The Guardian

Classics and cash-ins: the unsung brilliance of video game compilations

It’s been a busy month for nostalgic video game compilations. Sonic Origins collects the first four Sonic the Hedgehog titles, the Capcom Fighting Collection brings together various titles from the Darkstalkers and Street Fighter ranges as well as a couple of rarities, and Pac-Man Museum + gathers an astonishing 14 Pac-Man games from the past 40 years. Cynics may suggest we live in an age of endless nostalgia and brand regurgitation, but compilations have always been a staple of the video game industry. I know, because I’ve bought most of them.

Back in the home computer era of the 1980s, game compilations were a common way of scraping just a little more revenue

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