REVERSE GEAR

Software remasters are in—now it's time for hardware to lean into retro appeal

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You've read the words above and you're already dismissing the idea as utter, utter piffle. That's understandable, because clearly the appeal of remastered games is that they let you experience the stories, places, characters and systems of classic games in a visually appealing and mechanically refined environment. How the heck would that work for a processor chip? No one wants to go back to lesser performance levels for the sake of nostalgia.

Sentiment for the past is a powerful consumer motivator that extends well beyond our whirring hardware and heaving Steam libraries. Ironically, the retro trend's been around for so long, you could start to get nostalgic for its first notable breakthroughs into pop culture. Stranger Things season 1, eh? The Hotline Miami soundtrack. The return of the Clark Bar. Good times.

In 2025, butter dishes, teapots and range-style ovens are all among the trending retro items in UK households, reports The Mirror. I don't know if you've ever taken your butter out of its packaging, placed it on a butter dish and buttered your toast using it before covering it over instead of just... you know, getting some butter from the tub and buttering your toast. But it tells us a lot about how much practicality people are willing to sacrifice right now in search of that warm, fuzzy feeling of timeworn familiarity.

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