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How Nostalgia Is Keeping Retro Games Popular

Meta description: Researchers believe that gaming nostalgia may be a result of an unsociable youth where we escaped into new worlds. Learn more about why nostalgia keeps games popular here.

Ever wondered why some older games remain popular? Despite the years rolling on and new flashy gaming consoles being released, many of us still long for a session of PacMan or to hunt gems with Spyro the Dragon on the old PlayStation. Learn why researchers believe we yearn for older games even today.

Why We Get Nostalgic About Games?

The reason we get nostalgic about older games has been identified within scientific research. Academics have found that nostalgia stems from something that made us happy, but usually occurred when in a sad time or we were a bit down. For many gamers, they may have encountered social anxieties or had fewer friends in an earlier period of life. Therefore, the games they played at that time became a sort of escapism where they could enter new worlds and go on quests with characters – current friends. These games provided us with bouts of joy and happiness that we won’t easily forget!

 

Three Games That Make Us Nostalgic

Slot Games

There are so many themes of slot games to choose from that almost anyone can find a slot game they will enjoy. Just take a look at William Hill slots to get a feel for the variation in these games. From fairies to ancient Egypt, it is hard to think of a slot theme that has yet to be explored – just ask game developers!

Yet, there are some types of slot games that can tap into our nostalgia. One example is slot games that involve musical bands and legends. Playing these slots and listening to the music can take us back to a time in our youth, rocking out to these tracks without a care in the world.

Crash Bandicoot

Crash and his mask friend have been around for over a decade. The orange bandicoot has been part of the staple video gaming diet for most young gamers. It was so addictive that many of us still play the re-released Crash games today on shiny consoles.

These 'newer' games of Crash Bandicoot are not recently thought up, but are often the exact same levels we played years ago - only now with better graphics. Our demand to play Crash without needing new levels goes to show that we want to experience our previous experiences playing Crash in the good old days.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic was another considerable part of gamers' lives in the early years of Nintendo64 and PlayStation. It was a simple 2D game where players would collect golden rings and require fast reactions to Sonic or his friends speeding around rollercoaster-like tracks.

The popularity of Sonic and demand to keep playing it even as graphics get better is evident in the game’s new releases. Even more so now there is a Sonic the Hedgehog movie and a new Sonic game expected to be released soon!