For a good while, there was a bit of hype built around the Xbox Series S, in particular for the retro gaming scene. It was a cheaper device that offered a small form factor. Likewise, it allowed consumers to download emulators and enjoy various retro video games. But while this process was available, some consumers were skeptical. Of course, it didn’t take Microsoft too long before they outright banned emulators from being available in the marketplace, making it impossible to download and enjoy. That’s just the emulators being used in the Xbox Series X/S retail mode.
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RETAIL MODE ON XBOX IS DEAD!
- 15-day suspensions handed out to users of retail emulators as a warning shot from Microsoft.
- Devs warning users to delete emulators
- Retail Mode team disbanding and shutting down the Patreon. Sorry to bear the bad news. RT to warn others
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I don’t think they care about the void, honestly. There was a story last week pointing out that like 87% of games are being lost to time. They don’t seem to care. They’ll just keep churning out clones and bullshit so long as the money keeps flowing. And it will.
Its a slow motion septic pipe burst. I’m just watching as 80% of people don’t care and neither to 100% of organizations. These are pieces of our digital history. They matter. We can’t see how things were before all the bullshit profit squeezing if no one preserves them. Even my “techie” friends don’t give a shit. “Why would I care abiut old games?” Its so much more than that.
I totally agree. It’s not frivolous; it’s an important part of who we are now, and it’s a real shame we’re already losing it.
In case you’re interested, there’s a fantastic video by NeverKnowsBest on the entire history of video games that I watched yesterday and found fascinating. There’s lots of vintage footage and interviews that I’d never seen before. It’s six hours long and I watched it in one go, it was so interesting.
I hope there are enough independent people saving at least some of our gaming history, because it’s a shame to see it evaporate like this.
Watched that documentary a couple months ago (also all at once) and can vouch
It’s a great video