Yesterday, Rock Paper Shotgun penned a piece on video game nostalgia. Editor Brian Caldwell interviewed a pile of game devs about why specifically they’re chasing nostalgia in their games. Among the stand-out reasons? They want to make a “genre new again,” expand what made original games great, cater to aging and maturing audience, catch childhood memories, or even just provide a modern version of a game that people loved but doesn’t hold up all that well over time.
I love talking about nostalgia, so I’m guilty of bringing it back up a lot. But I think it’s something the MMORPG genre must face, both because so many indie games are built on it and because we’re not getting gobs of new games to compete with the ones that are aging. I’m personally actively playing two older MMOs that many might attribute to nostalgia, but I wouldn’t – I don’t think people keep doing things from nostalgia. I think they’ll go and have a look-see out of nostalgia, however. It’s why WoW Classic is almost tempting to me, even though I don’t think I’ll actually enjoy it in 2019. I’m sure a lot of people will check it out because of nostalgia, but I think the people who stay on will be doing so out of genuine enjoyment.
What was the last MMORPG you played out of pure nostalgia?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
