Why old games never die, but new ones do

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Survivorship Bias vs. What “Dying” Means

  • Many argue the premise is mostly survivorship bias: we only see the standout old games; thousands of contemporaries are forgotten.
  • Others counter that even bad or obscure old games are still playable if you have media/emulators, whereas many newer games become literally unplayable.
  • Distinction emerges between “culturally dead but technically playable” (forgotten ROMs) and “legally/technically dead” (server‑locked titles).

DRM, Online Requirements, and Planned Obsolescence

  • Core concern: newer titles often require central servers, DRM, or asset streaming; when servers shut down, games (even single‑player) stop working.
  • Older games could be run from a disc or ROM, with or without patches; modern equivalents like The Crew or Overwatch 1 are cited as deliberately killed.
  • Some see this as conscious planned obsolescence and compare it to streaming video platforms making catalogs transient.
  • There are calls for regulation: mandating offline modes, server code release, or open-sourcing at end of life.

Multiplayer, Matchmaking, and Fragmentation

  • Old LAN/direct‑IP games can still be played if you gather friends; modern competitive games depend on centralized matchmaking and huge player bases.
  • Once population dips below a threshold, ranked ladders and onboarding collapse, effectively killing the game.
  • The “everyone moves in a crowd” effect via influencers and FOMO events makes newer multiplayer feel like disposable social “events.”

Mods, Emulation, and Community Preservation

  • Community patches, private servers, and emulators (for DOS, consoles, MMOs, Thief/UT/PSO, etc.) are credited with keeping many older games alive.
  • Some games become “zombies”: fan-maintained but in legal limbo. Others (Factorio, Stardew, Minecraft, classic CRPGs) are seen as modern titles likely to endure thanks to offline play and mod-friendliness.

Quality, Monetization, and Design Trends

  • Strong split: some claim cultural/creative decline, enshittification, and monetization-first design (battle passes, loot boxes, daily quests, “gambling for kids”).
  • Others push back, listing many recent single-player and indie titles as equal or superior to classics; problem is AAA live-service economics, not games as a whole.
  • Complaints about modern complexity bloat, constant balance patches, and psychological engagement loops vs. the relative simplicity and clarity of older games.

Copyright, Ownership, and Law

  • Long copyright terms and DRM are criticized as blocking preservation and personal archiving (parallels drawn with ebooks and streaming).
  • Several propose shorter copyright, mandatory public-domain or free-play transitions for old games, or automatic open-sourcing of “abandonware.”
  • The “Stop Killing Games” EU initiative is repeatedly cited as a concrete push for legal change.