Should the games industry bemoving backwards to go forwards?

Ok, so this doesn't apply to everything in the games industry, there are two things this past month which are clear indications of moving forwards through technology and innovation:

The Wii - Nintendo's innovative stride into console gaming. Redefining the handheld console with the DS, now can it take over the console market by aiming for the mainstream audience? That is something for another topic.

Gears of War - Next generation gaming is here, finally, after Dead Rising teased us of what the Xbox 360 really can do, Gears of War has matched its hype and given us a reason to wipe our tears over the lack of a Playstation 3 in the UK this year (though it didn't get any tears from me!)

What am I more concerned with is the new love with everything retro. Is this the way to move the games industry forward? I'd like to think yes, and i'll explain more of why I think that after i've first explained why I feel there is this love for the retro games. I'm not quite sure exactly where it all started, but for me, the compilation Midway Arcade Treasures is a good place to start. Released on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube, Midway put a collection of its classics from its back catalogue onto one disc, put in some nice extras on the disc such as interviews and instructions manuals, and put it in the shops at a discounted price. It was a sucess. Two further Midway compilations have followed since. And now we have Sonic Mega Collection, Capcom Classics, Taito Legends and numerous other compilations. Personally, I find them a great way to play these classics without having to fork out hundrerds of pounds on the old consoles and equipment required to play them. Developers realised the popularity of the retro market, and popularity=sales=more compilations.

One thing I feel has moved the retro gaming scene forward like no other; Xbox Live Arcade. Now we have the opportunity to pick and choose which classic arcade games we wish to download, and for a price, we can add them to our hard drive to play ad nauseum. Not only can we play classics such as Gauntlet and Streetfighter 2 on our home consoles, but developers have been kind enough to bless them with features such as online play. The retro scene is more than just taking advantages of companies back catalogues.

It provides the opportunity for independent developers to release games on Xbox Live Arcade. Often they will use game mechanics common in our favourite retro games (e.g. Shoot-em-up, Puzzle, 2-d Games) and be able to develop cheaply, while still being able to profit and provide to a wide audience. This is almost like gaming going back to its roots, the independent scene has struggled for a while.

Since, Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo announced its Virtual Console for its Wii, and Sony announced a simlar system for its PS3 and PSP. For the first time in its history, the whole of the games industry now has a means with which to provide consumers with 100% legal back catalogue of games. This is the reason I feel we are moving forward in the industry, by going backwards to explore its history, and making this available for all.

For years, my main gripe with the industry compared with the Music and Film industry is too concerned with the 'now' and the 'future', and not the past. Walk into HMV or Virgin and you can find brand news CD's of albums relased twenty years ago. Similarly, you can find remastered DVD's of films released almost every decade of the 1900s. However, you would stuggle to find any brand new video games before the PS2 era, maybe a few PS1 games in Game if you were lucky. Now we have the opportunity to download games online through our consoles, it is getting to the stage were we will actually be able to get hold of that classic game from a lost childhood memory. I think the games industry needs this in order to be able to compare it to its cousin industries, and in a few years once the systems of Xbox Live Arcade et al have truly developed, we can finally achieve a gaming heritage which has been sorely lacking since its inception.

Samba De Amigo on the Wii? Yes please!

For me, I'm getting rather tired of the gaming industries making emulated versions of old games from the yesterdecade. Look at the games on Sonic Gems and Sonic Mega Collection, we'll soon be seeing those games AGAIN on the Wii virtual console service.

Now, if there could be online multiplayer for 2P on Sonic the hedgehog 2, count me in

But then again we have Gens for that...

For me I think seeing some older games remade for the newer systems is a interesting idea. I also like the fact that they are still keeping the GBA alive for a bit longer yet. as for retro gaming I don't really know I guess for some people It has a nalstagic effect witch is good.

Although i see the appeal of going back to 16 bit classics etc etc, it worries me how much focus many people put on this. Another example would be backwards compatibilty with the next gen consoles. I simply do not understand why anyone would base their choice of console on whether they could play games they've already played through on it

Ohhs nooes i cant play FIFA 2001 on my PS3,

zomg i cant play *insert game* on my xbox 360, even though there is probably a next gen equivilent. To me, it boggles the mind. I have been playing games since the 8 bit era, and yes, it is occasionally nice to go back and play some old classics, but people, and developers, should be looking forward. I fear gaming will go the way of hollywood in its current state, where old formulas are dragged, screaming into a slightly shinier shell. This is fine for a few games, if its not broken dont fix it, but innovation must occur or the industry will become stagnant. I think with the success of the Wii and the DS, its becoming clear that being different does not always mean commercial suicide, and this can only be a good thing.