Why Remakes are Important

It was recently reported that Blizzard is planning on releasing an HD version of Starcraft. Starcraft is a widely successful real time strategy game that was released in 1998 and helped make Blizzard a house hold name in the game industry. Its success spawned the sequel, Starcraft 2 in 2010. Similarly, Nintendo released an HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS, and Microsoft gave the go ahead for the entire Halo series to be updated and released for the Xbox One.

But why do game studios decide to re-release games from the past, instead of creating new games?

One reason is that not all game sequels will be met with the same praise that their predecessors were. The Resident Evil franchise is regarded as one of the best in horror. Resident Evil 4 was nearly universally praised by reviewers and gamers alike but Resident Evil 5 and 6 were panned. They provide an example of how hard it can be for long running franchises to create fresh ideas that connect with gamers. Sonic the hedgehog was an icon of gaming in the 90s but not now he is viewed as a mediocrity. Sega has tried to modernize his character with little success. What made Sonic fun in the 90s was his high speed, side scrolling game play. Sega’s attempts to modernize him, removing platforming and adding 3D have only alienated fans. To supplement this Sega has re-leased older Sonic games to be played on modern consoles.

By doing this Sega has started to introduce new generations of gamers to the original games that started it all. Doing so creates new fans and also appeases old ones that do not want to see the game forced into becoming something it’s not. Remakes are important for developers because they have the ability to show younger gamers what made their favorite game series important. They can play the updated version of Zelda on their handheld 3DS that I grew up with playing on the Nintendo 64. New players to the series get to experience one the stories that boosted Zelda and Link to fame in mainstream gaming. Blizzard is undoubtedly hoping for the same thing to happen when they release the HD remake of Starcraft. They want to give loyal gamers the remake they deserve while simultaneously bringing in new gamers that were not alive to experience the sensation.

Remakes also have a less abstract function providing income for developers. What better way to make revenue then re-cashing in on a popular game? Polishing up a game can be more cost effective then designing a new game, creating a new team to make it and marketing the final product. A team working on a remake may have already had experience with the original game and marketing is easy because the name recognition of the game sells itself. The income created from remakes can be used to create new games and fund future endeavors for the company. They are a win win for the business and the consumer.