Predictions about games and the test of time

[Halfling Rodeo]

How popular is backwards compatibility? A ten-year-old with a PS5 or an Xbox Series X|S is unlikely to care about PS1 or original Xbox games. Today's young barely play old games. They are more likely to play a new indie game inspired by a retro classic than to go out seeking old hardware and games or emulation solutions.

Virtual console stuff and capcom arcade collections can't just be for older guys. There has to be a kid audience in there too to make them viable.

 

[ds]

Simple 2D games, both visually and mechanically, will have a timeless, board-game like appeal. PS1 level 3D is already an eyesore, which will be a barrier to entry for the general population.

3D ages just fine - how good it looks depends entirely on the art direction just like it did when it was new. It's just not yet old enough to have its hipster moment.

The games with controls and interfaces people complain about now, like Ultima 7, og System Shock, etc. will be even more unpalatable to future people.

There will be remasters for well known games (some more faithful than others). Those don't have to be commercial releases either, see e.g. https://osgameclones.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_port#Notable_source_ports

For others, emulators can add convenience functions and revamped controls. It's not like you'd be reading the classics off a literal scroll either.

Every version of windows kills more games and it's only getting worse.

You'll just have to use an emulator (e.g. Wine/Proton) like you do for any other old system. Not the end of the world and can even improve the experience. Best part is you don't even have to deal with (modern) Windows if you don't want to.

I doubt the physical media itself will degrade to the point of UNREADABILITY

It is in many cases. CD rot is a real problem.

Think of how many floppy drives you see today. Hell DVD/Blu ray drives are rare now. What happens when we run out of USB C cables in 10 years and all our devices rely on them to charge?

Even USB C devices can charge from a simple constant voltage. Painfully slowly, but they do charge. I don't think this is something that will be a problem compared to the devices themselves breaking because they aren't designed to last (to speak nothing of scandals like the capacitor plague).

Remember those shitty "CD cleaner" things that game stores used to sell, claiming they'd fix unreadable discs?

Stick a CD that's partly unreadable in one of these things, turn the handle, and in no time at all, you'll have a CD that's fully unreadable.

I've actually managed to read previously unreadable data by "cleaning" a CD using a repair kit like this. They can destroy previously readable parts of discs so it's always a gamble but aren't completely useless. Their usefulness depends on the kind of damage though: small scratches on the clear plastic part can be polished off or filled in but CD rot or scratches on the back side mean the data is gone.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

You'll just have to use an emulator (e.g. Wine/Proton) like you do for any other old system. Not the end of the world and can even improve the experience. Best part is you don't even have to deal with (modern) Windows if you don't want to.

The steam deck is really nice for playing old Steam games that don't run on windows any more. I'll admit to that but the mass market is not ready for linux. Today's emulation is as simple as googling "Mario world SNES rom play in browser" and it'll instantly work on the first web page you find. Wine... not quite so easy.

 

[ds]

You'll just have to use an emulator (e.g. Wine/Proton) like you do for any other old system. Not the end of the world and can even improve the experience. Best part is you don't even have to deal with (modern) Windows if you don't want to.

The steam deck is really nice for playing old Steam games that don't run on windows any more. I'll admit to that but the mass market is not ready for linux. Today's emulation is as simple as googling "Mario world SNES rom play in browser" and it'll instantly work on the first web page you find. Wine... not quite so easy.

The "mass market" is also not who is going to be running old games. Using Linux isn't any harder than installing mods - you just need to be able to follow instructions. And Wine doesn't run on just Linux either. Once the need is there someone will package a nice one click solution for your favorite corporate fiefdom.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

You'll just have to use an emulator (e.g. Wine/Proton) like you do for any other old system. Not the end of the world and can even improve the experience. Best part is you don't even have to deal with (modern) Windows if you don't want to.

The steam deck is really nice for playing old Steam games that don't run on windows any more. I'll admit to that but the mass market is not ready for linux. Today's emulation is as simple as googling "Mario world SNES rom play in browser" and it'll instantly work on the first web page you find. Wine... not quite so easy.

The "mass market" is also not who is going to be running old games. Using Linux isn't any harder than installing mods - you just need to be able to follow instructions. And Wine doesn't run on just Linux either. Once the need is there someone will package a nice one click solution for your favorite corporate fiefdom.

It's always "the year of linux" isn't it? Valve did more for Linux with Proton and the steam deck than the linux community did since I started using it in the mid 2000s.

The mass market still values retro games as collections. The Switch is the most mass market console out there and we have everything from Mario to Mana to Manster hunter games getting old games released as collections. There was also the fad of mini consoles selling extremely well despite being total rip offs and I can't imagine Star fox 2 sold those machines.