Hello to you and how you be… Dan Ryan here… you there. Thank you so much for checking out this post and if you like what you see please share. On the 1st of April this year I wrote a post about why we needed retro gaming now more than ever. In said post I lamented the price increases hitting the various models of Playstation consoles, the rumored Switch 2 price increase, and the then rumored $600-$800 dollar price tag for the Steam Machine. Since that post went live Nintendo did in fact raise the price of the Switch 2 by $50 to $500 for the non-bundle base model, the Steam Machine dropped in at a frankly massive $1,050 for a 512 GB base model with no controller, and Microsoft, for fear of being left out?, raised the price of all XBOX versions by as much as $150 with the 2TB option no longer being available. Oh and Sony announced that as of 2028 new games would no longer be available physically with retailers selling code in a box copies. And that they were shutting down the PS3 and VITA stores. And just this week Microsoft announced the layoff of 3,200 employees across XBOX in addition to letting Compulsion Games and Double Fine return to independent status while also selling off Ninja Theory and Undead Labs to, as of now, undisclosed buyers. A fifth studio, Arkane, is also leaving the MS portfolio though their status as a French company means there is some governmental oversight that needs to be completed first. (MS is letting these companies leave with their IP which is outstanding and unheard of. Fair play to MS on that) The landscape has radically changed in the 2 months since that post and I believe even more strongly that retro gaming is the way forward.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t for one second think new games sales or new platforms are going away entirely. Industry insiders estimate that as of this writing, GTA VI, a digital only game, has already sold between 1-3 billion dollars in pre-orders! And look, I understand that not every game is going to be GTA VI but I don’t think the industry at large does. And that’s the problem in a nutshell. As Kris recently wrote, “Have we really gotten anywhere near the peak of what the PS5 and Series X are capable of? Heck, the Switch 2 is only a year old!” To answer his question, no, we have not. And that is where retro gaming comes in.

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It’s time for some hard truths here friends. When I think about “Retro Gaming” I’m thinking about the NES, SNES, Genesis, TG-16, things like that. That is not what “Retro Gaming” is. The generally accepted definition of a retro system has been one that is 20 years past its release date. So yes, the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii are retro systems and yes you should schedule that colonoscopy. (Wii technically doesn’t turn 20 until November, just go with it) What does that have to do with our modern predicament you ask? I believe that by looking to the past, both recent and distant, the industry can save itself and avoid another massive crash. God of War on the PS2 was made by about 50 people for about $10 million dollars. (quite high for the time) God of War: Ragnarok for the PS5 was made by over 400 people, including 8 outside studios, for over $200 million dollars! That discrepancy is not just laughable but unsustainable as well. I know that, while I absolutely adored Ragnarok, a new God of War on a smaller scale that played liked the PS2 games would be right up my alley. (yes I liked Sons of Sparta, no it wasn’t perfect) Or even putting God of War aside, a new Jak and Daxter on a smaller scale than a modern AAA blockbuster would be awesome. There are so many dormant franchises across the 3 major platforms that could do with a new entry. Kris does a wonderful job highlighting these franchises in his various posts for the blog, and he hasn’t even gotten to studios not owned by the big 3. Are you seriously telling me there isn’t someone at Konami that could put a small team together and make an old-school, top down Metal Gear that was great? No one at Capcom has had a great idea for a 2D Viewtiful Joe that doesn’t cost hundreds of millions of dollars but would be successful? That just cannot possibly be reality and the sooner game makers realize that, the better we will all be. 

The wonderful thing about any creative medium is that there is space for everything. One simply has to look to the film industry to see what chasing a particular dragon can do to damage a brand. The MCU is different, always has been. The nature of the first phase of Marvel films has not, and really cannot, be replicated by studios now because they are chasing Endgame, not Iron Man. But, outside of the mainstream monster corpos chasing infinite money always, we see smaller films like Backrooms be massive successes. Backrooms was made and marketed for around $20 million dollars, not chump change but compared to other film budgets it’s money found in the couch. As of this writing the film has made over $350 million dollars before leaving theaters and selling to streaming and physical home releases. And it did that by embracing the past. Backrooms is a retro film. It’s built on good writing, smart directing, and a cool story. Indie games do this all the time. Mewgenics, one of the best reviewed games of the year, was made by 2 people with a budget of about $1.4 million dollars. It made its money back in 180 minutes! and has sold over a million copies since its February 2026 release. I realize I’m cherry picking here and of course I am, but only to make a point. These examples prove it can be done.

So what do we do in the meantime? Honestly, gaming is really good right now. 2026 has seen some stellar releases like Resident Evil 9: Requiem, Saros, Forza Horizon 6, the aforementioned Mewgenics, Pragmata, TR-49, and MiO to name a few. And our backlogs continue to grow. This hobby, this escape is getting more expensive for sure. If you are also in it as a collector, the recent Sony news probably hit you hard. The good news on that front is that not only do you have 2 years before new discs are printed, nothing already made is going away. I’d argue that now is the time to assess your collection and begin to curate it. Make it intentional, something that brings you joy. Find the games you love and play them in the best possible ways. Share that passion and spread that joy. Hopefully the big 3 will follow suit. 

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That’s it from me. To hear what Kris has to say make sure to check out the pod through whatever catcher you use or on our very own Youtube channel. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.