Retro, classic video games steeped in nostalgia are impacting a new generation
Pac-Man, Galaga, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter take people back to a simpler time, Scott Bachrach says
Tastemakers president Scott Bachrach has gone all-in when it comes to banking on people's nostalgia for older video games and bringing it into the 21st century.
Tastemakers' brand Arcade1UP recently launched full-size arcade machines that people can buy for their homes. Some of those games are old-fashioned favorites like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GoldenTee, Space Invaders and Centipede.
Video games, he said, can be a great social engagement opportunity, but many modern video games are "very one- dimensional" and can intimidate certain older generations.
"But Pac-Man, Galaga, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter: These are all games that you play as a group, and so, nostalgia in terms of bringing everyone back together, back to a simpler time before everything happened, you know, across the world instantaneously," Bachrach told FOX Business.
But why will people now buy old games? Bachrach said it all comes back to classic rock for him.
(From left) Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Darryl Jones of The Rolling Stones perform onstage at Hard Rock Stadium on Aug. 30, 2019 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo: MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/AFP via Getty Images)
"I went to a Rolling Stones concert a month ago, and I looked in the audience of 100,000 people, and I saw kids that were 12 years old, adults that were 3 and older guys like myself that were 50 and 60," Bachrach said.
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"The common denominator is that we love the fact that there's great content there, and I think video games have that same sort of nostalgic feeling that brings you back to a lighter time, an easier time, and something that everybody can relate to."
Video games can be just like that.
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"If I was to say to you, do you remember where you were when you played Pac-Man or where you were when you played Galaga, you have an image in your mind right now," Bachrach said. "You probably remember the pizza parlor or the arcade you were in playing it."
He said multiple generations can bond over those memories, no matter where they are from.
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