What would you say is the appeal of retro games?

[ferraroso]

It is a kind of nostalgia for things that (most of the time) I didn't have the opportunity to own.
I've always wanted to have all those awesome games that I saw on the covers of the magazines, put I never had the opportunity to own the majority of them. So, for me, collecting retro games represents to finally see those old dreams finally coming true, at the same time as I can find new things from that time that I didn't even know existed.

[Cartagia]

People aren't going to drop modern games just to save some time, such games  gameplay wise are totally different night and day, you can't compare the last of us, dark souls or battlefield with games like mario world or strider to name some examples.

I'm a test case that proves this wrong right off the bat.  I capitulate back and forth between the two for exactly that reason.  If I've just spent 40+ hours playing and beating God of War or Bloodborne or The Witcher III I am way more likely to follow that up with a classic Mega Man or Mario game because they are so different.

[kypherion]

Simplicity? It's so simple to just do. No paying for online, no installation, and no dlc etc. Plus it's cool.

[turf]

Simplicity? It's so simple to just do. No paying for online, no installation, and no dlc etc. Plus it's cool.

Good answer!

[dharmajones93]

People aren't going to drop modern games just to save some time, such games  gameplay wise are totally different night and day, you can't compare the last of us, dark souls or battlefield with games like mario world or strider to name some examples.

I'm a test case that proves this wrong right off the bat.  I capitulate back and forth between the two for exactly that reason.  If I've just spent 40+ hours playing and beating God of War or Bloodborne or The Witcher III I am way more likely to follow that up with a classic Mega Man or Mario game because they are so different.

I wouldn't normally say this, but that response was kind of rude anyway. As well as less than applicable. I love the pop in and pop out aspect of vintage games. But calling it "weaksauce" is "weaksauce".
"In my opinion It's about certain genre's of games with their respective visuals gameplay music and sounds wich give it the appeal wich are very different from modern games." - this just describes every modern/retro high bit game (assuming the definition of retro is designed or styled to evoke nostalgia of a bygone era, as in contrast to vintage being of or from a bygone era), not vintage games themselves.  This is how all game genres differentiate from one another. That "weaksauce" answer specifically answered the OP's question and captured the spirit that like ten other people since have reasserted.

Anyway, I'll regret saying that I'm sure... But, I would sell vintage games exactly as that, simple to pick up, tough to master, accessible, yet challenging, flawed, but always ambitious.

I don't always want to invest myself in a narrative, sit through cut-scenes, or invest myself emotionally into role playing. Sometimes I just want to shoot lemons at robots, or run, jump, and eat mushrooms.

[kashell]

I'm always hopping around from console to console - modern and/or retro.

After, say, 90+ hours in Xenoblade 2 I immediately head towards a simple something-something from years past.

[ffxik]

That answer will change depending on who answers the question.

For myself it's nostalgia.  Capturing a moment in time from my past, or buying games to play I never had the chance to.  Even the act of walking by the display area can bring about those nostalgic feelings, of when I would spend hours in the rental shop browsing the shelves while my parents were at the laundromat next door. 

For others it's curiosity, for some a soon to be discarded fad.

[scraph4ppy]

Eh, I always thought the idea that Retro games were made with more passion was kind of nonsense. Games were littered with cheap mechanics for no other reason to stretch the runtime, and when if you decided to seek almost anything outside of the mainstream companies, you'd be met with an unplayable mess.  There were plenty of good games, but seeking them out was like a minefield because respecting the player and their tolerance for frustration wasn't a thing.

The only reason there wasn't EA/Ubisoft type companies back then was because they couldn't, not because they wouldn't.

Not only is all of the stuff you listed in the first paragraph true, the things in your second sadly were not. The NES era was littered with assembly line studios making terribly bland clone games. Its just that most of them were recognized as being of low quality and never left Japan. All it takes is a single episode of Chrontendo to tell someone that. If anything, things were worse back then, due to the aforementioned cheap mechanics.

And yet I love retro gaming and games anyway. Partly its due to nostalgia, partly due to the historic nature of these games (remember, if we are going off film as a comparison, we are only now entering the equivalent of the 1920s) and partly because the truly great ones still hold up today.

[burningdoom]

Somewhat nostalgia. But not fully, for me at least. Because I still find old games that are new to me and enjoy them.

When I started it was mostly due to budget. Retro gaming was cheap. That's kind of flip-flopped at this point, though.

Really, it's just because I'm a gamer. And I play games regardless of how new or old it may be.

[dashv]

Starting on the Atari 2600, games didn’t have cut scenes and story. That stuff was in the cover art and manuals (which I would read over and over). The story and progression was largely left to your imagination. Which, in my mind, made these games more epic than they really were.

Then NES came along. The first few games were very Atari like, just with way better graphics. Much of the story and detail still in the manuals.

But I remember playing Ninja Gaiden for NES and being blown the hell away by the cutscenes.

Gaming was still mostly new. The possibility, promise, and surprise seemed endless.

Sega Genesis later figured out how to change existing games (Lock-on) and blew my mind again.

At school during lunch, on the school bus, etc. we’d talk about “wouldn’t it be cool if this and that”. Then boom Nintendo or Sega would figure out how to do it. Full motion video in a Genesis game... No way!!! Digitized voices in NBA Jam! Get that stuff outta here!!!

Mario can fly now!? Holy shit!

We can plug the new game into the old game and use this Knuckles guy to get to hidden level!?

There’s a cheat code that gives me 30 lives!? There’s a blood kode for Mortal Kombat!?

Game Genie!? Holy shit, I can finally beat that damn boss and finish that game! I’m bored. Let’s plug in random codes and see what happens!

There were as many rumors about Easter eggs and codes as their were actual Easter eggs and code.

There was a sense of discovery, secrets, awe, and wonder.

Cheat codes are barely even a thing anymore. The internet and the age of “pics or it didn’t happen” and the cutting room floor have (for better and worse) eliminated the rumor mill.

We know now there is no way to resurrect Aeris. There is no Ermac in Mortal Kombat 1. No more mysteries. All quickly solved with a let’s play on YouTube. No Game Genies that work across our entire library of games. (Save game editors aren’t the same thing).

That’s not to say the magic is completely gone. It’s just harder to capture.

Games like Detroit: Become Human, Shadow of the Colossus, Nier Automata, Shantae, Super Mario Maker, and others are damn good at bringing some of that awe, wonder, and discovery magic but in a completely different way.

For me it takes a lot to beat the feeling that I’ve “been there. Done that.” And it was way cooler in my head.

[oldgamerz]

I like to experience the past of video games, I often use YouTube for to get an edge of what to buy next before it's all gone.

And while I can still get most games CIB usally PS2 PS1 PS3 and Xbox and Xbox360 titles for $5 or less at a local flea market

[sergreyjoy]

A big part of it for me is to be able to play all the games I never was able to when I was younger. A kid's allowance can buy you just a minimal amount of games after-all. And rentals only stay in your house for a few days! I used to dream about so many games, drooling over magazines. Now I can hunt for them and satiated that hunger.

Best example is Lunar Silver Star Story Complete. There was a huge spread page ad in one of my old US Playstation Magazine when I was 9-10 years old. The four discs version with leather bound book and cloth map. The anime aesthetics and bulk of the special edition made me awe struck. But of course, I never got a copy. Didn't even get to rent it! Now I have it and it's one of my favorite piece in my collection!  <3

[greenman]

nostalgia. more fun games than the new games. competition with other retro gamers to outdo each other. to be different from new-age gamers/present day gamers. fun collecting retro games like some collect vinyl or comic books. in some cases obsession and collectardism. lack of women and sex, retro games are next best thing. to join a hipster movement that says it is cool to do retro games and not the new games. to join a yuppie movement that collects or plays downloadable retro games only! to one day become a great video game reviewer and showcase their collection, take that! AVGN and Metal Jesus!


...but most of us like retro games simply because modern games suck.

[piscean64]

Nostalgia plays a big part of it, but it's not the only reason. i find myself enjoying smaller and shorter games like those from yesteryear. I just don't have the time and commitment to play 100 hour games (Breath of the Wild was one exception).  I think a lot of the other posters already hit the major points: no downloading, simplicity, no load times, etc. Also I got a sense of creativity and passion from the older games, though i know even back then cash grabs were evident. But I feel like most developers now don't care about the games they make, as long as they make money off of it.

[hoshichiri]

Best example is Lunar Silver Star Story Complete. There was a huge spread page ad in one of my old US Playstation Magazine when I was 9-10 years old. The four discs version with leather bound book and cloth map. The anime aesthetics and bulk of the special edition made me awe struck. But of course, I never got a copy. Didn't even get to rent it! Now I have it and it's one of my favorite piece in my collection!  <3

I remember that ad! At least, I remember the one saying the game was going out of print. I thought it looked so awesome, I begged to get it for a Christmas and/or birthday present (they're close together.) My mom later told me she went to damn near every game store in the county looking for it. One clerk actually laughed at her when she asked... but then checked the computer & helped her find the ONLY copy left for miles! I also got Eternal Blue that year as well, and they threw in the Ghaleon punching puppet becuase there was an extra in the back & they didn't want it taking up space. I feel like that & finding out how completely different the Sega CD version is, is a big part of why I love the Lunar games so much.