The gaming industry is fairly young in relation to other forms of entertainment. Movies and Radio (as well as Music in general) are older and have solved a few issues that the gaming industry hasn’t dealt with yet. Nowadays, you can watch ALMOST any movie digitally, I’m sure there are some exceptions to that, but the history of cinema has largely been preserved. The gaming industry has not approached this problem yet, and it has had some unforeseen consequences.

This isn’t a new conversation, however, I feel the need to dig in a bit and talk about games that aren’t really accessible to the masses these days. The biggest issue comes when a game developer goes under, or they cease to own the license to a particular IP. Alternately, if the ownership of the IP changes hands and the new owners don’t see the need to make it available digitally, it is entirely at their discretion.

For example, Shadow Hearts is an RPG franchise that was created by the developer Sacnoth and published by Midway Games. When Sacnoth went under, the company reformed and changed names, becoming Nautilus. After that, however, the company was bought and consumed by Aruze, and the original staff became a part of a company called Feelplus. Many of the staff and developers from the Shadow Hearts team are now a part of XSEED games. However, there is another wrinkle to this problem.

The rights to the Shadow Hearts IP are now in the hands of Universal Entertainment Corporation (at least as far as I can trace the trail of ownership). Universal Entertainment Corporation exclusively does Pachinko and other gambling machines, with very little interest in game development. This means that a piece of gaming RPG excellence (and history might I add) is now tied up in red tape and will likely never see the light of day unless the owner of the IP changes.

What does this mean? This means no new Shadow Hearts games, no remastered versions of the original 3 games, and unless you emulate the game (or own a copy,) no new players can enjoy those stories. Before I continue on, I should probably mention that this article is not meant to advocate for emulation, which is illegal. However, the Shadow Hearts franchise is not the only franchise lost to time this way, so I am sure you can understand why emulation would be appealing in this case.

In some cases, the only option left for people who wish to experience familiar nostalgic memories is to emulate the games you can’t acquire through traditional means. It doesn’t make the emulating of the game morally right, it merely is the only option aside from never experiencing that game again.

Now let’s talk about a more recent (and less extreme) version of this problem. The game Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (yes, that is the full title) was a collaboration between the Fire Emblem franchise and the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Tokyo Mirage Sessions was released for the Wii U and is regarded as one of the stand-out games on the system.

Since the Nintendo Switch released, many people have been clamoring for a Switch Port like the ports of Bayonetta 2 and other Wii U titles. So far there has been no answer, no announcement, merely talking around the idea and the repeated response of “If people yell loud enough we MIGHT make a port.”

This leaves the consumer with two options. You can either buy a Wii U and play it that way, or hope to see a Switch Port in the future. This is frustrating for those of us who own a Switch but were not able to secure ourselves a Wii U during its life-cycle (for whatever reason) since Fire Emblem fans and Shin Megami Tensei fans were very excited for the project.

I am sure a lot of you are thinking “This is such a first world problem, why is he even talking about this?” To be honest, I am quite certain that everyone who has been gaming since the ’80s or ’90s has a game they love, that isn’t on current generation consoles. It isn’t always feasible for people to hold onto old consoles, or re-purchase older consoles secondhand.

I could give a variety of other examples, but the fact is that whether you love a game, or you hate a game, every game that releases is a part of the industry’s history. Some people put a higher value on that history than others. A prime example is the inception of the upcoming Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Koji Igarashi spent many years working with Konami, creating Castlevania titles and many other games. He is the reason that so many of his titles are referred to as “Igavania” games. Around 2014, Igarashi left Konami because there were games he wanted to make that the company was not interested in. He had been put in charge of mobile and social games but felt his talents and experience were being wasted.

After a while of failing to find a publisher for the console titles he had in mind, he ultimately began his own studio, and Kickstarted Bloodstained, to immense success. Had he not decided to go his own way, and had people not rallied behind the idea he had for Bloodstained, we would not be getting a new Metroidvania by one of the industry veterans.

The real issue that the gaming industry has is not just preserving and making older games available for new audiences. We’re seeing remastered versions that are comparable to (and sometimes surpass) their original incarnation. However, what happens when a genre, franchise, or game is deemed “unnecessary” by big-wigs and higher-ups, regardless of how many people want a new entry?

These are questions that consumers need to be aware of, especially in the age where online games are more popular than ever. What happens if a company shuts down, or closes servers after you’ve invested money into a “gaming service”? Look at the shutdown of Marvel Heroes or any number of other online titles.

Longevity is important, and we need a solution that will make sure that these experiences live on. Fortnite, Apex Legends, and so many other games see a rise in popularity, but eventually, the hype will die, and the community will move on to the next big thing.

How do we solve these problems? Honestly, backward compatibility is a great start, at least for the console market. PC ports aren’t a bad option either, and we’re already seeing great remasters and remakes for some really great games. Indie developers are also taking games that inspired them as young gamers, and creating new, exciting experiences of their own.

I couldn’t begin to tell you if there is a right answer for how we solve the industry’s longevity problem. I can tell you, however, that games are a legacy for those who work to create them. Every smile, every awe-struck gamer, every fond memory of a game, contributes to the legacy of the people that worked so hard on it.

We should do our best to preserve those legacies. We should be trying as hard as we can (both consumers and creators) to make these bits of gaming history available to the masses for as long as possible. Sure, interest in the older games may wane as time goes on, but we wouldn’t be where we are today, without the games and developers that came before.

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