COLOGNE: Clunky games consoles with blobby pixels might not be the latest thing — but they’re still cool even if you’re no longer at school.
Video games producers plying their wares at Gamescom this week in Cologne may primarily be out to push the frontiers of high-tech and virtual reality as they eye a bigger slice of a booming market.
But their commercial antennae are sufficently honed to realize numerous hands on the joystick belong to gamers for whom retro hasn’t so much come back as never gone away.
That much was evident from the interest shown toward those who brought along vintage hardware which the uninitiated might have thought had long been left to gather dust in the attic.
So-called “retrogaming” — digging out favorite classic games of yesteryear to be played on equally aging hardware — is right on trend at Gamescom, Europe’s gaming fair.
That much is clear from seeing a sea of enraptured faces as visitors drool over machines from right back in the early days — including the kind of machines once a staple in cafes and arcades.
For some old school gamers, it’s a welcome blast from the past.
For others the past is their present, be it indulging original vintage passions on old machines, ‘emulating’ a game simulated on a new machine or ‘porting’ to enjoy old content on new hardware.
“It reminds me of my childhood and today I realize that the games in those days could also be complex,” said Jackye Mueller, a 21-year-old student trying to snaffle virtual bananas while playing old favorite Donkey Kong on a Super Nintendo.
Nearby, a father is waxing lyrical on the attractions of another classic game, “Pong,” to his young son.
The arcade game, launched in 1972, involves each player manipulating a virtual cursor-like tennis ‘racquet’ to ping the ball back across a screen of simple 2D graphics.
“Retro is everywhere — in films, music, cars, clothes. So why not games?” asks Christian Gleinser, creator of a cohort of new games which work on computers ‘boasting’ 1980s graphics.
“People like to have fun among friends and appreciate the ease of use, the short charging times and even the old pixels,” he said.
What is striking is how the rising retro trend has lifted the average gamer age as veterans who got the bug in the 1980s and 1990s pass on their memories and old-time savvy to youngsters, often their own, even as the latter more often than not are coming to the genre via shiny and new hardware.
In praise of the big pixel: Gaming is having a retro moment
In praise of the big pixel: Gaming is having a retro moment
- For some old school gamers, it’s a welcome blast from the past
Global Markets: Asian stocks fall as Iran war keeps oil at $100, upends rate outlook
- Asian stocks set for consecutive weeks in the red
- Traders rapidly cut Fed rate cut wagers for the year
- Investors focus on oil prices, inflation risks
SINGAPORE: Asian stocks slumped on Friday, poised for a second straight weekly decline as fast-dwindling hopes of a resolution to the US and Israel’s war with Iran kept oil prices aloft, casting a shadow over global markets and spurring inflation fears.
The US dollar has become the safe-haven of choice during the tumult, putting most other currencies under pressure. The dollar was set for a second consecutive week of gains and is up 2 percent since the war broke out at the end of February.
The yen hit its weakest level since July 2024 at 159.69 per US dollar on Friday as Japan warned that it was ready to take action to protect against yen declines. It was last at 159.41.
Analysts said the bar for intervention is higher this time around as any intervention now could prove futile in the face of the relentless dollar buying.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slipped 1 percent, on course for a 2.2 percent decline for the week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4 percent, while tech-heavy South Korean stocks slid nearly 2 percent.
European futures point to a slightly higher open but may struggle to hold those gains on weak sentiment.
Oil prices remained close to $100 per barrel level, although they eased a bit on Friday after US issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea.
Brent futures were at $100.70 a barrel at 9:47 a.m. Saudi time, while West Texas Intermediate crude was at $95.59. They were both hovering around $60 levels at the start of 2026.
“Headlines are coming at the market like water from a fire hose, which is impacting the price of oil, and consequently, financial markets,” said Mitch Reznick, group head of fixed income at Federated Hermes.
“The question remains to what extent we are caught in the $80-plus range even as the headlines become banal with their frequency and contradictions.”
With Iran stepping up attacks across the Middle East as its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane closed, investors are bracing for a prolonged conflict and higher oil prices.
The spectre of rising inflation has led markets to rapidly reprice what they expect from central banks this year, with traders now anticipating just 20 basis points of easing from the Federal Reserve compared to 50 bps of cuts priced in last month.
The selloff in global stocks and bonds shows no signs of easing. US stocks fell sharply overnight and the two-year Treasury yields, which typically move in step with Fed interest rate expectations, scaled a six-month high on Thursday.
“With the possibility of higher oil prices still elevated, investors should be prepared for continued volatility and potentially further downside in the near term,” said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC in Singapore.
Shifting rates outlook
Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said the impact of rising oil prices on corporate margins, inflation expectations, rate-cut prospects and yields is sparking volatility, leaving participants with few places to hide.
“Indeed, sinking optimism about Fed rate reductions amid strengthening cost pressures is weighing on traditional safe havens such as silver, gold, and government debt.”
The two-year note yield eased 3 bps to 3.730 percent after hitting its highest level since August 22 on Thursday. The yield has gained 35 bps in the two weeks since the war started.
The yield on the longer-dated 30-year bond has risen 24 bps this month.
Investor focus will switch to a slate of policy meetings next week with the Fed, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England all due to meet, with most expected to keep rates unchanged. The Reserve Bank of Australia is broadly expected to hike rates next week.
In currencies, the euro was steady at $1.15035, on course for a weekly decline of nearly 1 percent. The dollar index was at 99.816, set for about a 1 percent weekly advance.
Gold was 0.4 percent higher at $5,101 per ounce on Friday but set for a 1 percent drop for the week.
