Can you think of a classic gem that you used to love to pass the time with in your younger years? Depending on your age, it might have been pinball or your coveted Sega Mega Drive from the 90s. Whatever it is, it’s probably no surprise to you that the internet more than likely has it, and you can carry it with you anywhere in your pocket.
Thanks to the internet and smartphone technology, there seems to be a nostalgic departure to classic games, which have become more accessible than ever and can now serve as your companion during your regular commutes. The fact that many old games can still be played on modern consoles has helped spur this revival, and now retro games have also taken the smartphone market by storm.
For example, take old 90s Sega games. Many Sega Genesis treasures have become available for Android and iOS like Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Sega Tetris, The Revenge of Shinobi, Altered Beast and The Golden Axe. Additionally, many arcade classics such as Pac-Man have been revived. Pac-Man is also an example of how some revivals have actually led to new variations of the original games (such as Pac-Man Pop). Another example is Super Mario Run, which is a new take on an old Nintendo legend and is specifically designed for smartphones. Even though there are no original versions available, there are plenty of imitations that can be just as entertaining.
But it’s not just video games that are being revived and revamped; arcade games such as pinball have also made a big comeback. Having gone from billiards-like tables with large balls and sticks in the late 19th century to four-legged, battery-operated machines with flippers in the 50s, games like this have come a long way to get onto our cell phones. Since the first video game versions became available in the 90s, pinball has since landed in places like Xbox Live Arcade and flipped its way into the iOS and Play stores in the form of apps like Pinball Deluxe: Reloaded and Pinball King. And the best part is that it’s completely free—you can keep your quarter each time you play. Apps like these also give the user a huge selection of different machines to choose from, and in some cases (as with Deluxe), new tables can be unlocked through gameplay.
There is also the option of playing all these classic games on their original consoles, a hobby known as “retro gaming”. Of course, most of the time nothing quite beats the original; but because the online and app versions offer variations of these games, as well as increased portability, it’s worthwhile downloading these gaming history lessons onto your cell.
Another advantage of playing online or with apps is the inclusion of leaderboards and social media. As a result, these types of games now have an added dimension of competitiveness that they never had before. To enhance the social aspect, many games allow you to publish your results to Facebook or send invites to friends to play.
However, it’s not just retro video and arcade games that are being transformed by the power of the internet and mobile technology. More traditional pastimes—such as card games, snooker and darts— are benefitting from the increased attention that this medium can provide. Take Texas Hold’em, for example. This is an extremely popular variant of poker that was developed by a group of Texans back in the 60s as a game that required exceptional skill to win. Thanks to its soaring popularity online, we are now starting to see a new breed of this classic game in the form of “Split Hold’em”.
Snooker and darts, which are classic barroom sports, are also popular in their simulated versions. In addition to being great social pastimes, both games require a certain degree of dexterity and the use of fine motor skills. These days, however, we have the option of playing them anywhere we want and outside our friends’ critical gazes. Nowadays many apps can be downloaded that allow you to test your precision in these areas for free and without the pressure of playing the real thing.
This surge in the popularity of classic games is no surprise. Online gaming is as old as the internet itself, and with it constantly in our pockets, we now have no excuse to be bored. We have already seen that the web can lend itself particularly well to simplified simulations of reality. For example, take this little curiosity (and serious threat to productivity) that was created back in 2015 ahead of the Gophers’ first game against TCU.