Soapbox: Other publishers, including PlayStation, should celebrate their catalog like Atari 50

I’ve always enjoyed retro games, but I don’t think I’ve ever considered myself one Retro Gamer™ Until this year. At only 34 years old, I’m not sure the old – But I’m getting old age, and I’m starting to appreciate how it shapes my perspective. For example, I was around for the entirety of the PS1 era – I even attended one of its UK launch parties with my family – and I spent many of my early years on the SNES and SEGA Mega Drive. Heck, we even had a Commodore 64 at home that I loved.

I’m in an odd spot age-wise because I’m old enough to remember all the generations since the 16-bit era, but there are obvious gaps in my knowledge. For example, the NES wasn’t particularly popular in the UK, and so I don’t think I even saw one in person until I was about 12 years old. I actually thought it was a knock on my youthful naivety, because Super Mario Bros. 3 It didn’t look as good on it as it did on the SNES All-stars Remaster, which I was used to at the time. (I’ll understand why later, of course!)

Even if you were a hardcore gamer during the 70s and 80s, however, the reality is that we all have gaps in knowledge – none of us have played every game ever made. And if you have, then revisiting the classics is still fun, right? For me, my personal favorite game of all time is Shenmue 2, and I love Replaying it every few years and reminding myself why I respect it so much. I recently played again The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time First time in over 20 years too, and it was a real treat.

I guess the point I’m trying to get across is that regardless of your point of view, there is still a lot of value in old and retro games. Whether you’re watching a childhood favorite, or experiencing a classic for the first time, experiencing these old games is an undeniable joy. And I think the publishers are starting to cotton on to it: we’re actually a very much of retro titles remastered on contemporary consoles, whether in compilations such as TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection or remasters such as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. has been tons Among them alone in 2022.

But the one that sticks out to me the most is Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. As I alluded to at the top of this article, Atari is one of my weak spots, but I’ve experienced many classics through various emulators and compilations over the years. I actually own an Atari Jaguar, because one of our local game stores was selling them for pennies in the early 2000s. But I think what makes this package different is that it doubles as a documentary.

For those of you who don’t know, the main “mode” in this release is a timeline of sorts, consisting of archival footage, scanned pamphlets, documents, and interviews recounting the most important moments in the firm’s history. It’s fully interactive, so you can browse it as you please, and of course you can also jump into the many games to play them.

I think this is, honestly, one of the best concepts for a compilation I’ve ever seen. There’s been a lot of good stuff over the years – the likes of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and the Contra Anniversary Collection – but this one tops any retro release we’ve had in the past. And I’d really love to see more publishers embrace the concept. It would be great, for example, to get the inside story of Polygon Man and Ken Kutragi’s quest to bring the PlayStation to market, playable ports of the infamous PS1 T-rex demo, and early first-party titles like Motor Toon Grand Prix. complete with .

The thing is, you can apply this interactive documentary format to a lot more anyone Among the major publishers or platform holders, and you will be guaranteed to end up with one great Product every time in my opinion. I love playing these retro games, but I think when presented with key pieces of context – like documentation, artwork, interviews, and even manuals – they take on a new life. You are not only enjoying the software, but you are also experiencing it the story.

I love and look forward to new games, of course I do – but as I tick mercifully towards my 40s [Urgh – Ed], I’m slowly starting to understand more of the history of the industry. And what better way to preserve that than with interactive galleries like the Atari 50, which is honestly a dream package for retro fans.

Would you like to see other publishers celebrate their back catalog with an interactive gallery-style collection like Atari 50? Which companies in particular would you like to see release collections? Go retro in the comments section below.