Wolfenstein 3D were originally designed to be played without a mouse, so you had to move, aim, and shoot with just the keyboard. It’s not that kids can’t adapt to this control scheme, but it definitely makes these games even more unapproachable and unappealing.

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Kids Are Constantly Exposed to New Games

Convincing young gamers to try old games is difficult enough on its own, but it’s even harder given the endless stream of new games. Kids play a lot of mobile games (often on their own personal devices ), and free games are filled with ads for other games, which creates a self-perpetuating cycle.

Kids are far more influenced by virality and peer pressure than adults. When they see their favorite YouTubers and friends playing Among Us, Fall Guys, and, most recently, Chained Together, it’s even harder to convince them to try a stale old game that nobody ever talks about.

I have to acknowledge that kids don’t exclusively play viral games. My brothers can’t get enough of soccer and similar sports games, and they spend countless hours in FIFA, Rocket League, and NBA 2K. If your siblings or kids love a particular game genre, try introducing them to some classic games from your childhood within that genre. For instance, I could show them PES 4 and PES 6, soccer games I played as a kid.

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A Lack of Multiplayer

Have you noticed that the vast majority of games that kids play are either multiplayer or have online social elements? Multiplayer games are a big draw for kids because they offer a chance to hang out with friends, make new ones, and work together toward a common goal. I didn’t have an internet connection until 2008, so I spent my early childhood exclusively playing single-player games.

Playing games on your own is a fun, tailored, and immersive experience, but my brother finds them lonely and monotonous so he rarely plays them for more than an hour at a time. The moment his friends call him to play something together, he’s done with whatever adventure game he was chipping away at. To be honest, I often do the same, as I don’t always have the time and patience that story-driven single-player games demand.

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Older Games Are to Blame, Too

Old games don’t randomly surge in popularity, and with so many newer games available, kids are unlikely to pick up something from the 90s. If we want younger gamers to be familiar with culturally significant games that we grew up with, it’s on us to introduce them. Other than exposing my brothers to Burnout Paradise recently, I admit that I haven’t done my part, but I plan to change that.

I’ll create a list of my favorite childhood games and invite my brothers to play them with me. I’ll explain what makes each game unique and why they hold a special place in my heart. It’ll be a fun nostalgia trip for me and an interesting gaming experience for them.

I’ll have to temper my expectations, though. My younger brothers don’t see these games through the same rose-tinted glasses like I do, and they don’t have an emotional attachment to older games. If you’ve ever tried to play an old game that others love for the first time, you know what I’m talking about. I never played Zelda games as a kid, so when I tried them as a teenager, I didn’t like them at all.

At least I can appreciate these old games, and I can still see their appeal. Who knows, maybe my brothers will end up loving these old games as much as I do. At the very least, we’ll have a great bonding time together!

Looking for a great way to play games on original hardware? Why not build a MiSTer and virtualize hardware using an FPGA .

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