5 reasons why at this point, game remastered versions are alright.

After getting The Last of Us Remastered version today, I realized that even when many gamers bash the idea of an updated version of a game, for the first time in gaming history a second release for a game has become a good thing. Don't get me wrong, a half-baked rehash is still an awful thing to do, but when done right it turns from a "cheap cash in" to an opportunity for gamers and developers alike. Now in order to prove this point of view let's see the arguments that support it:

1) The market has become too fast paced.

There used to be a time where a game that became a smash hit, lasted at least a year in the top along with a runner up that always followed close behind, but that thing doesn't happen that often anymore as gaming companies are always trying to keep on each other toes almost making it a race for the gaming community. Competition can get fierce and sometimes that becomes a flurry of games coming in a very tight time span. Take for example the next coming months from September to the holidays, there will be a lot of game releases on different platforms. This is not only a wallet slayer, but also a very time consuming thing as most of these games have online modes that require a lot of play time in order to fully enjoy them. When this happens, some of the games fall through the cracks and are not picked by all the potential buyers they should, (especially when it is a type of gamer that is always keeping up with novelty) so a remastered version of a game becomes a second chance to catch those that didn't bought the game when it was released for the first time and a chance for some gamers to get a little extra for their money as a reward for still having interest in the game even thought is is not new anymore.

2) Busier gamers get a break.

Gaming is for life, but let's face it. A lot of gamers right now are part of the working class, have a family and/or personal projects to attend to, so they don't have the same amount of time as they used to before getting these responsabilities. Sometimes when a wave of games come by, they can at most play 1 or 2 titles at a time so in this case a lot of new releases are just left hanging. Some of you may be thinking "So what? They just have to buy the games they missed at a later time", but it isn't that easy when we consider that new games keep coming all the time and these people gaming interests often get divided and conflicted (online oriented games vs single player experiences) when time is scarce. This is the reason why remastered games nowadays seem to be a very appealing option for gamers who have that kind of time limitation, especially when the remastered version includes past DLC and/or gameplay extras.

3) It breathes some life into a generation that had a slow start.

This time around, compared to previous console generations, we are seen a much slower pace in early game releases as too many third party companies are still clinging to the previous generation. This had kept the new consoles on some sort of gaming drought that has been hitting for almost a year, with most of the anticipated heavy hitters still on the 2015 list. On this case, remastered versions (done right) serve to inject some interest when they manage to give a clear contrast between the previous and current generations. That contrast is one of the things the begins knocking on people's heads like a drop of water on a rock, until it breaks it and get them to support the platform because they actually see a tangible difference. An example of the complete opposite is the Wii U launch fiasco, where people thought that the new machine was just another Wii and did not ran to the stores to get it as they did with the Wii itself.

4) Keeps interest in the franchise.

We know that sequels on some famous franchises are almost a given, but these things take time. In order to keep the interest in the franchise going strong until that new game arrives, companies often use remastered versions and that is alright if they do it without the product been a cheap rehash of the same game and if the new version doesn't come a very long time after the original, like Zone of the Enders HD which was one that came too late to have any effect on a good franchise that was just lost in time due to several years of neglect. At this time, remastered versions of games that have been released in the last 2-3 years are good for their corresponding franchises as long as they make it count and don't try to low ball the gaming community or pretend that rehash from a 5+ year old game will sell the same as it did when it first came out. It is also worth pointing out that the success or failure of a game rehash SHOULD NOT be used as a barometer to measure the franchises worth (Konami, I'm looking at you).

5) Serves as exercise for game developers.

Right now, as many companies are still working with previous generation projects, it is a good thing for them to flex their developing muscle a little and warm up in the developing process of the new consoles. While they work with the new SDK (system development kit) tools that each console has to offer, they can get new ideas and test the implementation of various new things while working on a remastered version of their game. This makes it easier for them to explore their own concepts a bit and discover what new things can be implemented in the next game on the franchise. Of course, most of us don't see this happening as we don't have insider access to big game development studios, but in any developing environment (gaming and not) it is very common to make new ideas out of revisiting the old ones, spawning a lot of nice surprises and "aha" moments.

Wrapping it up

Based on how the videogame market is moving right now, remastered versions of games are not the dreaded money grubber scheme that they used to be. This is because we as a community have become smarter and by materializing our opinions with our wallets, we have forced companies into putting a little more effort into their game rehashes. It may be a temporary thing, but for now they seem to work and deserve a chance. Remember that if you support the franchise now, you are giving a clear message to publishers, saying that you will also support the new games that are to come in the future.

Why JRPG big releases should already jump to the new consoles

JRPG is a niche genre that has been in the industry since the very beginning. Nowadays it doesn't seem to get so much attention as it used to, but has been little by little regaining some ground in the industry.The thing is that even though it looks as if Japanese rpg games are picking up some speed, companies are dragging their feet and not showing any initiative into releasing titles for the new consoles. At first this seems logical because the older consoles have bigger sale numbers, but if we take things into perspective we can see that there are some things that affect this situation that they are not been seen and we are going to talk a little about them today.

This game is proof that the JRPG genre can evolve.

The gaming media has already moved on

The first thing that a company would want is for their game to get mentioned and shown in order for it to get exposure and rally the fans. This is not that likely to happen with older consoles as almost every trending topic in gaming has to do with the new game systems or the PC platform. Titles that are exclusive to the older generation are taking the back seat and having just a quick mention at best, which is not good for advertising, much less for a niche genre that is trying to make it big again.

The "Tales of" series one of the few that still follows its roots and remains successful.

The new console users are louder and more active

Humans are lovers of novelty by nature so even if older consoles have a greater number of games and units sold worldwide, the new generation is what gamers are into. Be it playing multiplatform games or getting into exclusives (like the smashing success of Mario Kart 8), gamers are all about the new games on the newest platforms, been social networks and the gaming media a clear indication of this. This means that by releasing JRPG games exclusive to older consoles they are dividing the niche and making it smaller than it should be even if business logic tells them otherwise.

This is the first game that boosted PS2 sales back in the day.

Newer consoles thrive on the early release of a new JRPG 

It is quite right to say that gamers feel that there is a drought on the JRPG department on every new console and that is fertile ground for success as there is no real competition. You can see this as gamers ask themselves when does Sony (which are known to favor Japanese rpg games) is going to give some role playing awesomeness to the PS4 and even Wii U fans who are eagerly waiting for Xenoblade Chronicles X. If there is something that gaming history has shown us, is that every new console gets its definitive JRPG game early on, but this time that big release isn't even near. Doesn't anybody want that privileged space anymore?

Nino Kuni...We need a sequel to this beautiful game.

It doesn't have to be a really expensive production

When it comes to JRPG games, it isn't that much about cutting edge graphics as it is about a fascinating story and cool game play. This doesn't mean that they should make a game based on stick figures, but they can pretty much make it look good without having to sell their souls for it. All they have to do is focus into the story telling and overall design of the game and there you go. Evidence of this comes with the various Kickstarter campaigns that have been popping up that show indie JRPG styled games that look as if they were AAA high budget productions, so if a small studio can do it, why can't they?

The last game we got that had that Final Fantasy 7-8 feeling. 

Wrapping it up

JRPG games have reached their maximum potential for growth on the previous generation and must move on in order to keep growing. The genre had its share of success in the last few years, but it must keep moving in order to keep that momentum going. It is noted that the new generation has not been here for that long, but the fact that there isn't a clear release date for any big JRPG game is kind of weird, considering that the fan bases for each of the new game systems is growing very fast and have already reached a point where profit is possible. Now for all of the JRPG fans out there, let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best.