There's retro and then there's pre-retro

Not a news piece by any means but then you read the title. Last week, Kotaku covers a Bonk Revival. The game where you play a caveman with a huge head that bonks his enemies, with his huge head. A great game, except it brings back repressed memories. They used to call me Bonk in junior high. I don't want to talk about it.

Further back in time, the 80's have been hot for a few years and by association, so have games during that time. During downtime this weekend, I visited the Twin Galaxies site (thanks Diane). Organizers of tournaments and general enthusiasm for really retro arcade games, think Pac-man & Joust. They even offer bounties on achievements in games, as recent as Xbox.

I'm not a good trendspotter but I have a hunch these guys are going to get a little more activity soon. When a technology or cultural item plateaus after peaking (I believe we have past the peak of traditional "games", we're into something different now, interactive entertainment if you will), certain people usually start longing for the original. An example I can think of is artificially mixed music peaking and the popularity of "unplugged" music in its wake.