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Just because a console has moved into the annals of “retro” gaming, doesn’t mean that people with a passion for game development will forget about it. In fact, making a game for an old console might be the ultimate way to cut your teeth as an indie developer, or mainly, it’s just really cool. These are some old consoles, that are still getting new games.
1 Sega Dreamcast
The Dreamcast is the much-beloved swansong for Sega’s console history. After the failure of the platform, the company became a purely software-driven outfit, and it’s going from strength to strength. Which means it was arguably the right move. While Sega may have left the Dreamcast behind, indie game developers armed with homebrew development tools aren’t ready to say goodbye yet. With games like Xenocrisis , Driving Strikers, and many more.
Given that not that many Dreamcasts were sold, and that the number of functional units is dropping by the day, I can’t help but salute these plucky indie and hobbyist developers.
2 Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom)
The console that helped pull the USA out of the video game crash of the mid-80s, Nintendo’s Entertainment System sold gangbusters and launched numerous franchises that are still going strong today. It’s maybe not too surprising that people are still developing games for the 8-bit wonder, since at this point in time it must be one of the best-understood consoles in history.
The list of titles that have come out in recent years is impressive, and many of them are even available as physical cartridges. This means you can play these games on a real NES and not just in an emulator.
2021’s Alwa’s Awakening can be bought as a physical cartridge, this action platformer is beautiful and an example of what’s possible with NES hardware.
2022’s Dungeons and Doomknights is a Zelda-like action RPG.
Of course, these games are also available on platforms like Steam or the Nintendo Switch, but they are true NES games.
3 Sega Genesis (Megadrive)
The Genesis (or Megadrive, as I knew it) represents Sega’s peak. This console is iconic, its graphical and audio outputs distinct, and its game library is legendary. It’s no wonder its greatest fans won’t let it fade away, and there’s no shortage of new games for the Genesis.
Pier Solar and the Great Architects is an RPG for the Genesis that came out in 2010 to moderate reviews, and it later got a port to modern consoles. Funnily enough, the game was also ported to the Dreamcast.
If flashy action is more your speed, Demons of Asteborg is a graphical powerhouse on the Genesis, that also received ports to modern systems at a later point, but it’s a Genesis game through-and-through.
4 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom)
The SNES represents one of the biggest generational leaps in gaming technology ever, and its games still hold up today. Played by millions of people around the world. This was the last 2D-centric console generation (OK maybe the Sega Saturn was, but that’s a whole other story), but the SNES still showed off early 3D and pseudo-3D graphics with Mode 7 and the SuperFX chip that powered games like Starfox.
There are lots of SNES games released in the modern era, but there are a few standouts.
2017’s Unholy Knight is a fighting game created by veteran SNK developers and you can still buy a physical copy on Amazon.
Another one that I think looks awesome is 2015’s Hind Strike, which is clearly an homage to the classic Desert Strike.
Indie SNES-like games are back in vogue anyway, so why not make some for the hardware that started it all?
5 PlayStation (PSX)
I have a big personal soft spot for the original PlayStation, and in recent years the graphical aesthetic of PS1 games has come back into vogue somewhat. With demakes of games like Bloodborne, and original games like Signalis, Paratropic, and Dread Delusion. Of course, these games pay homage to the PS1, but don’t run on original PS1 hardware.
In 2020, a game called Magic Castle which was actually in development for the PS1 finally saw a release after over 20 years. It’s a free download, but it can only be played on a modded PS1, so unless you have one of those around it’s better to simply grab your favorite PS1 emulator and try this game out that way.
These five consoles are just the tip of the iceberg, and there are plenty of other games and systems that spur active development in the indie and homebrew space. These developers aren’t doing it for the money per se, but the best of these games do seem to get ported to modern systems like the Switch eventually, so even if you don’t want to emulate them or have the original hardware, we can all enjoy these new games for old systems.
