nThe original Donkey Kong Arcade machine, Mint Condition Outrun Race Simulation Game, Esterified between Gamer Cube and Nintendo 64-wired booths, Luke Malpass, engineer dismantling a broken Nintendo Wii.
I brought old game consoles to the house for repairs and fixes, and there was a steady stream of people, a retro gaming arcade of elephants and castles, transformed into a gaming clinic for two days.
Gabriella Rosenau, 35, brought in a broken Wii that had been in the garage “for years.” “I'm still playing my older brother, my older Nintendo 64, and I love it, but I really want to get it [the Wii] Repaired. “
“I've done something weird about Call of Duty and PlayStation, but I'm more interested in retro games,” she adds.
Rosenau is part of a growing community that has abandoned modern video games and picked up consoles since or before childhood. According to a Pringles investigation, Gen Z Gamers are proceeding with lawsuits, with 24% owning retro consoles.
What began as a Malpas passion project, restoring the consoles of its former glory quickly evolved into a full-time business. During the peak during lockdown, his company Retrosix hired 16 people to deal with demand. He places this, in part, on people stuck at home. “People were bored, they were finding things at home and looking for things online.
“We originally only sold on eBay and didn't even have a site. eBay was limiting sales because they thought it was fraudulent,” he says. “It literally took over.”
Retrosix receives hundreds of requests each month from people who want their console to be fully functional, playable or upgraded. This is “stable,” says Malpas, but the community is still expanding.
“There are a lot of people who are obsessed with this right now. The older generations than me tend to be PC-based for Amigas and Commodores, in their late 40s and early 50s. And then my age, so 30 People in the world are very interested in Game Boys, Mega Drive, Super Nintendo's entertainment system, such as.
“And there's a younger generation that's either one. [the] Nintendo DS, what they've played is beginning to be retro or really hooked on the whole retro. So you get people in their 20s who are more obsessed with than we do.
Malpass has gained massive supporters on social media, with 44,100 followers and 61,700 subscribers on its YouTube channel, Angelsix and Tiktok on Retrosix.
Young people engaged online say they reach for retro games for unique gameplay, and for the opportunity to “switch off,” Malpass says.
“You're turning on the console at the top and playing games. No stress. There's no internet. You're not competing with the world. You have your own in the game, you're going to go I feel a sense of accomplishment in, and that was what you used to do,” he says.
“I think the younger generation is feeling more stressed they are now. Growing up in the world of social media is very mentally challenging. [Retro video gaming] It's their safe place. It's like their escape,” he says.
Matthew Dolan, a software developer in his 40s, brought some of his game gear consoles. His passion for retro games and technology comes from nostalgia and childhood memories, playing games his father wrote for him at BBC Micro. “It was a great introduction to technology,” he says.
“You get all that joy from playing it literally. You go through the battery and plan a long, long car journey,” he says. “They don't rely on equally flashy graphics. [as contemporary games]. ”
Going it a step further, Dolan says he revised and adapted the console, spending £7,000 on his hobby last year. “We've regained some of it from selling things, but it's not cheap.”
He got stuck trying to repair some of the game gear chips and needed Malpas' expertise. Retrosix's repaired Prestige Edition Game Gear Console is £298.80. The LED edition costs £334.80, and mods or services on the console start at £36.
Popular retro consoles
game boy
A handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1989 and in Europe in 1990. It is estimated that over 118.7 million Game Boys and Game Boy colors are available for sale all over the world, making it one of the most successful handheld consoles of the era. Its compact design and affordable price.
SNES
Super Nintendo's entertainment system, also known as Super NES, was Nintendo's second home video game console to release internationally. It was first released by Nintendo, Japan in 1990 and arrived in Europe in 1992. It is estimated that SNES sold 49.1m units worldwide when it was cancelled in 2003.
Xbox Original
The Xbox console was Microsoft's first gaming console offering and the first installment payment for the consoles of the Xbox series, which was first released in Europe in 2002. The second generation Xbox 360 was released in 2005.
Amiga
A series of personal computers created by Commodore International from 1985 to 1994. Other companies continued to produce Amiga after this. The Amiga 1000, also known as the A1000, was the first personal computer released by Amiga Line's Commodore International. It was known for its advanced graphics and sound. Popular games include Alien Breed, Syndicate, Wise Football, and Eye viewers.
Game Gear
A handheld game console was released by Sega in Japan in 1990 and released in Europe the following year. Game Gear competed mostly with Nintendo's Game Boy, Atari Links and NEC's Turbo Experez. In 1991, around 520,000 game gear was sold in Europe, of which over 130,000 were sold in the UK.
Source: www.theguardian.com
