There has been a tremendous revival of 80s nostalgia in the form of new hardware recently. The market is full to capacity with remakes and reboots: revamped versions of the Vectrex, Amiga, and various Commodore 64 consoles, as well as retro-magazines returning from the dead. While this recent popularity with retro technology is welcome, it also raises a pertinent question: is this trend helping to save our heritage, or is it simply “milking the cow” of shared nostalgia?
There is a good argument to be made that these new, emulated devices do serve a preservation purpose. They bring a new generation to experience the vintage hardware and software in an accessible manner so they can enjoy a piece of computing history. The problem is that this issue begins when these products are excessively priced, and their business model seems to prioritize profits over actual preservation. Some of these machines use free, open-source emulation software created by the retro community themselves and reselling it at a high-end price.
This business model can sometimes be missed. The real essence of retro gaming is not about playing those classic games; it’s about the preservation of the physical hardware and the history behind it. The real story is in the hardware, the coding, the energetic communities that developed around these computers, and the historical context under which they were created. While a new console can be an accessible way of playing old games, it will typically lack the feel of an earlier era.
Ultimately, while the latest crop of retro machines can be fun, we must not forget what truly matters: the preservation of technology and the sharing of its history. We are not saying that these devices will not bring back nostalgia, but it seems that after a while, we see them for sale at even more ridiculous prices, which only makes the situation worse.
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