I’ve often wondered this. With the sheer volume of titles on modern consoles, is it even possible to have a complete collection of the library? Especially with something like the Switch, where there are also a shit ton of shovelware titles out there, not only digital but physical shovelware as well from Limited Run Games.
Part of me thinks it’s not going to happen, and the other part of me knows that I’m probably severely underestimating collectors’ skills, resources, and obsession.
The biggest issue imho is digital-only games that have been delisted. I’m not to worried about people not being able to play them to relieve memories since pirating them will probably be easy enough. But pirating does defeat the whole point of collecting I assume. I guess people can still assemble a full collection of physical releases only. IDK how collectors of the 3DS are doing it right now after the closure of the digital store, for example.
That hits on an important point, a lot of the games I adored as a kid are very much playable on new platforms legally if I want to. But I find playing games on the original hardware to be fun, and it just feels different. The perfect example is when I wanted to reply Castlevania Symphony of the Night, I found it for a reasonable price for PS1 and played through on the original hardware. The D-Pad’s on PS1 were made different then how they make D-Pads now on modern controllers, so my experience felt just like it did when I played it in the 90’s.
With the release of Diablo 4, that also brings up the point that games are increasingly requiring “always on” connections to play. If they take down those servers, those types of games won’t be playable in a retro collection situation either.