Hamster wants Console Archives to go far beyond 800 releases

Hamster’s Console Archives ambition is enormous. In a Famitsu interview translated by Nintendo Everything, Hamster CEO Satoshi Hamada said the company once dreamed of 800 Arcade Archives releases and has already passed 500. For Console Archives, he says 800 should only be a point the series passes along the way. That is a massive preservation target. Hamster’s Arcade Archives line has already become one of the most important ongoing retro-release programs in gaming, bringing classic arcade titles to modern platforms with consistent features and pricing. Console Archives now extends that philosophy to home-console games, and Hamada says Famicom and PlayStation games are likely priorities because of technical compatibility. He also says the company would like to aim for a weekly release pace, even if reality may not always allow it. For retro fans, this is exciting because old console libraries are full of titles trapped by hardware, region, rights and obscurity. If Hamster keeps quality steady, Console Archives could become a major preservation pillar.