Are remakes the only legitimate way to successfully advertise classics?

[Kyle15]

I've recently been in a debate with a user on another forum. He believes the only way people can find out about classic games, movies and music are through remakes, and that these said classics are forgotten if they aren't remade, or "remastered" as he put it. Also, in his words:


Thinking people should find dated movies, music or games by themselves is delusional and only serves your pride and arrogance, not Art, neither the artists

He retorted with this because I said remaking (or once again, "remastering" in his words) is not necessary in order to let classic media live on. People aren't so helpless that they need to be babied in the direction of classics through remakes.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of this sort of thing, especially the current trend to go remake nearly anything money can touch in the movie industry. I don't think remaking should be forbidden, I just don't agree with the general idea.

As far as movies go, 1998's Psycho is a route I definitely don't agree with. They opted to remake an adaptation of a book instead of going the route of fresh adaptation.

Your thoughts?

[Edmond Dantes]

That guy is an idiot, if I'm completely honest. A remake doesn't advertise the original--often, it replaces it. Which version of Ben-Hur do you remember, the 1920s one or the 1950s one starring Charlton Heston?

For a counterpoint: exactly how many of Disney's animated movies have been remade? And yet many of them are still well known, popular and even sell well, years and even decades after their original release. All Disney does is keeps the movies available and says "hey this movie is still available," and people flock to it.

That's honestly the problem when it comes to gaming. The old hardware may go kaput and its not like you can find a freshly-printed NES cart in Wal-Mart anymore. Even so though, what's called for in that case is a port or a compilation, along with a sufficient ad campaign. Not a remake.

[Aussie2B]

What about ports? What about services like the Virtual Console and PSN?

It's true that it can be a bit much to expected people to track down stuff that's been long out of print, but you don't have to recreate something to make it available and known to the public. People still read classic literature, and that's because new copies of books by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, etc. are continuously being printed. Older movies are constantly being released as new formats are created, going from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray.

The problem is more the immature attitude of gamers. People of all types and ages like books and movies, but video games are mostly consumed by males in their teens or early 20s. They just want the latest thing, so there's not a lot of interest in experiencing classics, not without remaking them at least. But, yeah, most fans of books and movies enjoy reading/watching older stuff in its original form as long as its on a medium that they can easily acquire.

On a semi-related note, anybody that thinks remaking Conan was a good idea deserves a kick in the nuts.

[Berserker]

Isn't this thread sort of the opposite equivalent of the guy you're talking about making a poll thread over on the Forum for People Who Love Remakes and asking them where they stand on the issue?

[Kyle15]

Isn't this thread sort of the opposite equivalent of the guy you're talking about making a poll thread over on the Forum for People Who Love Remakes and asking them where they stand on the issue?

Yes and no. There's a difference between loving remakes and believing they're necessary for the survival of older games in the future. Both do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.

[leatherrebel5150]

Remakes are definatley not needed to keep classic stuff alive. Case and point being Elvis, the beatles, etc everybody knows about that stuff and its going on 50+ years old and people still love the original stuff.

Not to say all remakes are bad (I usually get crap for saying this but) I did enjoy the horror franchise remakes. I'm talking about friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the two Halloweens. But any time they release one of those movies I'm all over it so I don't know how much my opinion carries on them.

[Rickstilwell1]

Earthbound is proof that remakes are not necessary. All you need to do to advertise them is reference the characters. People look stuff up to find out where it came from all the time.

Sequels promote classics more than remakes do.

[ishashobar]

I think on the opposite side of the Earthbound example is Fire Emblem. The US and Europe would never get any of the retro console Fire Emblem games without remakes. Nor could they become very popular due to language differences.

[isufje]

...He believes the only way people can find out about classic games, movies and music are through remakes, and that these said classics are forgotten if they aren't remade, or "remastered"...


Not forgotten, but most of the time it's almost impossible to get your hands on a copy unless it's remade, reprinted, or remastered.

For example, I had to wait until AnimEigo remastered Macross until I could get my hands on the Original Japanese Version with Subs, but the memory of the series has been with me since childhood. Another example is Radiant Silvergun. Who in the world can afford a 200 dollar copy? We're all going to have to wait and or buy a X-Box 360 until treasure releases a remake. So to answer the original question, no... classics aren't forgotten, but most all the time it's impossible to get the original version of said classic without a reprint or remake.

[Emperor Megas]

On a semi-related note, anybody that thinks remaking Conan was a good idea deserves a kick in the nuts....several times over, with steel toed boots.

Seriously, (the original) Conan the Barbarian is in my top 5 favorite films of all time. It's timeless, and just as awesome today as it when when it was released. The story, direction, production quality, and most of all, the score, were all just so fantastic. Til this day, whenever I'm carrying something large enough that I have to shoulder, I find myself humming that music from the snake mountain orgy scene, where the guys are carrying that big, black cauldron of man soup. I've done it my whole life. Yeah, I'm weird. :|

[Aussie2B]

Haha, I'll join you in weirdness then. :) I adore Basil Poledouris, he's my favorite film composer. I own the soundtracks for Conan and Robocop, and I'll frequently start randomly humming the main Robocop theme without even realizing it. And call me crazy, but I think the best part of Twilight Princess has nothing to do with the game itself but rather is that early trailer they made with Conan music, haha. If only the game was as awesome and intense as that music made it seem.

[skaar]

Depends who you are marketing to.

There is a huge disparity between fandom and mainstream market acceptance that is very difficult to see through the eyes of the Internet.

Nostalgia is appealing but often does not translate to mass market sales. Sometime though, that is enough.

[SpaceHarrier]

I certainly think that crappily rehashing older movies (like Conan) and doing a shit-poor job of it advertises the original movie's quality.

I recently watched Conan (the original) which I hadn't seen for years. Enjoyed it thoroughly. This was directly influenced by the 'reminder' of that new atrocity floating around cinemas. I've not watched that one, but just seeing the trailers put me off.

I have certainly found my own way to classic movies and games without remakes, however. A remake just makes it more likely for me to check out the source material. I enjoyed the King Kong remake, and then had to rewatch the original. I witnessed the soulless horror that was the new Clash of the Titans, and it made me appreciate the original even more.