July 29th, 2022, Christien Pheby
Remaking a classic video game can make creative and commercial sense for developers and publishers: it’s a chance to appeal to the nostalgia of older players, iron out any kinks in the original design, and introduce a beloved title to a new generation.
But while titles such as Resident Evil II and Final Fantasy VII Remake have earned rave reviews and millions in global sales, others have caught more flak. The reimagined XIII was so poorly received that the developers eventually decided to remake the remake – while Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part I has already been criticised for a perceived “lack of gameplay evolution” compared to the 2013 original after footage leaked earlier this month.
Still, ask regular players in the US and Great Britain, and most consider remakes a good idea. We surveyed people who said they played video games “fairly frequently” or “very frequently” through YouGov Direct.
The data shows that more than seven in ten (US: 71%; GB 75%) regular players in both markets believe classics should be rebuilt for modern systems, while fewer than one in six think developers should leave the past in the past (US: 14%; GB 11%).
Ask them whether they would personally buy a video game remake, and two-thirds of British gamers say they’re likely to do so (65% very/fairly likely vs. 24% not very/not at all likely) next to seven in ten Americans (70% vs. 21%).
But just because they’re broadly open to the idea of buying a rebuilt version of an old favourite doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to do so. Among those who are likely to buy a remake, more than two in five (US 43%; GB 47%) say graphics are their top priority – with a quarter citing gameplay (US/GB: 26%), and around a fifth saying the presence of extra content is most likely to influence their purchase decisions (US 23%; GB 18%). If The Last of Us Part I’s improvements over the 2013 original do add up to a fresh lick of paint (developers have suggested otherwise) it may make a lot of gamers happy nonetheless.
Still, when given a (non-exhaustive) list of announced video game remakes, The Last of Us Part I sits in the middle of the pack. Capcom’s recently-announced Resident Evil 4 – set for March 2023 – is the game American players most want to see (21%), while Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the preferred choice for Brits (19%). Where the latter is concerned, a release date could be far, far away: reports from Bloomberg indicate that development on the game has been indefinitely paused.
Methodology
YouGov polled 2,500 British adults online between 23:18 BST on July 22 and 17:58 BST on July 23. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. The margin of error is 2.0% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.
YouGov polled 2,500 US adults online between 23:17 BST on July 22 and 10:29 BST on July 23. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. The margin of error is 2.0% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.
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