My sincere apologies; I repeat myself often. I've discussed the benefits of retro gaming before, so I will let that be. Instead, I ask those who are offended by this statement: why do we care what they think?
It may sound as though I'm simply burying my head in the sand, but I honestly feel that someone incapable of appreciating Super Metroid, Battletoads or Contra is severely missing out. To know that there exist hundreds, maybe thousands, of games that some would refuse to give the time of day to is simply baffling. You might take offense to hearing your cherished favorites being bashed in a comment list or message board, but who ever elevated to a level of power based on Internet slander? As far as I know, Barack Obama didn't get elected President of the United States based on his platform of "ZOMG MARIO IS DUM AND GAY AND IF U LIEK IT THEN U ARE DUM AND GAY!!1."
One could argue that if those who are against retro gaming are not met with opposition, then companies will not acknowledge this market and steer their efforts away from offering options for such folks (i.e. Virtual Console, Retro Compilations, Mega Man 9, etc.) But again, if it sells, that's the first and only voice publishers will hear. So why do we focus on negativity? Because it's easier to blow up trains than to make them run on time. I'd challenge those who take offense to build and not destroy. Write a blog entry about how awesome those games are, make YouTube reviews of your favorite titles, start a site highlighting classics, or, if you're really awesome, make games like these. Furthermore, let's not forget the basic principles of reality: these games exist already. Assuming that your country of residence doesn't become a totalitarian state in which retro gaming is expressly forbidden, no one can ever take them from you.
