In 2020 several dozen old games were revised and re-released, sometimes more and sometimes less. The trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon, because it’s big business for the games industry.

Relaunching older video games with improved graphics is by no means a new phenomenon. For example, the Atari game Adventure published in 1980 was the graphical version of a game published three years earlier with a pure text interface called Colossal Cave Adventure. Nintendo has also been bringing games from the previous system with improved graphics to its successor since the company’s second generation of consoles.

Meanwhile Remakes and remasters have long since been more than marginal phenomena. Two of the ten best-selling video games in the United States last year were older titles that were re-launched by the developers, more or less heavily pimped up. Developer Square Enix has apparently invested a lot of money in the more complex of the two titles, Final Fantasy VII Remake. While there are no official figures on the cost of the RPG remake, investment banker Atul Goyal estimates that the budget could have been up to $ 140 million. The Japanese university professor and video game historian Yuhsuke Koyama expects the makers to invest even more. For comparison, the 1997 original cost about $ 40 million.

Game remakes wash millions into the coffers of the video game industry

For Square Enix, the investment in the 90s game has clearly paid off. In just three days, the Japanese video game company was able to sell 3.5 million copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake. In the release quarter, sales of the Japanese group increased by 43 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Ultimately, this is Final Fantasy VII Remake, due to the effort involved, is rather the exception. Especially since new editions are in most cases also commissioned because they are cheaper than new developments. Even if graphics are newly created and speakers have to speak the dialogues that were once only available as text, the structure of the game remains the same and tedious level design is no longer necessary. Especially since a game that was already successful a few years ago is likely to find buyers again later, simply because of the nostalgia factor.

Last year, Nintendo, for example, showed how little effort is sometimes enough in the end. The Japanese group sold three old Mario games from 1996, 2002 and 2007 under the name Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Apart from a modified control system, not much was changed in the games. However, the Nintendo was apparently not taken ill: The game was sold eight million times over the counter by December 2020.

Criticism of the remake madness

Critics sometimes argue that remakes, remasters and ports ultimately give the video game industry new ideas neglected. On the other hand, of the 20 best-selling video game titles last year, there were only two games that were not based on an existing franchise. Like the big Hollywood studios, the games industry prefers to play it safe and relies on established brands. An increase or decrease in remakes would not change anything.

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