The history of video games, as well as home computers and consoles that are associated with them, has been around for 70 years. The first serial devices for home use appeared in the 1950s. For example, 30 million units of the Atari 2600 were sold, making it an extremely influential platform to this day. Another example is the Nintendo Entertainment System, which revived the gaming industry after a major economic crisis in the early 1980s.

Over the decades, several devices have appeared, many of which have been able to create a base of loyal fans. Whether it’s Sega, Playstation, Nintendo, Commodore or Atari, owning a console has long been a defining personality trait. This is probably one of the reasons why there are still new games for older consoles.

Amateur programmers and independent developers support platforms that no commercial studio wants to spend a penny on. Games are created solely out of love for the industry or for those few retro gamers who like to indulge in memories. Some of them are offered free of charge in the form of ROM, others can be purchased in the form of cartridges with a box and a booklet. There are still new games coming out for the next 8 platforms.

Dreamcast 

Released in 1999, the Dreamcast was Sega’s last console. Then the company left the hardware market and devoted itself entirely to software development. The company was able to sell only ten million copies, but it produced some of the most famous and best games of the manufacturer.

This is one of the reasons why indie developers are still releasing new games for consoles. Some of these games even end up in stores in Japan. One such game is Arcade Racing Legends, a racing game released in 2020 for the latest Sega console. 

Pokemon Mini

Pokemon Mini appeared in Japan and the USA at the end of 2001 and reached Europe in early 2002. As the name suggests, small games based on the Pokemon universe were launched on a portable device. Pinball, puzzles or card games — the world of Pokemon Mini was conceived as a fun pastime and appeared at a time when the franchise was just gaining popularity.

Indie studio Sungrand Studios recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a game for an outdated system. A survival horror role-playing game is planned, which will also use the built-in Pokemon Mini watch and motion sensor as functions. By the way, such games are increasingly appearing on the windows of virtual casinos. Today, online casino payment options help players quickly replenish their accounts and play not only for fun but also to win real money.

Nintendo 64

In 1997, Nintendo finally introduced a 64-bit console in Europe. Developer James Lambert has been trying for some time to get games to run on the N64 console. And he’s making progress. He managed to integrate the portal cannon, which is necessary for the game and opens the gate of dimensions in the game, into the N64 hardware. 

Sega Mega Drive

In the 90s there were two main console manufacturers: Nintendo and Sega. In 1990, Sega ushered in the 16-bit era in Europe with the Mega Drive, but in 1995 it was already replaced by its successor, the Sega Saturn.

In 2015, developer Sasha Darko released a new console horror game called Sacred Line Genesis. It could be bought then as a ROM and as a cartridge. And this endeavor also seems to have been crowned with success, because the successor to Sacred Line 2 was released in 2022.

NES

When the video game market collapsed in the early 1980s, Nintendo came along and saved the entire industry. More than 60 million units of the Nintendo Entertainment System have been sold. Many of the game mechanics and traditions of video games laid down then are still relevant today.

So it’s not surprising that new games are still being developed for this eight-bit console. One of them is Micro Mages from Morphcat Games, released in 2019. The game can be purchased on a cartridge, it comes with a box and a booklet.

GameBoy

In September 1990, GameBoy was introduced in Europe. For the first time, popular games like Super Mario Land or Pokemon could be played on the go. The portable console is still in many homes and always causes nostalgia.

Developers like IZMA guarantee that new games can be played on the old GameBoy. In 2019, for example, the horror game Daedeus was released. In April 2022, the game was even released as a physical version on a cartridge, of course, with a box and a booklet.

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 was released in 1982 and discontinued in 1994. The device had a kilobyte of RAM. This meant that it was possible to develop complex and graphically attractive games.

In 2021, independent developer Sarah Jane Avory decided to create a completely new role-playing game for the system: Briley Witch Chronicles.

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 entered the market in 1977 and was replaced in 1982 by the successor to the Atari 5200. The device is one of the first commercially very successful home consoles, selling 30 million units.

In 2020, Audacity Games gaming studio teamed up to develop games for this long-outdated console. In 2021, the first Circus Convoy game was released.

Since major manufacturers have hardly or at all been engaged in preserving old systems and their games, this topic is mainly dealt with by amateurs. Often we are talking about nostalgia or graphic aesthetics of old systems and games that came out on them.

But sometimes developers just take care that new generations of gamers can still play games that are no longer available on digital and analogue media.