The Power Review

The Effect of Next-Gen Re-Releases on the Gaming Industry

Because of the issue of backwards compatibility only being available in select PS3 SKU’s and it being limited among select X-Box games on the 360, a new phenomenon has started to arrive on the scene:  Next-Gen Re-Releases.  This has been something that has been present for a while in the form of Downloadable Content (DLC), some of the more recent and bigger names of the titles span from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 which received a graphics update as well as online compatibility, all the way to the recent release of TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled.

The market is obviously there for these past titles to be re-released and consumers are demanding them.  But more recently Sony’s Santa Monica offices are trying a new approach by releasing the God of War collection on a Blu-ray disk for the PS3.  This package will include the original two titles in the series completely remastered from their PS2 states to run in native 720p HD graphics at 60 frames per second.  Not only this, but unlike other classic games that are just offered through the various online marketplaces: PSN, XBLA, and Wii-ware, this God of War bundle will come with full trophy support, adding a new twist to two classic games.  But really, the icing on the cake is that despite all of this work in remastering and adding new code to existing games, the release price for this bundle will only be 2/3 of what a standard new game retails at.  $40 for next-gen updates to classic titles may just be the sweet spot.

But, why would a company spend all of this time and effort on games that have been out for years?  Well, the developers surveyed the fans (Source) and simply asked them what they wanted done.  This comes at a great time, because it will lead hype and anticipation for the March 2010 release of the sequel God of War III on the Playstation 3.  Obviously it pays to listen to your fans, because as of now, a month and a half before the release of this new collection, it is in the Top 5 sales of all PS3 games on Amazon.com.  (Source)

Now the question really is, knowing all of this, what effect will this have on the industry?  If developers are focusing all of their resources on remastering classic games, then there will never be any forward progress made in the way of new IPs.  There has to be a balance, and I do think that God of War has struck that balance.  The way they are handling this timeline, they are allowing 4-5 months of play on the release of their classics collection in order to build the anticipation for the release of the next iteration in the series.  In this you have the best of both worlds.

People that never got the chance to experience the original games (because they lived under a rock on in inner Siberia) will be able to play them in their remastered HD glory, but even more important, fans of the series will be able to wet their appetite on 720p Kratos months earlier than they expected to.  This God of War collection really is an experiment as to how well the public will receive remastered games in disk form rather than just as Downloadable titles.  Depending on the success of this title, we could potentially see lots more “collections” rolling out.  Possibly a remastered Team ICO collection (ICO and Shadow of the Colossus)?  It’s important to keep in mind that one of the most highly demanded titles is a remastered version of Final Fantasy VII.

In the end, the best part about this scenario is that everyone benefits from it.  As long as developers don’t become complacent by ONLY remastering their classic titles, then gamers, developers, and the entire industry will all reap the rewards from seeing the most demanded games resurface in this generation.

Please leave questions or comments at the end!