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Nostalgia Is the Best Weapon in the Game Industry

Nostalgia Is the Best Weapon in the Game Industry

I think the recent trailers for both Jurassic World and Star Wars Episode 7 have proven something we tend to lose sight of from time to time: never underestimate the value of nostalgia.

In gaming culture, we’re usually focused on the “new.” New consoles. New releases. New mechanics. New story lines. It’s rare that we look back, and when we do it’s usually with the demand of some new twist or spin being placed on old game mechanics. So, it’s interesting to look at these new trailers and see just how heavily they’re leaning on people’s nostalgia for those properties. I’m not sure how something along the same lines would fly in the world of video games.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize that a company like Nintendo, for example, capitalizes on nostalgia, but they do so while moving each of their franchises delicately forward. What I’m talking about is something closer to what Ron Gilbert is doing with his adventure game kickstarter, or Wasteland 2 even–another kickstarter success. I’m talking about games specifically designed to play off of our nostalgic feelings for older, similar games.The benefit of nostalgia is that sometimes it’s ok to mentally go back to those places of our youth. Reliving those experiences, or similar ones at least, remind us of why we love a medium. So keep that in mind as we all collectively chase after the new… sometimes it’s ok to look back once in a while.

Nostalgia Is the Best Weapon in the Game Industry

The benefit of nostalgia is that sometimes it’s ok to mentally go back to those places of our youth. Reliving those experiences, or similar ones at least, remind us of why we love a medium. So keep that in mind as we all collectively chase after the new… sometimes it’s ok to look back once in a while.

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