Resident Evil 2 director Hideki Kamiya expressed frustration with the the increasing difficulty and lack of access around playing classic games. Over the years, classic games have become harder to obtain due to hefty collectors' price tags and a lack of ports to modern consoles.
2021 saw some of retro games. In July 2021 alone, a sealed Legend of Zelda cartridge sold for $870,000, and days later, a copy of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.5 million. After a Super Mario Bros. cartridge sold for $2 million in August, Heritage Auctions was accused of scamming the video game market by artificially inflating the prices of retro games for profit. Heritage Auctions denied the accusations, but the controversy hasn't put an end to expensive retro game auctions.
Hideki Kamiya recently spoke with Video Games Chronicle about this alleged inflation, having been asked as a collector himself. Kamiya said that he understood the desire to collect games for their value and not the game itself; however, he added that, "as a fan, it’s a problem if somebody wants to play a game but they can’t get it because it’s being traded in these ridiculous marketplaces." The director also explained that some responsibility falls on game companies, as well. Kamiya continued, "And the responsibility for keeping those games available belongs to the company that owns the IP. If people want to play a classic game and they can’t, because it’s not available on new platforms and can’t be found in its original form either, that’s like a threat… it’s holding game culture back."
The topic of preserving classic games has been hotly debated over the last few years. Emulation is common strategy that encourages access to old or rare games, but this approach is frequently accompanied by legal issues due to concerns with piracy. Somewhat recently, there are rumors that Nintendo is planning on implementing Game Boy titles into its virtual console library for Nintendo Switch Online, but games from the company's Nintendo 64, GameCube - and even Wii - have yet to be ported into modern consoles.
That being said, if Nintendo confirms that Game Boy titles will come to Nintendo Switch Online, the gesture would be a step forward in increasing accessibility to retro games for modern consumers. A Nintendo Direct planned for September presents a real possibility that this rumor could be true - and if Game Boy titles do get announced, perhaps Resident Evil 2 director Hideki Kamiya's concerns with retro game accessibility will be slightly diminished.
Source: Video Games Chronicle