There have always been too many games to play. Well, maybe not in the beginning. First, there was one game. Then, a few. Now, there are just way too many games out there. No single gamer can keep track of every single game and game series. We all have our Gaming Blindspots.

Our Gaming Blindspots may come in many forms. You may tell yourself, I don’t like and will never like [insert game genre]. You may have missed out on a whole console generation of games by simply choosing the other console (PlayStation vs Xbox). A game you could have loved may have been released simultaneously with a game you already had your mind set on, leaving that other game in your Gaming Blindspot.

In the “before times” (pre-remake and remaster fever), when a new entry in a long dormant game series came out, you would just start with that game as your entry point. Maybe you were a young, coming of age gamer when Resident Evil III came out. That’s where your journey began. You didn’t need to go back and play what came before. They weren’t going to feel as good as playing the new entry. Of course, many Resident Evil games have been remastered and re-made, so now you can go back and see what you missed.

Today, any returning series after a long (or even short) hiatus will bring with it new and updated versions of past games, giving players a chance to get “hyped” for the upcoming game.

Jumping Ship

After jumping around between PlayStation and Xbox consoles (PS2 to Xbox to Xbox 360 to PS4), I missed out on an entire consoles-worth of exclusives — PlayStation 3. I had missed the original release of The Last of Us and the first three games in the Uncharted series.

I was lucky that Sony decided to remaster The Last of Us and release Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection on PlayStation 4. This gave me the chance to learn two of my now favorite game series from Naughty Dog. I also got to enjoy the next two games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us: Part II in real time with the rest of the world.

If these series had been any older, they may have not gotten remastered and I would have skipped over them. Sure, I might have played Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End or The Last of Us: Part II, but they wouldn’t have that same impact, not knowing what came before.

I still remember the feeling of playing through those first three Uncharted games back-to-back-to-back, just to be ready for the next game. It isn’t only about the evolution of Nathan Drake and his story, there is also the technical evolution as they add new gameplay elements.

I know I’ve played The Last of Us at least two times, and I plan on playing both Part I and II again. Thanks to The Last of Us HBO series, both of these games have continued to receive updated versions. They even just released The Last of Us Complete Edition with both games at their highest quality.

New Industry Strategy

The reason this whole concept of Gaming Blindspots came into my brain is from the last few games showcases. I’m just going to go over one quick example, but this has happened many times.

Recently, Ninja Gaiden 4 was announced for Fall 2025, and we haven’t seen a Ninja Gaiden game for quite some time. In the same showcase Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a 2D action game, was announced for the Summer of 2025. Additionally, a remastered version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was shadow dropped on that same day — Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

This is the new sequel strategy in the gaming industry. They tell us, Here’s an exciting new game, but first let’s remind you how much you already love (or will love) this series with some old games made new! Playing a slightly updated version of a game on a current console is a better option than whipping out that dusty old console and searching for your old game disc. 

It also updates your memory of the game. Now when you think of this old game you will remember playing the slightly better version, instead of remembering all of the problems of today. I like that they are giving us new ways to play old games, but I also think it continues to add to the main problem of TOO MANY GAMES TO PLAY.