As console generations march on and more classic games are lost to time, Nightdive Studios are making huge strides in preserving gaming history.
Many gamers enjoy going back and revisiting their favorite video games from years past. Few things are better than the nostalgic feeling of finally completing a difficult game from your childhood. The only problem is most classic titles have a hard time running on modern hardware without extensive patches or mods. Thankfully, one company is doing its part in keeping retro games alive. Nightdive Studios is a small, independent company specializing in restoring, remaking, and remastering old video games so fans can enjoy them for through the upcoming years.
Although numerous video games have received digital remasters this generation, there are still many popular retro titles that have fallen victim to abandonware. Nightdive Studios’ mission is to resurrect these forgotten games and expose them to younger generations while reintroducing long-time gamers to some of their favorite classic titles. The company already has several amazing remasters and rereleases under its belt such as Blood: Fresh Supply, Bad Mojo Redux and a brilliant PC port of Doom 64. It doesn’t appear that the indie studio has any intention of slowing down as it is currently working on remastering the FPS cult classic System Shock.
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Nightdive Studios’ work is more important than people might think. Many of the games it works on are titles destined to become abandonware. If it weren’t for Nightdive and other companies like them, most of these games would be forgotten, spending all of eternity in unplayable, primitive states. Nightdive’s commitment to reviving beloved retro games is a huge step toward preserving these older titles and saving them from becoming nothing more than a faded memory in aging gamers’ minds.
While great strides have been taken to preserve classic movies, books and television shows, very little has been done to maintain video game history. Old source codes become lost as gamers move on to bigger and better things. If gamers can’t play a game on their contemporary PC or home console, there isn’t a point in keeping it around, causing it to slowing morph into abandonware. Nightdive wants to prevent this from happening by acquiring the rights to older games, modifying them to run modern technology and uploading them to leading digital marketplaces. Nightdive breathes new life into forgotten games and allows them to flourish decades after their initial release. This prevents games from becoming obsolete and falling into obscurity over time.
Nightdive has successfully resurrected over 75 cherished retro titles since opening its doors in 2012. The indie studio has done wonders for video game preservation while reuniting thousands of gamers with classic games on the cusp of extinction. With a number of great remasters already in the works, it’s safe to say the future looks bright for the budding indie studio.
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