Mega Man 9 and the Retro Revival

1080p resolution. Bloom lighting. Normal mapping. 8-bit graphics? The latest wave of consoles is more high tech than ever, but old-school gaming is surprisingly still in vogue. All three next-gen consoles offer services that celebrate the best of our gaming heritage. A pleasant side effect of this dedication to preserving past classics has been a retro revival; re-releasing older titles is just the tip of the warp pipe. Leave it to long-time industry trendsetter Capcom to rock the retro boat by announcing that Mega Man 9 is being built from the ground up for the Wii, 360, and PS3 in glorious 8-bit. Commence cheering, gaming geezers – everything old is new again.

Of course, this is just the most recent retro resuscitation. Xbox 360 owners have known the glory of classic gaming (in HD!) thanks to Xbox Live Arcade and its revamped versions of games like Pac-Man, Paperboy, and Rootbeer Tapper. The PS3 and Wii also support the oldies via PSN (PlayStation Network) and Virtual Console, respectively. In addition, Nintendo’s much-lauded WiiWare service – a unique platform that focuses on new games – turned a lot of heads when it launched this May.

Offering small and independent developers a shot at making the next smash hit, as well as giving the big guys a reprieve from dumping millions into a risky next-gen title that could flop once it’s within arm’s reach of fickle gamers, WiiWare is intent on revitalizing the concept of bite-size, low budget games that rely more on fun factor than graphics and presentation.  So what’s that mean for us crusty controller connoisseurs? More throwbacks to the golden era of 2D gaming, like the beautifully serene platformer LostWinds and the off-beat, cutesy puzzler Toki Tori.

Not to be outdone, both Sony and Microsoft are providing similarly unique games that manage to appeal to new players while giving a seductive wink and a smile to long-time gamers.  Titles like Everyday Shooter and Echochrome on the PS3 and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and Braid on the 360 prove that neither company is abandoning simple, challenging, quirky gaming, and hopefully never will.

The retro revolution is being televised as we speak.  What are you waiting for?