Virtuos：视频游戏重制的黄金时代

MARCH2024

REMAKESANDREMASTERS

Avirtuosstudyonkeyfactorsinsuccessfulgamerenewals

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters2

CONTRIBUTORS

Research/AnalysisMarketing

NathanielTan

DataAnalyst,Virtuos

LiKimeChinLi-Yuk-Lo

MarketingSpecialist,Virtuos

NurulAmirahMohdKhairDataAnalyst,Virtuos

JodeniaChan

SeniorPR&CommunicationsManager,Virtuos

JuliaYeo

ContentMarketingStrategist,Virtuos

JoannaNg

CommunicationsSpecialist,Virtuos

NataliaHusada

CreativeMarketingDesigner,Virtuos

DataPartnersSpecialThanks

YoshioOsaki

President&CEO,IDGConsulting

AngelineChen

GroupStrategyandMarketingDirector,Virtuos

EmilieAvera

VicePresident,IDGConsulting

AlvinChua

IntergratedMarketingDirector,Virtuos

JeremyMiller

Owner,StrategicGamesConsulting

YiYonghui

SeniorRegionalMarketingManager,Virtuos

NguyenPhungDucToan

SeniorRegionalMarketingManager,Virtuos

FangXiaoShu

ProductionDirector,Virtuos

ChanCheekin

ViceManagingDirectoroftheArtDivision,Virtuos

ZhongHongLee

DataAnalyst,Virtuos

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters3

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Introduction4

Istherearighttimetoremakeorremasteragame?9

[1/3]Toremake,ortoremaster,thatisthe(first)question?10

[2/3]Remastersreleasedsoonerthanlatersellbetteronaverage12

[3/3]Remakesrequiretimeforhardwareupgradestoenhancegameplay14

Ischangealwaysagoodthing?17

[1/2]Stayauthenticandpaytributetotheoriginal18

[2/2]Alignwithcontemporarymarketdemands21

Conclusion24

NextSteps25

AboutVirtuos26

References27

ImageReferences28

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters4

INTRODUCTION

Aremasterischaracterisedbysmaller,mostlygraphicalandquality-of-lifeupgradestobringthegameinlinewithmodernstandards.

4K

2023hasbeentheyearofremakes,remasters,andports.BetweenMarchandJune,theyaccountedfor9ofthe10top-ratedgames,1and3ofthetop10gamereleases.2AnalystfirmNielsenalsofoundthatdigitalrevenueforthetopvideogameremakesnearlydoubledin2020vs2018.3Thisresurgencehasledtheindustrytodubthiseraasthegoldenageofremakesandremasters.

Whataccountsfortheremarkablesuccessofgamerenewalsintoday’shighlycompetitivemarket?Tounderstandthis,thisstudyexploresperspectivesofbothgamersandgamedevelopers.

Aremakeinvolvesdeeperandmoreexpansivechanges,includinggameplayoverhaul,andthemodificationofalmostanythingelse—providedthegame’scorestoryanduniverseremainintact.

BugFixes,New

Mechanics,

4k,NewFeatures,

RebuiltAssets

(EidosMontréaletal.,2023;SquareEnix,2023;QLOCetal.,2023;NaughtyDog&SonyInteractiveEntertainment,2023;ObsidianEntertainmentetal.,2023)

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters5

Millennialsareakeydriverfortheresurgenceofremakes

andremasters.

GamesmarketresearchcompanyNewzoofoundthat80%ofmillennialsplayvideogames.4Theygrewupinthe80sand90salongsidetheevolutionofvideogames,andcurrentlyplaymanyofthegamesthatarebeingremadeandremastered.Thesegamerenewalssweepgamersinawaveofnostalgiathatharksbacktotheirchildhoodmemories.

Nowworkingadultswithaccesstodisposableincome,millennialsformakeymarketthatdrivesdemandforremakesandremasters.Andtheyaren’tgaminglessinadulthoodeither.ResearchconductedbyExpressVPNfoundthatmillennialsremainengagedwithgamingthroughouttheirlivesandmaintainahigherlevelofengagementwithgamesascomparedtoothergenerationslikeGenZ,eventhroughouttheiradulthood.5

Market-testedgamesreducerisk

whilegeneratingadditional

revenueandengagementwithwideraudiences.

Overthepastyears,gamedevelopershavebeenfacingincreasedpressurecreatedbyrisingconsumerexpectationsforhigh-qualitycontentatquickerrates,broughtonbyrapidtechnologicaladvancements(e.g.,graphicengines,performance,onlinecapabilities)andintensemarketcompetition.Tocatertothesedemands,developersrequirebiggerteamsandlongerproductiontimelines.

Marketcorrectionsfromtheindustry’sunsustainablegrowthduringtheCovid-19periodhaveledtobothdevelopersandinvestorstakingamorefinanciallyconservativeapproachtoreducethemarginforerror.Pairedwiththecurrenteconomicclimatecomprisinghighinterestrates,inflation,slowgrowth,andrisingcosts,somedevelopershaveturnedtheirattentiontogamerenewals,usingmarket-testedgamestoreducetheirdevelopmentriskwhiledeliveringagreatproduct.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters6

Gamerenewalsprovideaneffectivemeanstoupdateafranchiseandenhance

itsaccessibilitytoabroaderconsumeraudience.

(NaughtyDog&SonyComputerEntertainment,2023;CanadianFilmorVideoProductionTaxCredit(CPTC)&NaughtyDog,2023)

TheLastofUs,createdbyNaughtyDogandSonyInteractiveEntertainment,firstlaunchedtohugecommercialsuccessin2013.Witheachnewconsolegeneration,NaughtyDogreleasedanupdatedversion—aremasterin2014afterthereleaseofXboxOneandPlayStation4(PS4),andaremakein2022afterthereleaseofXboxX|SandPS5.

Thismeantthatthegamewasalwaysupdatedandinlinewithcontemporaryexpectations,allowingthestory,characters,andgameplaytoremainatthetopofgamers’minds,nomatterthehardwaregenerationtheywereplayingon.Stillrelevant10yearsafteritsfirstreleasein2013,TheLastofUsevensparkedasuccessfuldramatelevisionseriesin2023.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters7

46%

Wththe

aunchf4223

ResidentEvil

Remake

originalResidentEvil4(2005)steamMAU

Source:SGCAnalysisSuit

(CapcomProductionStudio4&Capcom,2023)

Similarly,otherdeveloperscanalsouseremakes,remasters,andportstokeepafranchiserelevant,maximiseitsconsumerbase,andcreateanticipationforfutureentries.Ontopofgeneratingtheirownsalesandengagement,gamerenewalscreatepositiveexternalitiesinengagementfortheoriginalgamestheyarebasedon.ANewzoostudyshowedthatreleasingupdatedversionsofUncharted:LegacyofThieves,TheLastofUs,TheWitcher3andothergamesre-engageddormantplayerbasesandmonetisedpreviouslyuntappedaudiences.6

Forexample,thelaunchoftheResidentEvil4remakeonMarch2023ledtoasignificant146%increaseinMAUfortheoriginalResidentEvil4(2005)onSteamversusFebruary2023.Thisboostmaybeattributedbutnotlimitedtothefollowingfactors:

Playersonolderhardwareunabletoplaythelatestversionbutwhowanttojointhehype

Playersrevisitingtheoriginalgamebeforeexperiencingtheremake

Playersinterestedincomparingbothversionstospotdifferences

Regardlessofaplayer’smotive,thereleaseofaremake,remaster,orportbenefitsitsexistinggameversion—ifdoneright.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters8

Sohowcandevelopersmaximisethechancesofsuccessfortheirremakesorremasters?

Spoileralert:successappearstobelargelydeterminedbytwofactors:

1.Therighttiming

2.Makingtherightchanges

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters9

ISTHEREEVERARIGHTTIMETO

REMAKEORREMASTERAGAME?

WiththehelpofdatapartnersIDGConsultingandStrategicGameConsulting(SGC),Virtuoscollatedadatasetofover200remakesandremastersalongsidetheirsalesfiguressince2012forthisstudy.

“Owners”,ametricfromSGCdenotingthenumberofuniqueplayerswithagameinstalledintheirlibrary,wasusedasanestimateforthenumberofcopiessold.Valuableinsightsweregleanedthroughanalysingthatdatasettogetherwithconsumerreviewsandinterviewswithdevelopersofleadinggamerenewals.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters10

Developersjumpedonto

remasters,buttheir

successfrom2013-2014

wasnotreplicated

[1/3]Toremake,ortoremaster,thatisthe(first)question?

2014sawamassivespikeinpopularityofremasters,rightafterthereleaseofPS4andXboxOne.Whenthatgenerationofconsolesreleased,developerswerequicktoremasterusingthelatestgraphicalcapabilitiestobreathenewlifeintothevisualsoftheirmostsuccessfulandlovedgamesinthemarket.Playersreactedpositively,asreflectedinthehighmediansalesforremastersin2014.Someofthemostpopularremastersthatyearinclude

GrandTheftAuto(GTA)V,TheLastofUsRemastered,andHalo:TheMasterChiefCollection,whichwerereleasedwithin2yearsafterthelaunchoftheiroriginalversions.

However,players’enthusiasmforremasterssteadilydeclinedinthenextfewyears.Thesuccessin2014wasnotreplicatedinthenextgenerationwiththereleaseofthePS5andXboxX|Sin2020.AccordingtoNielsen,graphicalupgradeshavereacheddiminishingreturnsasthemarketdemandshigherstandardsofenhancementsandinnovation.7This,alongwithincreasedbackwardscompatibility,mighthaveresultedinaweakervaluepropositionforplayersastheywouldbepurchasingthesamegameonnewerhardwarewithonlygraphicalimprovements.

Instead,thereleaseofthePS5andXboxX|Ssawremakesflourish.Denotedbyaspikeinboththenumberoflaunchesandmediansales,developersharnessedtheincreasedcapabilitiesofthenewconsolegenerationtoaddmoresubstantialgameplaychangestoexistinggames—tothedelightofgamers.2020sawthereleaseofpopularremakeslikeFinalFantasy(FF)VIIRemakeandDemon’sSouls(2020).And3yearslater,2023isthefirstyearinourdatasetwherethereweremoreremakeslaunchedthanremasters.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters11

Asnoted,thereleaseandsalesofremastersandremakesaresignificantly

affectedbyconsolegenerationcycles.

Thenextgenerationofconsolesisexpectedsometimein2028,accordingtoforecastsbyMicrosoft.8TheNintendoSwitch2,however,isrumouredtoreleaseinearly2025,9providingamoreimmediateopportunityfordeveloperstoexpandthereachoftheirtitlesandtaponanexpandedplayerbase.

Withthenextconsolegeneration,itislikelythatremakeswillcontinuetoflourish,butwhetherremasterswouldthrivedependsontheextentoftechnologicalandgraphicalimprovementsfromthecurrentgenerationofconsoles.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters12

TheLastofUs

(2013)

TheLastofUs

Remastered(2014)

SleepingDogs

(2012)

SleepingDogs:

Definitive

Edition(2014)

GTAV(2013)

GTAV(2018)

177.8MinSales

33.5MinSales17.5MinSales

(RockstarNorthetal.,2024)(NaughtyDog&SonyComputerEntertainment,2023)(UnitedFrontGames&SquareEnix,2023)

ManyofthetopRemastersinthe0-5yearscategorywerereleasedin2014

[2/3]Datashowsthatgame

remastersreleasedsoonerafter

theiroriginalversionstendtosellbetteronaverage,asthetitles

remainfreshingamers’mindsand

canbettermaintaingameplay

competitivenesswithmoderntitles.

Themostsuccessfulcategorywith13.8Maveragesalesbelongedtotheremasterslaunchedwithin5yearsoftheiroriginalversions,andaremostlybasedonsuccessfulAAAtitlesthatwerestillfreshinplayers’minds.Amajorityoftheseremasterswerereleasedin2014,withthenewconsolegenerationtomaximiseaccessibilityandcoverage,whiletheiroriginaltitleswerestillrelevantinthemarket.

Analysishasshownthatduringthishardwarerefreshcycle,remastersofmorerecentgames(0-5yearsold)performedbetteronaveragethanremastersofoldergames,asthedatedgameplaycarriedoverinolderremastersstruggledtocompetewithmoremoderntitles.Playersjumpedattheopportunitytore-experiencetheirfavouritegamesinHD,asdenotedbythehighsalesofremastersin2014.SomeexamplesincludeGTAV,TheLastofUsRemastered,andSleepingDogs:DefinitiveEdition.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters13

SaintsRow:TheThirdRemastered(2020)

(Volition&DeepSilver,2023)

NeedforSpeed:HotPursuitRemastered(2020)

(StellarEntertainment&CriterionGames,2023)

NeedforSpeed:HotPursuit(1998)

(EADigitalIllusionsCE&CriterionGames,2023)

SaintsRow:TheThird(2011)

(Volitionetal.,2023)

Interestingly,thesamestrategywasnotwidelyadoptedbydevelopersforthelaunchofthenextconsolegenerationin2020-2021.DevelopersinsteadbacktrackedtwogenerationsandremasteredgamesfromthePS3andXbox360catalogueforthenewestgenerationofconsoles—again,likelyduetothelackofsubstantialgraphicalcapabilityupgradesfromthe2013generationtothe2020generationofconsoles.Asaresult,theaveragetimegapbetweenoriginalandremasteredgamesin2020isabout19years,ascomparedtoanaverageof7.5yearsin2014.

However,the2020remastersdidnotsharethesuccessthattheir2014counterpartsenjoyed.Focusingprimarilyongraphicenhancements,thegameplayandstorylinesofremasteredgamesfromadecadeagowerelesscompetitivecomparedtomoderntitlesin2020,leadingtolowersalescomparedtothosereleasedsooneraftertheirsourcematerialin2014-2015.SomeremastersinthatperiodincludeSaintsRow:TheThirdRemastered(2020)andNeedforSpeed:HotPursuitRemastered(2020).

Marvel’sSpider-ManRemastered(2020)insteadoptedforthesameapproachasmostdevelopersin2014,releasingonly2yearsaftertheoriginalgametomassivesuccessandgainingaspotasoneofthebest-sellingremastersof2020-2021.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters14

[3/3]Remakestendtobesuccessful

ifenoughtimehaslapsedfor

technologicaladvancementstoenablegameplayenhancements

Lookingatremakes,thestoryislessclear.Remakesfindsuccesswhenkeyhardwareandsoftwaredevelopmentsallowmeaningfuladditionsandresolutionofpainpointsintheoriginalgames.Historically,developershavepreferredtoremakegamesoveradecadeold,withonly4%ofremakesinourdatasethavingatimegapof0-5yearsbetweenoriginalandremake(versus21%forremasters).Asremakesareusuallylargerandmoreexpensiveascomparedtoremasters,theinvestmentanddevelopmenttimelinedissuadesdevelopersfromreleasingaremaketoosoonaftertheirreferencematerial.

Tounderstandthenatureofsuccessfulremakes,theproportionofremakesthatexceeded2millioncopiessold—whichwouldputaremakeinthetop35%ofallremakesinourdataset—wereexploredasanindicatorofsuccess.Lookingatthetrend,thesoonestaremakehitover2millioncopiessoldis9yearsaftertheoriginal—namely,TheLastofUsPart1(2022)andOdinSphere:Leifthrasir(2016).However,evenafter9years,thenecessityofTheLastofUsremakewascalledintoquestionbysomeplayersinthecommunity,10givenhowwelltheoriginalgraphicsandnarrativeheldupagainstmodernstandards.

(SquareEnix,2023a)(RyūGaGotokuStudios,2023)

LikeaDragon:Ishin!

(2023)

FFXV:PocketEdition(2018)

Asaresult,mostremakeswithatimegapshorterthan10yearsaresmallerreleasesaimedatincreasingaccessibilitysuchasFFXV:PocketEdition(2018,2yearsgap)andLikeaDragon:Ishin!(2023,9yearsgap),whichsoughttobringtheirgamestohandhelddevicesandtheWesternmarketrespectively.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters15

SuccessfulRemakeswiththeshortestobservedtimegap(9years)aftertheiroriginalgames

TheLastofUsPart1

(2022)

(NaughtyDogetal.,2023)(Vanillawareetal.,2023)

OdinSphere:

Leifthrasir(2016)

TheLastofUs

(2013)

OdinSphere

(2007)

Whenlookingtoremakeagameunderadecadeold,developersshoulddetermineiftheirremakeswillpresentasufficientvalue-addforplayers,justifyingafullgamepurchaseprice.Factorstobeconsideredincludehowwelltheoriginalgameholdsupincurrenttimes,relevanceofthegenre,moderncompetitors,andnewavailabletechnologies.

Conversely,remakingagameover2decadesoldcarriestheriskoffacinglowercompetitivenessagainstmoderncounterpartsandbeingpositionedasaretrogame—anichecategory.Whilethesegamesexcelinappealingtonostalgiaandretrogamingenthusiasts,theymightstruggletocompetewithnewertitlesboastingcontemporarygameplay.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters16

(SegaEnterprises,Ltd.etal.,2023)

AlexKiddinMiracleWorldDX(2021)

ResidentEvil2(1998)ResidentEvil2(2019)

(SquareEnix&

SonyComputer

Entertainment,2023)

(SquareEnix&

CyberConnect2,2023)

(MergeGames&JankenTeam,2023)

AlexKiddinMiracleWorld(1987)

FFVIIRemake(2020)

(Capcometal.,2023)

(Capcom&K2,2023)

FFVII(1997)

Forexample,accordingtodatafromQuanticFoundry,themeanageforplayersofthe2021remakeofAlexKiddinMiracleWorldis31,significantlyhigherthantheaverageof25acrossallgames.TheoriginalPlayStation(1994)holdstheoldestgamereferencesforremakeswithover2millioncopiessold,markingthethresholdforaremakereferencetobeconsideredmodernenoughtocompetewithcontemporarycounterpartsaccordingtothedataset.RemakesbasedonPlayStationgamesincludeResidentEvil2(2019)remakeandFFVIIRemake(2020).Withduecaretotitleselection,graphicsandgameplay,history

provesthatevenremakesofgamesfromthemid90sareabletofindsuccessandmassappealamongstmoderntitles.

Whiledatashowsthatremakessellingover2millioncopieshistoricallytendtobereleased9-25yearsaftertheiroriginalgames,titleselectionshouldbeevaluatedonacase-by-casebasis.Forinstance,thelowerlimitmightshortenifhardwarecyclesbecomeshorterinthefuture.Developersshouldpaycloseattentiontohardwaredevelopmentsinrelationtotheirreferencegamestodetermineifitistherighttimetoremakeit.Ontheotherhand,apotentialreferencegamemightfallbeforethePlayStationerabutstillberelevantbasedoncurrentplayertrendsandpreferences.Consideredincontexttoplayersandthewidermarket,excellentremakeshavethepotentialtofindsuccessnomatterwhentheoriginalwasreleased.

Balancingthevalueofnostalgiaandcontemporarydemandsisthereforekeytothesuccessofanyremakeandremaster.Thenextsectionexploreshowdeveloperscanbebetterequippedtostrikethatbalanceupondecidingonatitletore-introducetothemarket.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters17

ISCHANGE

ALWAYSAGOODTHING?

Followingthedeliberationonwhichprojectstoundertakeandthetiming

oftheirrelease,thesubsequentandsubstantialchallengefordevelopersishowtooptimisetheirchancesofsuccess.

JakeDiGennaro,ChiefRevenueOfficerofVirtuos,

sumsuptheintricaciesofdevelopingremakesandremasters:

“Theprimarycriterion,andindeedthechallenge,forasuccessfulremakeliesindiscoveringthatdelicatebalancebetweenpreservingtheessenceoftheoriginalgameplayexperienceandmeetingthecontemporary

expectationsforgraphicsandgameplay.”

Intheupcomingsections,thefocusshiftstoareviewofsuccessfulgame

renewalstogleanthevaluabledosanddon’tsofmakingchangestoclassictitles.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters18

(Valve&SierraEntertainment,2023)

(CrowbarCollective,2023)

Half-Life(1998)

BlackMesa:DefinitiveEdition(2020)

[1/2]Stayauthenticandpaytributetotheoriginal

Researchrevealedthatnostalgiaoccupiesacentralplaceintheallureoftitlerenewalsforgamerswhoseektorelivetheircherishedexperienceswiththeoriginalgames.Forinstance,36.5%ofBlackMesa(a2020remakeofHalf-Life)SteamplayershavealsoplayedtheoriginalHalf-Life(1998)onSteam.

Developersofgamerenewalsmustidentify,analyse,

andaccentuatethemostnostalgia-inducingmomentsforplayers.

Players’memoriesoftheirfavouritegamesareusuallycentredaroundiconicmomentsandlevels,ratherthanacohesivememoryoftheentiregameplayexperience.Theseinstanceswillvarybasedonthesourcematerialandmayencompassawiderangeofelements,fromthefirst-timeencounterwithaparticularlocationtoabelovedcharacter’siconiclineofdialogue.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters19

(CapcomProductionStudio4&Capcom,2023)

(Capcom&M-TWO,2023)

ResidentEvil4(2023)

ResidentEvil4(2005)

DevelopersoftheResidentEvil4(2023)remakewereawareofthat,fromrecreatingtheDelLagoEastereggtorevoicingbelovedcheesylinessuchas“Where’severyonegoing?Bingo?”.

Atopnostalgicfeatureidentifiedbythedevelopmentteam,assharedbygamedirectorYasuhiroAnpoduringaninterviewwithVice,wasthemainvillagearea.Theteaminvestedconsiderableefforttoensurethatthevillage’sdesignandoverallexperienceretaineditsoriginalessence.Althoughtheyrecognisedshortcomingsinreplicatingtheexactlayoutbytoday’sstandards,theyweremeticulousinfindingabalancebetweenincorporatingnewelementsandretainingthecoreelementsfromearlierprototypes.11

Accordingtoplayerreviews,ResidentEvil4(2023)remakewaspositivelyreceivedbybothreturningandnewplayers,reflectingthedevelopers’successincapturingtheessenceoftheoriginaltitle.Overall,itwasobservedthatnailingthekeymomentsingamerenewalschecksoffcrucialboxesforreturningplayers,whoconstituteasignificantportionofthetargetaudience,andensuresthattheyreceiveagratifyingexperiencethatdoesjusticetotheirmemoriesoftheoriginal.

TheGoldenAgeofVideoGameRemakesandRemasters