After cinema and series, the fashion for remakes seizes video games

DECRYPTION

We knew the remakes of films in the cinema, now here are the remakes ... of video games.

, 

,

,

: several old games, released 10, 20 or 30 years ago, received a facelift in 2020. Whether it's just improved graphics or redesigns From top to bottom, remakes are a growing trend in the video game industry.

Officially, the studios are looking to fill the nostalgia of

.

But, as often, it is also a business story.

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From Mario to

Final Fantasy

, everyone gets started

The most famous of video game heroes, Mario, turned 35 in September.

A bit young for a facelift, but that didn't stop Nintendo from "remastering" three games of the mustached plumber.

But this is not retrogaming, the trend that brings the first cult video games up to date by capitalizing on their old-fashioned charm.

No, the Japanese publisher has opted for three 3D adventures: 

 (released in 1996), 

(2002) and 

(2007).

Games that have benefited from a simple graphic upgrade and an adaptation of the controls to the Nintendo Switch.

DECRYPTION >>

"The Citizen Kane of the video game": why is

so cult?

This kind of improved "port" to a new generation of consoles is nothing new.

What is is that some remakes go much further, like 

, released in the spring.

The original game, released in 1997, has been completely transformed to make it a work worthy of the standards of 2020: photo-realistic graphics, more relief for the characters, enriched scenario, extended scenery and playing time multiplied by five or six!

In short, an XXL project for a breathtaking result that fills the nostalgia of fans.

And other games have since been concerned with a total rewrite and graphic overhaul, most notably 

and 

, two darling games from the 1990s-2000s.

Make old unplayable classics accessible

"We decided to do a

remake 

 because it had been out for a while (

). It was getting difficult for players who discovered the franchise with 

 (2010) and 

 (2016) ) to play the original game, "Alex Cox, creative manager of the Hangar 13 studio, behind this remake told Europe 1.

Accessibility is the primary driver of the remake trend.

Technology evolves very quickly in video games and consoles are quickly obsolete, or even more on sale for some.

As a result, great games are not accessible at all these days, even if they don't look that old.

So goes 

on the PS2 or 

on the Nintendo 64.

Another consequence of technological progress: in addition to the console, games also age quickly.

"If we had come out as is, simply remastered,

would have been unplayable because of the design and graphics. The interface, for example, was very difficult to understand," said Alex Cox.

“We wanted to preserve the characters, the atmosphere and the story of the game, which had been praised by the players. But we had to rebuild everything else, mainly the graphics and the game engine. We redesigned the gameplay so that 'it matches that of today's games. "

And the result is successful: 

is terribly immersive and has nothing to envy to a current production.

Remakes, less expensive projects

A remake is therefore not a simple update, it is a project that can be laborious.

“For 

, everything had to be redone from scratch,” says Alex Cox.

However, it remains less time-consuming than creating an original game.

“For a new game, there is a long enough period of research and creative work to imagine what it will look like. For a remake, this step is shortened,” explains the creative manager of the studio Hangar 13. “On the other hand, it takes about the same time to build. 

 took us two years while a new game of the same magnitude would have taken a year or two longer. "

And it is also logically cheaper.

"Clearly, that's a factor that comes into play. The

remake 

 is a AAA game (

) produced for the cost of a mid-size game," admits Alex Cox.

"We're working on multiple games at the same time. Producing a remake was a way to engage in a

related project on a 

 smaller scale than other titles in development."

Less expensive games… but no less lucrative!

A remake makes it possible to seduce both early-stage players and the youngest who have not known their parents' games. 

Several remakes expected in 2021

According to Alex Cox, this phenomenon of remakes will increase.

"There is clearly a trend. It's a sign that the video game industry is coming of age. Remakes are becoming a genre in their own right, just like in the movies. And there are a lot of classics that you can't play anymore. at all or who are no longer as extraordinary as when they came out, "rejoices the one who has also been a gamer from a young age.

The critical and public success of the remakes of

, 

and 

and 

 or even recently of

paves the way for studios wishing to bring their catalogs of old games to life.

In 2021, it will be Ubisoft's turn to enter the dance with a remake of 

, a flagship game of a cult license from the years 1990-2000 but dormant for ten years.

And it's rumored that Nintendo is also working on a

remake 

.