What is Up With All the Remasters?

Dan, joe and Adam from FuxorGamming talk About HD Remasters. Are companies milking Remasters or do they help build fanbase? If so what makes a good remaster?

[gangsta_red]

A lot of companies see a potential trend that could make them some extra cash and they all jump on it. No different from DLC and the F2P modal we see incorporated in a lot of games.

Some collections are really good, they provide a lot of content and enough changes to gameplay and features while others are a complete waste of time, lacking entries and features and only seems to be thrown out there into the wild for a quick buck.

Hopefully these devs can get this current trend out of their system or at least bring back games from a few gens ago in a collection complete with new features, new modes and just a new way to experience a classic game.

[XisThatKid]

Well considering witness first hand. There are a great potential audience in those converting from 360 to Ps4 and those that never had chance to play some classics in the library and same for PS3 to X1. Plus great hype for potential sequels or much needed second chances like DmC.
Or Cash grab.
It's viable but it's easy to see the bad side to Remasterss especially when you don't want or care for the title or already had it.

[gosukyomomma]

Funny thing is this isnt new remakes and remasters have been about for a while now its only because MS and Sony are doing it now while its causing so much attention, theres been remakes for mario, sonic, zelda, golden axe got a remake i could name loads more but as soon as ms or sony begin to remake their exclusives all fanboy war breaks loose ots pathetic are people forgetting that you dont have to buy these remakes?!

[miyamoto]

These remasters are for the millions of gamers who jumped ship from Xbox, Nintendo and PC platforms as well us millions of PLayStation fans. Who want to experience PS3 games with better quality.

[Imalwaysright]

Remasters woudn't be needed if there was BC. They exist because Sony and MS want to make more money, not because millions of gamers jumped ship from other platforms.

[Aenea]

And they exist because not everyone has been able to buy every single game from the previous gens. I, for example, have bouts of excessive gaming and then at times periods where I don't game for a year or even longer due to life circumstances. It means I haven't played all games and if I'm gonna buy a game now I rather buy a remastered for the latest system.

[Concertoine]

What about the non exclusives? Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, GTA, Metro, etc. Looking at software sales, where some of those games are at the top, people have spoken to developers and said:

"I don't mind paying 60 dollars for virtually the same game i spent 60 dollars for last year!"

And that is why there are remasters, plain and simple. It's also why there'll likely never be BC in any home console from now on either.

[herbs]

At least the Nintendo remakes are of games from 10+ years ago unlike the Remasterstations.
Here is a funny comparison between console and PC - Upgrade to new console hardware and you end up rebuying some of your favorite games. Upgrade your PC and many of your games become remastered for free.

[pcz]

i think we are getting remasters this gen because production costs to produce truly next gen games fitting for ps4/x1 is sky high. devs cant afford it/ dont want to gamble.

so instead what they do is go through their back catalogue, that way all the work is already done, they just have to give it a new coat of paint.

they save millions, and make millions because people lap it up.

its sad because we have all this advanced tech, and its being wasted on ports of old games upscaled to a higher resolution, higher frame rate and a few other new fx thrown in. the fact people are satisfied with this is a reflection of the sorry state of modern gaming.

just think if none of these remakes existed- the release schedule would be a barren desert. its obvious they are seen as a quick, cheap and easy way to create a library of games, instead of you know, making new games.

its got so desperate they are starting to make remakes of remakes- ie resident evil hd and zero.

[CorndogBurglar]

This isn't true at all.

Most of these remasters not only have new games in the series that are in production, but the devs sub these remasters out to 3rd parties to make them. The devs themeslves aren't usually working on them. If they are, its just a small team.

Capcom is the exception of course. Aside from SF5 they seem to be only focusing on remasters.

[pcz]

@corndogburglar

i guess you are referring to games series such as uncharted. i still think the remasters are little more than an easy pay day for the devs. do you think they care who has or hasnt played the game before? its about making the most out of their assets!

and its not just gaming, its the same with the film industry, if they arent remaking films, they are re-releasing different editions on dvd/bluray. again, just rinsing every penny from their assets.

the truth and reality is, these markets are stagnant. there is little originality, we are being fed the same old products, recycled.

the industry has become catabolic, rather than anabolic- its not growing, its not creating anything new, instead its feeding on what is already there. if you have a favourite musician, would you like if they kept releasing the same album over and over again in different editions, remasters etc... after a while you will wonder when they will produce some new music.

which leads to the final point- creativity. are we really to believe that devs want to remake their old games, that artist are excited about remaking the same old games... no. they want to make something new. and while we do still get new entries into franchises that are being remade (uncharted, for example,) i think its naive to believe the remakes are anything more than an easy pay day/bonus wage for the devs/publishers

[herbs]

And to top it off those upscaled Gamecube remasters still don't run at 60 on X1 or PS4. Its super strange those ports don't go to the Wii U since the original remake was made on that same Architecture! likely would run at the same performance as X1 PS4 maybe that explains why haha.

[joab777]

I just want a Bioshock collection. Please!

[Kingdomcome247]

Me too. :(

[Perjoss]

The bioshocks already have upresed versions, you can find them on the PC.

[Number-Nine]

to get suckers to buy a game they played last generation. I can see why they don't add backwards compatibility to new hardware.

[iSuperSaiyanGod]

Not everybody played these games last gen

[Unarmed_Civilian]

Alot of people didnt get a chance to play these games , secondly these consoles have different architectures, they would need to put a Ps3/360 hardware in the PS4/x1 ....

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I would take a slightly more expensive SKU with native BC, over paying for streamed rentals while companies focus more on remasters for easy profit.

Hell, if Sony freed its online multiplayer from its paywall service and made an SKU with native PS3 support, I'd begin saving for a PS4 the day they announced it.

[Unarmed_Civilian]

@wonderfulmonkeyman

"slightly more expensive SKU "

guess again

The ps4 would need to be bigger (more material required), noisyer (bigger and better cooling needed) , more prone to breakdown,

Thats easily 500$ for YOUR ps4.

[_-EDMIX-_]

strange, what game did 80 million last gen? I mean...you do get not everyone got every game last gen right?

Also consider who this "they" as....Sony nor MS are not doing the bulk of those remasters and I don't even think the money they are getting from MCC or Uncharted Collection is even worth the removal SOLELY for those games sales.

They have new architectures so the removal is just to move gaming forward, not keep gaming held back just to give kids a 2 and 1 system JUST BECAUSE.

Keep your old consoles, problem solved. They don't owe you a free system.

PS3 is BC with PS1 yet still got ports on PSN.

also...edit.

Notice you have 5 agrees, yet don't have 5 folks replying to actually defend the agree.

Notice those that disagree, have actually reasons to say so. I've found that MOST who are against it, don't even know how the industry works.

Assume its for games sales to get twice, disregards the install base doesn't match game sales, disregards that they are buy different teams, hell many times I'll hear

Naughty Dog doing the collection instead of UC4 (not the same team)

Made instead of new games (disregards...not the same team)

(disregard more games are being made new then ported, disregards that even the ports being made by PORT TEAMS even have sequels currently being made by the ORIGINAL TEAM)

Sounds to me like their anger is more like ignorant confusion.

[Number-Nine]

lol. is it a competition to see who can get the most comments toward their respective side?

[Imalwaysright]

Then how do you explain Sony paying 380 millions of dollars for gaikai in order to give us a crappy streaming service to play games from previous generations? These companies know that people wanted BC and are capitalizing on that demand to sell you games that they already sold to you in previous generations. They don't owe you nothing but are more than willing to make you pay for something that you already paid for. That's greed and that's the only thing you're defending here.

[Number-Nine]

the 'not everyone played' counter isn't really a good one because I bet a lot of people who did still gets these 'remasters'. my statement wasn't toward those who haven't played it but they are certainly in the minority. if you has a ps3 chances are you played many of these games...that's why they're being done over.

[CorndogBurglar]

So what though? I have a PS4. I kept my 360 but it red ringed about 6 months after i got my PS4.

There are some games from last gen that i would love to play again. The Batman games come to mind. The Mass Effect series. X-Com. I would gladly buy remasters of those games for PS4 simply because i cant play them anymore as it is.

I don't understand the negativity and greed accusations some people automatically throw around about this topic. I mean, there is a demand for these remasters of older games. The proof is in how well they sell. People want older games again for various reasons, whether they've played the before or not. Who is anyone to tell me i'm a sucker or an idiot for wanting to replay an old game that i can't play right now?

And to go along with that, what kind of company wouldn't cater to people when there is obviously a demand for these products? A stupid company, thats what. Any company is in business to make money. If they choose not to cater to people by not providing a product that is wanted, then they are missing out on sales. That isn't a smart way of doing business. Especially when these remasters are usually subbed out to 3rd parties and are relatively cheap to make. Its a no brainer.

[_-EDMIX-_]

" if you has a ps3 chances are you played many of these games...that's why they're being done over"

Again...what game on PS3 did 80 million? Its being done over because folks in a huge amount didn't play it, not did. Thus, a market exist and it makes sense for a publisher to seek more money on a project.

Gamers get a game they might have not played last gen, publisher gets more money, win, win.

" I bet a lot of people who did still gets these 'remasters"".... and?

If they do...so what? The reality is....no system got any game that just sold a 1.1 attach rate, thus ports, remasters etc would always make sense.

The market exist because the demand exist. The game didn't get played by all last gen, thus....still has a market this gen.

"lol. is it a competition to see who can get the most comments toward their respective side?" lol yes, I WIN! lolz. jk. But its very telling that many who are against it, are also the ones that are saying the least.

I'm fine with you actually posting too as many on here often don't despite disagreeing in record numbers lol.

I just don't agree with the statement "if you has a ps3 chances are you played many of these games" as the number of PS3s sold and the number of units those games sold don't support that statement.

But respect for at least saying why you feel the way you feel, many won't on here.

and I just got to agree with Corndog on this one.

Why wouldn't a publisher seek to give a consumer something they are demanding? The port won't hurt future development as its likely contracted out to another team.

I got Persona 3 and 4 on PS3 off of PSN, I'm getting Persona 5 day 1 BRAND NEW because of those ports being on PSN...I likely might have never played those games had they never ported it. Soooo they very much made money be keeping their IP relevant by porting.

Who knows, I might buy Sleeping Dogs or Metro etc and become a huge fan JUST by buying the port and that might lead me into buying the future releases.

If your a company...why wouldn't you want that? Again...Naughty Dog isn't doing the Uncharted ports and Crystal Dynamics didn't do the Tomb Raider port, so the whole new game vs port argument is just useless and makes no sense. I'm sorry but a port makes sense for fans, for the publisher and even for the new up and coming port teams that just want some work to get started in the industry.

[Number-Nine]

I don't have a problem with the developers trying to make a quick buck but they over price these things. the uncharted triple pack is really going to be $60? I can buy all three for under $20. 1080/60fps isn't enough justification to charge that much.

and when people buy these things it sets a bad example around the industry...just look at DLC.

[Spotie]

But people who haven't played any particular game are in the majority. There'd have to be over 3.5 billion copies sold for those who HAVE played it to be in the majority.

If 80-odd million PS3s were sold, that's barely 1% of the world's population. Obviously, not everybody will buy a given game or console, but that's the point, isn't it?

[gangsta_red]

I love how everyone assumes that there are a majority of people who didn't play these remasters. Where are you getting this information from?

[Spotie]

How can you assume anything OTHER than that most people have not played it? Have ANY of the game receiving remasters sold to even a quarter of of any applicable platform's install base?

Did God of War sell 80 million copies? Did Tomb Raider sell 160 million? And that's only taking gamers from the previous generation into consideration; we get new gamers every gen, and they obviously won't have played games from generations past.

So, seriously, how in the hell can you claim any majority played any of these games?

[gangsta_red]

@Spotie

So you're going to answer my question about why do you assume no one has played these games with even more assumptions?

Are you kidding me!

Where is your proof that many people have not played these games that deserve a remaster? Please give me this information.

[Spotie]

Just stop, man. I don't even know why you're arguing this. There are no assumptions. It's a fact that not one of those games has a 50% or greater attach rate.

It's stupid of you to assert anything other than that.

[re2_apocalypse]

Another day; another remastered article...

[Intranquill]

You're telling me dude. Talk about pointless articles. It's like a Gamefaqs discussion forum anymore on this POS site.

[memots]

it happens every time a remaster from Sony is announced. Same went with God of war.

[OmegaShen]

Because no one can make a working new game, so its easy to remaster.

[ltachiUchiha]

Its a no brainer. Devs are losing money from used game sales and see this as an opportunity for potential sales for those who never got a chance to play their games & fans who dont mind a remaster. Im surprised square enix hasnt announced an ff7, & ff8 remaster. Obviously it is selling and is why were seeing more & more remasters.

[ltachiUchiha]

If im wrong then why are they making remasters? Love how ppl think they just making them for the hell of it lol. U complain about remasters but there are 2 CODS released yearly & thats fine smh.

[fashionst]

What is up with all the articles crying about remasters?
Did this many people complain about having to buy DVD's of VHS tapes they already owned, too?

[fashionst]

2 copies of OoT:3D signed in to downvote

[Perjoss]

Totally different, when movies shift formats the film crews and visual effects people dont have to come back and redo the work, they are free to go off and create new stuff.

[fashionst]

It's being done by Bluepoint, not internally.

[Mikito11]

Cos people are silly enough to buy the same thing twice after as little as a year..

[hkgamer]

that aswell. but its mainly for people who want a better version or haven't played it yet.

[Snookies12]

Nothing silly about wanting the best version of a game you really loved.

[calvincrack]

Why all these articles in response to Uncharted collection????? This is the one we wanted

[zsquaresoff]

What's up with all these articles regarding remasters?

[hkgamer]

its a bit of everything. doesnt cost much on development side, a definitive version for fans and for new people who has yet to play it.
as long as it is a good port and everybit better than the original then i am happy with it. probably not happy paying full price, but i can purchase it when it gets cheaper

[Tru_Blu]

Same here, I played them already so $60 is a no go for me. I get the price though, a lot of people never played them and a great way to get some extra cash and expose them to the UC franchise ahead of UC4. It will likely be in the $30-40 range within a few months though so I'll pick it up then to brush up on the story before 4 drops.

[ltachiUchiha]

Funny thing is these ppl who cry about this, b*tch about EVERYTHING even though its not hurting the devs or any of us gamers in any way unless its a crappy remaster but i hardly see bad remasters & even if there were problems thats why they have updates to fix those problems.

[Manubiggs]

I moved from xbox 360 to PS4 - I have never played an uncharted game. I'm glad I will now get to jump into Uncharted 4 next year having experienced the Uncharted Trilogy.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

You'll be paying more for all those remasters on PS4, in the long run, if they keep making this as big a habit as it was last gen, than you would have in the long run by buying originals, had Sony made an SKU with native PS3 BC.
The added cost of such an SKU would have shown its value over time by allowing you to buy the originals cheaper, and it would have been one less excuse for developers to do a remaster, meaning a higher likelihood of whole new games for fans, instead.

Not having native BC is a drawback in the long run, IMO.

[Manubiggs]

I'm no industry expert - but my understanding is BC would drive up the cost of the hardware as with the initial PS3 - and from what I remember it didn't pay off. BC is consumer friendly and gives us more choice as a customer but are consumers willing to spend 100+ dollars for it? The slim PS3 seemed to say otherwise.
The other thing is it is not a zero sum game - they are ample resources to create new games and develop remasters in the industry. The size of a dev team over the course of a game changes drastically - it is not as if all members are engaged all the time on one game - at some point you are doing storyboards and art so there is minimal coding work - those coders can be used for something else in that time.In this case, it is not naughty dog doing the remaster - they have engaged a 3rd party so they can focus on Uncharted 4. There are development companies that specialise in remastering, i.e. their core competency is not creating new games ... what they are best at is taking what already exists and remastering it. But as I stated, I am no industry expert, this is purely my understanding of the situation.

[FallenAngel1984]

How does this topic bother anyone

[Imalwaysright]

Because BC was removed in order to sell remasters.

[FallenAngel1984]

It would've been expensive to build last gen consoles into current gen platforms. Plus PowerPC isn't compatible with x86. Backwards compatibility was never a viable option, these remasters are a workaround.

[Germany7]

If you don't want it, don't buy it, some games that i really like i would buy a remaster version, and some i wouldn't buy.

[jv1991]

People who want to play these old games should buy the old consoles. So that the devs can work on new games for this gen only.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

We would have been better off if they had at least offered us the option of slightly more expensive SKU's that offered native BC, so we could continue playing our collections on a new system long after the old ones had started showing wear and tear.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

They would need to add the hardware of the PS3 into the PS4. Emulation is not an option. It would never run smooth enough. That would make the PS4 not only bigger but also much more expensive. Some ppl actually care about the price. One reason why PS4 sold more than the X1 to start with.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Dude, Luffy, having the >option< of buying that SKU is better than having streaming rentals or falling back on old systems/remasters forced upon us.

There are people out there who would have paid that extra cost.
If you don't believe me, look at the ridiculous sums people paid for that limited anniversary edition PS4!XD
All it really had was a different color. Imagine the insane demand if, on top of that color, it boasted native BC!

Sony has wizards behind their tech; you can't seriously expect anyone to believe that Sony couldn't have made it happen, and run smooth, if they had tried, do you?XD

[wayne457]

Come on man, there are only a few remastered games. Taking Playstation as an example Uncharted Collection, GOW III and The Last of Us don't equate to 'many'.

You can make the arguments for last gen ports, but this has been going on for ages.

[EazyC]

But if you count the multiplats it actually takes up a large portion of the total 'big name' developer games made; Tomb Raider, Borderlands, Metro, DmC, GTA V, Oddworld, Dark Souls, and many more.

Nothing against it really, I just think others are under the illusion that developers are solely focussing their efforts on remasters in lieu of a proper new game, which is untrue - they get splinter teams to do the work, often hired specifically for that purpose, and are completely isolated from the new game development team.

[Poli_Games]

So there's the Jak and dexter collection, ratchet and clank collection, the last of us remaster, Nathan drake collection, god of war collection, psp port of ghost of Sparta/ chains of Olympus God of war saga on PS3, god of war collection, ico/shadow of the colossus collection, kill zone trilogy, and The Sly collection. That's just to name a few. As much as I love me some Playstation they do love them HD collections

[rawrock]

As someone who only had a Wii last gen, I am loving all these remasters. I get to play great games I missed with improved graphics...

[Poli_Games]

What are you playing these HD Remasters on?

[Der_Kommandant]

I'm only asking for one remaster.

Twisted Metal Collection

[jay2]

Its annoying make new games ffd

[TheFifthSparrow]

They make money.

[curtis92]

Personally, I'd take a 1080p/60fps remaster of a classic ps3/360 game on ps4/xbo any day over BC. That's just me, I guess. But what do I know? I also rebought a LOT of old movies I used to own because I wanted to experience them in HD. Stupid money grabbing movie studios... /s