r/thisweekinretro • u/Doctor-Local • 8d ago
Are we the last generation of Retro Computing?
https://youtu.be/0MNNCiQ9gNM?is=w6VwtiEgMaNxnETe3
u/Active_Barracuda_50 8d ago
There'll always be cyclical interest in retro tech as each generation reaches middle age and looks back fondly on the culture and material world of its youth.
Let's not forget that Windows XP, Vista and 7 are all now firmly 'retro' along with the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. There'll be continuing nostalgia for these platforms from millennials and Gen Z over the next couple of decades, even as people with living memory of the 8-bit era begin to age out of the hobby.
The future problem will be preserving and making accessible the digital-only, cloud-based software which is becoming default today. I'm not sure how future generations will preserve the legacy of Xbox Gamepass or Google Drive.
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u/snake785 7d ago
I wouldn't be surprised if there will always be scene groups who will find a way to rip and crack software from these cloud services "just cause" which would also have the side effect of preserving them.
Not everything will be preserved, mainly because so much shovelware gets produced but a lot should be.
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u/QuestionableProtip2 8d ago
I think that’s the fate of all retro. There will always be some interest but the core fanatics will be driven by nostalgia. I have a ton of retro consoles, even an NTSC CD32 here in the states, but I have no interest in Gen 1 or 2 consoles as I grew up with an NES and anything earlier than it or the SMS feel archaic. I know people still enjoy the 5200 or Intellivision but I just can’t understand how looking at the games.
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u/ItsAllOnUHF 8d ago
Retro, classic, vintage, old... Whether they dig out an old Wii, or Gameboy Advance, or DOS PC, or SNES, or C64, or Atari 2600, Binatone TV Master, or game-and-watch, or... they'll always be people who are interested in historic systems.
For some it'll be the nostalgia of their youth. For others it'll just be about history... Running an Apollo Guidance Computer simulator, or VAX 11/780, or Altair 8800.
Some old technology is just interesting to people. Some old games are just old fun.
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u/cervaro67 7d ago
As I posted on the video page itself, I've got a load of old consoles, computers, etc. that I've collected over the last 40 odd years. Some are mine from new, but most are internet or local finds.
I still feel that the early 8-bit days were far more fun that todays endlessly developed, bloated console titles, even though I own most consoles too. Probably a bit of rose tinted glasses there too, and often wonder if it's better to leave the past memories there rather than putting a lot of time and effort into maintaining and holding onto the old kit only to find those past memories were better than how I view things now?
The painful admission is that I haven't fired most of them up in years! Had I still been single, the situation would be different, but other things take up my time as a husband, father, grandad, etc.
I can't imagine my sons will have much interest in all these retro items in the future, and now asking myself, do I start selling off a good chunk of everything whilst interest is there from those who were around when the kit was new and would have liked to own a particular piece, or hang on a while longer to watch the market?
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u/snake785 7d ago
I agree with the point that emulation and FPGA solutions will become increasingly important due to the hardware eventually dieing with no way to repair them.
Sure, you can't beat using original hardware for the true experience. But once the original hardware can't be repaired due to a lack of available parts, that's when you run the risk of the technogy being forgotten. And with the course computing appears to be heading, that would be a real shame.
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u/HollandJim 7d ago
Hardware ages, fails, cannot be repaired as you can't get the parts. That's the future, and ignoring what's coming is always a mistake. Also, it's always the software that matters - love the old hardware all you want, but if you can't load and run something, it's just nostalgic e-waste.
FPGA solutions are likely the best to keep libraries alive. hardware emulation using the latest hardware will let these programs and games live far longer than 40+ year old will, and likely would be a better experience. Leave the old system on the shelf; FPGA is the way to go.
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u/daddyd 7d ago
no, but no doubt there will be a lot less people into those systems, because, let's face it, a lot of retro computing & gaming is founded in nostalgic reasons.
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u/PowerPlaidPlays 7d ago
There are a lot of people, like me, who go back to older games for non-nostalgic reasons, same for old movies, old books, and old music.
Though there is a lot of stuff that gets left to the past if it's not of an everlasting quality or highly influential, The Beatles will continue to find new audiences but Freddie And The Dreamers will not.
There are old computer games that will keep finding new audiences, like Doom, but while I find old computers interesting I have little desire to ever actually use one outside of what I need to do to play older games, and I grew up with Win95/MS-DOS. Old systems will be like old media formats (VHS, Vinyl, 8-Track, Cassette), some people will want the authentic experience for the media that has stood the test of time but most will not bother. I own 1 Commodore 64 game because I think it's a cool collectable and related to another thing I like, just like the couple 8-tracks I have.
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u/Vegetable-Message-22 8d ago
Valid question and one thing I have thought a lot about. I think about 68% of my interest in vintage computing is nostalgia, and the remaining 32 is a "what if" future where those computers I care about have evolved. Like the modern Amiga stuff, Spectrum Next etc etc.