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“All things are transient and attachments to worldly things will only cause suffering.” There’s definitely truth to that statement, especially when looking back at all the great video games that have gone out of style.
Technology is always marching forward, faster now than ever before, and genres of the past have quickly been morphed into new genres or phased out almost entirely. Not only that, but social interest also wanes over time as gamers become too comfortable with their current games and crave something new and different.
10 2D Sidescrolling Platformers Are Mostly Indie Projects Now
In the ’80s and ’90s, before video game consoles received significant upgrades to their hardware, 2D platformers were one of the most popular game types out there. Many iconic series got their start as 2D platformers before becoming 3D platformers, such as the Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, and Castlevania franchises.
The popularity of platformers themselves hasn’t waned entirely, but the 2D presentation has. Luckily, some indie game developers have picked up on classic gamers’ nostalgia for the old days and have produced some fantastic 2D platformers, such as Shovel Knight.
9 Light Gun Shooters Became Outclassed
Many gaming peripherals are only workable with certain tech, which is precisely the case for light guns. Before the rise of HDTVs, folks typically had a CRT television in their living rooms, so developers made light gun peripherals to work specifically with CRTs.
The ’80s and ’90s saw a slew of light gun games such as Duck Hunt, Hogan’s Alley, and Lethal Enforcers. As technology advanced, game developers moved on to creating first-person shooters to take the place of light gun shooters. VR may provide a way back to using gun peripherals, but light guns will most likely remain in the past.
8 Survival Horror Lost To Action Horror
The release of Resident Evil on the PlayStation in 1996 introduced the survival horror genre to the gaming market, inspired by earlier horror games like Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark. Nevertheless, for a brief period, survival horror games saturated the market up to the early 2000s, when it became obvious that the genre was dying and needed to be revitalized.
Survival horror gave way to action horror, with the key difference between them being combat style and conservation of resources. Today’s horror games tend to put a lot more power in the player’s hands than traditional survival horror games did, which typically de-emphasized combat with enemies.
7 MMORPGs Are Giving Way To Other MMO Games
The 2000s saw a slew of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, mostly released on PCs. These games included the likes of Ragnarok Online, World of Warcraft, and Final Fantasy XI. These games emphasized aspects of RPGs in a world where players could interact with many others across the globe, focusing on stat allocation and grinding levels for different classes.
But these days, it’s more common to see MOBAs (massively multiplayer online battle arenas, such as League of Legends), and some MMORPGs have even implemented MOBA aspects into their games via instanced dungeons.
6 Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers Are Getting A Modest Revival
Games like Diablo skirt the edges of roguelike games but nevertheless contain some of the core aspects: auto-generated dungeons that are different every time you enter them, permadeath for characters, and a heavy focus on exploration. True roguelike games are best as open-source PC games, like Rogue and NetHack.
The ’80s and ’90s computer scene embraced these games the most, with console games adopting elements of them, such as the Persona franchise and Doom. Roguelike has since evolved into rogue-lite, with games like the Binding of Isaac standing out. Rogue-lite is mostly embraced by indie developers for now.
5 2D Sidescrolling Beat ‘Em Ups Paved The Way For Hack ‘N Slash
Like 2D platformers, 2D beat ’em ups were very popular in the ’80s and ’90s, before gaming hardware became more robust. Double Dragon and TMNT: Turtles in Time are notable 2D beat ’em ups while they were still at their prime, and this genre tended to dominate arcades.
There was a brief stint of 3D beat ’em ups, but they ultimately evolved into the hack ‘n slash genre, with notable titles like Dynasty Warriors standing out. There’s a humble renaissance of 2D beat ’em ups lately with titles like River City Girls and Streets of Rage 4 leading the charge.
4 Edutainment Games Have Mostly Been Phased Out
During the ’90s, when PCs were becoming more powerful and ubiquitous, there was a surge of games aimed at teaching children about various school subjects. Games like the Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? are notable entries during this period.
While not as popular on consoles, Nintendo did release some edutainment games for their systems, such as Donkey Kong Jr. Math for the NES and Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS. They’re not nearly as numerous as they were in the ’90s, but they’re still out there.
3 2D Shoot ‘Em Ups Have Niche Popularity
Another genre that was especially popular in the ’80s and ’90s, 2D shoot ’em ups like Galaga and R-Type dominated the arcade gaming scene. Shoot ’em ups eventually diversified into run-and-gun rail shooters and bullet hell shooters, but these genres also had their heyday mostly in the ’90s.
There’s niche appeal to this genre of gaming, however, as the Touhou Project series of shooter games continue to draw people in, and Cuphead received much praise for its style and difficulty. Still, AAA developers are more likely to pump out first-person shooters than side-scrollers of other types.
2 Point-And-Click Adventure Games Focus On Exploration
This genre was especially popular for PC games since PCs typically didn’t have peripherals like controllers early on. Point-and-click adventure games rewarded players for being explorative in their surroundings. Grim Fandango and Myst are notable point-and-click adventures from the ’90s, but the genre began to decline in the 2000s.
There are a few series managing to hang on, such as the Phoenix Wright franchise, but this genre of games isn’t nearly as widespread as it used to be. Indie developers and crowdfunding have allowed for a bit of a revival of this genre.
1 Rhythm Games Suffered From Market Oversaturation
PaRappa the Rapper is credited as being the first rhythm game for a console, and it was released for the PlayStation in 1996. Rhythm games picked up in Japan almost immediately, with Dance Dance Revolution hitting arcades in 1999.
It wasn’t until the 2000s that rhythm games picked up in Western gaming, and by 2010, the gaming market was saturated with rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Due to the combination of market oversaturation and the fallout of special peripherals for consoles, however, rhythm games lost their steam by the 2010s.
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