The God of War Trilogy Remake Proves Gaming Still Has a Major Problem

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The news about the God of War trilogy remake should have been a really exciting moment for fans. I personally started playing God of War with the Norse games, so I was thrilled at the prospect of finally experiencing Kratos’s beginnings. Even though we don’t know when the remakes will be released, I immediately started playing the most recent game, God of War: Sons of Sparta. It’s great to see Sony revisit these older games with updated graphics and gameplay – it feels like a respectful nod to the past and a way to introduce these classic titles to a new audience. However, this announcement also brought to light an issue I’ve been noticing in the gaming industry for a while now.

Despite the positive reaction to this news, it brings attention to a continuing problem in the gaming industry. Most of the classic games, except for God of War III, aren’t playable on current PlayStation consoles. This isn’t just a Sony issue; Xbox and Nintendo have the same difficulty making older games available. As developers increasingly focus on full remakes and enhanced remasters instead of simple re-releases, we risk losing access to gaming’s past. Even more concerning, some companies are removing the original games from digital stores to push sales of more expensive remasters, even if those new versions don’t offer significant improvements or enough new content.

The Trilogy Announcement Exposes a Preservation Problem

The recent remake is shining a well-deserved spotlight on the original God of War trilogy, but it also highlights a problem: it’s surprisingly difficult to play the first two games today. These games are crucial for understanding Kratos’ story and how the series developed, but many modern gamers won’t be able to experience them without finding an old PlayStation 3 or resorting to unofficial, and potentially unreliable, methods.

The issue of losing access to older games isn’t limited to PlayStation. While Xbox has done a good job with backward compatibility, it still can’t save every classic game. Nintendo is particularly known for letting older games vanish when new consoles come out, and they discourage ways to play them through other means. Often, access to these older titles relies on digital services that might not be available on newer systems – like what happened with the excellent library of games on the Wii U when the Switch launched. When you spend your childhood playing games, each console generation becomes a part of your memories. Losing the ability to play those games feels like losing a piece of your personal history.

Now that Santa Monica Studio has announced a remake of the original trilogy, it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever be able to play those original games on PlayStation 5. Remakes are great, but they shouldn’t mean losing access to the originals, especially since remakes often differ significantly from the initial games. Without being able to easily play the originals, the remake risks becoming the definitive version, overshadowing the source material. Ideally, remakes should exist alongside the originals, preserving gaming history rather than erasing it. This announcement highlights just how easily older games can become lost to time and the importance of game preservation.

Remakes Are Starting to Replace Instead of Preserve

Many game remakes are replacing the original games instead of simply offering an updated version alongside them. Increasingly, developers are removing the original games from sale, leaving players with no choice but to buy the remake or remaster. This is a problem, particularly when the new version significantly changes the original game, or when the remake only offers visual improvements without adding enough new content to justify the higher price.

It’s become common for companies to remove the original versions of games from digital stores to encourage players to buy updated remasters or remakes. Remakes themselves aren’t the issue – they’re a good way to let new players experience classic games. The real problem arises when the remake becomes the only way to play the original, effectively changing the game’s history and how it’s remembered, even with added or improved content.

The news about a potential God of War trilogy remake comes at a time when we really need to talk about the value of these kinds of projects. Without the original games to compare them to, players miss out on understanding how the series evolved over time. Replaying older games is special because you can see how far things have come, remember how they felt when you first played them, and appreciate the technology and design of that era. While remakes polish things up, those original quirks and imperfections are important and deserve to be remembered.

Gaming Needs Easier Access to Its Own History

For video games to be truly recognized as an art form, it’s crucial that older titles become easier to access. Unlike movies, books, and music – which have well-established ways for people to enjoy classics – gaming often makes it difficult to revisit its history. This is because older games require discontinued consoles, closed-down online stores, or can only be found at high prices from collectors. While the remake of the God of War trilogy is exciting, it should also push the industry to find better, long-term solutions for preserving and making classic games available.

Game developers and publishers should remember that older games are essential to the industry’s history. Instead of hiding or removing these classics, they should be readily available to play alongside newer versions. This could be through services like game subscriptions, making games compatible with older systems, or offering inexpensive digital downloads. Players shouldn’t have to rely on used copies or unofficial methods to enjoy the original versions of games, and there’s really no good reason why digital versions of classic titles aren’t available – withholding them is simply prioritizing profit over player access.

Having replayed many classic games from my childhood on different consoles, I understand how important it is to experience them as they originally were – the feelings they bring back are special. While remakes can be fantastic, they shouldn’t be the only way to play these older titles. The anticipation for the God of War trilogy remake is understandable, but so is the disappointment that some feel. Until the video game industry figures out how to properly preserve its history, these situations will always feel a bit bittersweet.

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2026-02-20 18:13