12 Classic Things Most Modern Video Games Are Missing

3. Future-Proofing

A result of several of the aforementioned issues is that modern games just aren't future-proofed at all. If a new game ships and requires a dozen updates over the first few weeks of release (hello, Driveclub), that means that if someone wants to return to the game in, say, 10 or 15 years, they're going to be left with a vastly inferior product when Sony inevitably stops supporting it, and the updates are no longer available. This is also a by-product of the fact that new systems require games to eventually be uninstalled when hard drive space begins to run out. Classic games? Not so much: you can still shove an N64 cartridge or PS1 disc in your console and it'll play just as well as it did 15-20 years ago, because developers didn't have the luxury of compensating for their screw-ups, so they had to be on the whole much more careful about catching them. It's going to be interesting and probably rather depressing in a few decades' time, when if you want to return to a classic game, you'll be left with the buggy husk that shipped rather than the complete game that was patched in later.
 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.