Man I miss tenchu. They were always rough around the edges but also really fun games.

Just curious, do you think that if we didn't have remasters, we would have brand new, full games in their place? Like say, do you think that if we didn't have the Metro remastered collection or The Last of Us Remastered, we would instead have Metro 3 or The Last of Us 2?

I'm trying to understand why someone well informed would genuinely be against a remaster, and it occurred to me that people who know VERY LITTLE about how game development works must think that these remastered games are taking the place of full fledged sequels or brand new games, that if devs hadn't worked on such titles as The Last of Us Remastered, then we'd now be playing The Last of Us 2 instead.

If anyone actually thinks that this is what happens, then they need a bit of a reality check. It doesn't take anywhere NEAR the amount of effort to remaster an existing title as it does to make a brand new game. Remasters can be done in like 6 to 9 months, maybe a bit longer depending on the extras they decide to add, where as a full fledged brand new game takes a minimum of 2 years (assuming it's not an annual franchise with minimal change).

So basically, what we end up having, is a game from our past that we loved, that looks and plays(framerate) much better than before, with minimal resource/cost/time investment for the developers, being brought back to experience joyous nostalgia, or to introduce a brilliant franchise to the younger, newer generation of gamers who didn't have the previous generation systems, and a hefty profit for the developers of these low-cost, quick, profit heavy titles, profit that will go towards making the NEW title that they are currently working on a better product. And seeing as how these titles are low-budget, low-resource allocating projects, they can be handled by smaller, sub developers, the "B-team" if you will, which means they still work on the newer title on the franchise, while also working on a remaster for people who want it.

Please tell me then, how remasters are a bad thing at this point? The only negative effect it can have on you is personal annoyance of a game you think isn't worthy or necessary of being remastered, but that's not really a legitimate complaint for remasters as a negative thing.

It's literally a win-win situation, it helps the current gen library grow even further.

If for some reason, you feel betrayed that there is a "better version" out there, and that you feel obligated to play it because you didn't finish the best version, then that's your hangup. I see some anti-DLC (all DLC including good dlc, not just crappy cash-in DLC) people complain and whine that DLC comes out for a game after it came out and feel somehow ripped off because they feel they didn't get the full version, insisting that unless they have every single piece of content for the game that there is or ever will be, that it's incomplete, rather than just an "extra", and feel ripped off. I imagine these same people feel the same way in regards to "remastered versions".

Btw, in case it isn't clear, a reMASTER is a simple resolution/framerate bump (like the last of us). A reMAKE is an entire rework of the assets from the ground up (halo 2 anniversary, wind waker HD). Now, reMAKES might take a bit longer, and at that point, I can understand the complaints for them then, though I read Wind Waker HD was completed in 6 months, which blows my mind and makes me think some reMAKES don't even take that long either.

It's as vickers stated . . .
Remastering an old title takes very little time, resources and manpower. Though it does have the potential to generate a fair bit of funding for the developer/publisher.
It also raises awareness of the brand in question, potentially helping push the series as a whole going forward.
These sorts of projects are only good for the developer, consider they are handled properly.

Bioshock is already remastered and being played in higher resolutions.... it's called the PC version.

Planescape: Torment is still holding up fine, even without a remaster today. All it needs is the few mods there are for the game, fixing some things, and restoring quests.

Deus Ex is already being ''remastered'' . It's called the Revision mod. Vampire the Masquare Bloodlines could use some help, though.