The ZX Spectrum is to be releaunched to celebrate its 30th anniversary. We examine the appeal of retro gaming, the new ZX Spectrum could use a wireless keyboard and an iPhone.
As the Sinclair ZX Spectrum approaches its 30th birthday in 2012, the video gaming craze that it began is still going strong. So strong, in fact, that original games developer Elite plans to relaunch the console for a generation of nostalgic gamers.
These original enthusiasts are the now middle-aged geeks who are using their mobile phones for games. Gone are the days of plastic joysticks and floppy disks, replaced by iPhones and sophisticated dual-core Google Android devices. In fact, 67pc of smartphone users say that the single biggest use for their handsets is gaming. Texting, web browsing and old-fashioned phone calls account for 54pc, 51pc and 48pc respectively.
The new Spectrum will launch against a background of clear enthusiasm for both new, high tech games and consoles, but also for very simple, older games. BlackBerry’s Brick Breaker game is as crucial to millions of users’ attachment to their devices as being able to get email on the go. That sort of enthusiasm means that Elite, the video games developer who was behind a range of the Spectrum’s original hits, has found a new lease of life with “emulators” that allow its games to be played on new devices. Although the company has so far only developed versions for Apple devices, such as the iPod and iPhone, it is also, like many others, planning to put the software on Google Android devices. It is also seeing success with its own modern games such as Paperboy, which was top 20 UK hit on Apple’s App Store.
Perhaps surprisingly, the company is also considering how best to put its titles of powerful consoles such as Xbox. Indeed, Nintendo’s new version of 80s classic Donkey Kong, was also accompanied by a limited edition version of the Wii console that included the original Donkey Kong pre-installed. Although the move was a sort of ironic joke, it’s clear that there is an appetite for such games.
So titles from Elite such as Test Drive: Off Road and Striker could conceivably receive the same treatment. But what’s the appeal of these games when new technology has brought infiintiely greater capabilities? On forums devoted to such games, two themes emerge: first, it’s about the simplicity of games that are perfect for filling an idle moment on the bus or tuube precisely because they’re not too taxing. Indeed, modern hits such as Paper Toss - which relies on users aiming a scrunched-up piece of paper into a bin – are in fact much less complex than a classic like Space Quest.
