Remastered Titles and The Gamers They Anger

With the announcement of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Rayman: Legends for next gen systems, gamers everywhere chose sides and voiced their opinions. Either glad titles like this, that they missed last gen, were being remastered and rereleased... or angry that developers weren't spending their time on new next gen games.

At the beginning of every consoles life, comes a dry period. Where game releases are sparse and gamers question their early adoption of the technology. After they finish their initial batch of games and this dry spell materializes, the wait for the next batch of games can become unbearable. This is when I question the anger towards these remastered titles. Isn't a remake as good as a new title to those who haven't played it? And, even if you have played it, aren't you curious to see the changes made to bring it up to the perceived quality of next gen systems? The argument as to whether developers time should be better spent on development of new titles, is one I don't agree with. Because in no way, shape or form are they going to release a new title in the same amount of time as a remake. No matter how easy the next gen systems are to code for. Most of these remastered titles are being outsourced to studios independent of the parent company who conceived the original releases anyways. Therefore nullifying the argument as to where the parent companies resources should be placed.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition was rebuilt, from the ground up, to reimagine the developers vision without constraints. Basically making the game they wanted to in the first place, without the confines of aging technology. Even surpassing the best of the PCs, to truly show off next gen consoles and the power behind them. The game was well received by gamers and reviewers alike, with scores in the upper 80s to a perfect 100. Solidifying the release as a AAA outing for next gen systems. One of the few, even surpassing scores of true next gen titles developed from the ground up for their respective console. Many argue that the game should have been released at a discounted price, because of its age... but I would argue that just as much, if not more, work went into reimagining this game, as a lot of new titles. And... Its not like you couldn't find it on sale for $49, like most others near their release.

Rayman: Legends will be rereleased next week for next gen consoles and will, again, have next gen sheen thrust upon its core. Uncompressed textures, zero load times, added features, challenges and a price tag of only $29-$39. It will be the only true next gen, classic style, platformer on either next gen system. Be in 1080p and at 60fps. In Raymans case, it is a steal for either system. Yet, there are still those opposed to its release.

I understand that some gamers feel that if these titles do well, then all developers will look to pillage their past libraries instead of work on new titles and IPs. That is simply not the case. Developers were only taking the opportunity to introduce next gen gamers, who didn't play their already stellar titles, a chance to see what those who already played them were raving about. Not only bringing next gen gamers up to date, with titles that look every bit as good as those developed specifically for their systems... but also introducing these titles to those new to the series and new to console gaming. Look at a game like Assassins Creed: Black Flag. Isnt the next gen version, simply the same basic idea surrounding Tomb Raider? Take a last gen game, add a few bells and whistles, repackage and resell. The game is the same across platforms, but only the visuals have changed slightly. Even less so than Tomb Raider. Yet, noone had an issue with paying full price for that game. The same could be said for any cross generation game.

I just want those opposed to look at it from a developers perspective and that of new gamers, both to consoles and the series in question. If it were simply a money grab... They would have simply upped the game resolution(or not ) and repackaged the games in new boxes. Not spent a year or more updating these titles to make them feel right at home on next gen systems. All of the positive reviews should comfort your fears, as reviewers would have been the first to call out any developer simply trying to strike gold twice, in the same location.

There are a lot of gamers who would love to see their favorite last gen games given the same treatment. Games like Last Of Us, GTA V and Beyond: Two Souls come to mind as forerunners for a remake. At this point of time, when game releases are so few... We should be happy with any release. Especially those that have gone to the effort of making sure that next gen gamers are happy. If you enjoyed these titles last gen and cant see yourself playing through a second time... You should be applauding the developers efforts to introduce these titles to even more future fans. Bringing in more income, which in turn, will make the next game even better.

If a fan base doesn't grow, it will die and so will future prospects of series based titles. Which is why these remasters can be so important to developers and fans alike.