In the recent GamePro (vol.189. June 2004, p.14) there is an interesting short editorial about present successful sequels of old classic games and their effect on interest in the old classics.

Basically, the GAMEPROS say that expanding new generations of gamers are experiencing better games of old franchises on new consoles which results in a fading memory of old systems and games.

GamePro:
"Sayonara, NES...With the population of game players expanding in every demographic direction possible, the memory of Ryu Hyabusa, for example, fighting the forces of 8-bit evil are getting dimmer and dimmer.Now, entire generations of game players are about to grow up experiencing only Ninja Gaiden in its soon-to-be-classic Xbox version.

Prince of Persia, Mega man, Metroid, Castlevania and a host of great game characters that trace their origins back to the NES are already staples on current consoles. They are all arriving in new, bigger, better, faster forms again this year...Time marches on and so do games."

At least the last stereotypical sentence is right, but they got everything else wrong. Progress in gaming goes hand-in-hand with interest of past gaming, they are not exclusionary, they re-enforce each other. Successful sequels of old franchises do not decrease interest in old franchises, on the contrary, they increase the interest in the origins of franchises and systems.

GamePros prediction doesn't make sense at all for continuing old franchises which saw sequels on every generation of consoles. Every sequel on a newer console would dig the grave deeper for the old game, which doesn't explain the increasing demand for the prequel and it's price as soon as a new successful sequel is published.

The prediction is even more off track for franchises which haven't seen a sequel for ages. The new Rygar sparked new interest of the old NES game, and the prices for the NES game reflect it. The interest of gamers in the origin of a game character increases with the surprise that there was long ago actually a game on the NES.

The crux of the prediction is the assumption that mere new game experiences for a new generation of players produce fading memories for old games.
1) The demographic of game players broadened indeed, and that means that more and more people discover games today who didn't experience older games at all. The players with a stronger interest in new games realize that they missed a lot of game eras, and we all know that this is the first step of buying older games and for some even the first step of serious collecting.

2) Even todays 12 year-old game players get older, and with age comes a stronger interest in the origins of their hobby for the ones who stick with it. A broadened demographic means more aging game players, more gamers who stick with games, and therfore more interst in the origins of gaming in the future.

The opposite of GamePros short-sighted prediction is true. As long as we have successful sequels we have interest in classic gaming. As long as we have an interest in present games, the interest in past games lives on.