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Posted by: Shadow 13th
Remakes could grow the industry. Developers like Sabre are going out of business cause a single bad game can sink a company. If mediocre developers are given templates to work with and remake it keeps studios active, generates income, grows the industry and brings in new talent that can be nutured and developed.
I will agree with you as far as implying that remakes are the domain of "mediocre developers".
Remakes only serve to propagate an existing IP. No 'growth' occurs, rather the same material is simply given a few (mostly cosmetic) touch-ups and released once more at full price. This generates profits sure, but it hardly constitutes development in the industry as a whole.
Furthermore, young studios can gain more from developing their own original properties than simply generating iterations off of someone else's. Separately, if remakes are a floundering studios only source of work and income, that should tell the consumer something about the products formally made by the studio as well as the potential quality of anything to be produced. Yes, giving mediocre developers the task of remaking old games does generate jobs and profit, but it is a self-perpetuating cycle that serves to keep only those who can't work on their own ideas, or only create poorly-received games, in business.
Bad developers go out of business since they could not create a product that consumers wished to purchase. That is sad, but that is how a healthy business ecosystem functions. Not allowing this to happen will lead to an increase in the number of low quality games/developers and the adoption of a production-solely-for-profit work model. As you mentioned, this is a form of "secondary revenue"; but that is all it is. It essentially proves and perpetuates the 'less effort for the same profit' development concept. Something which, to my mind, only does the medium a disservice and certainly prohibits the discussion of 'video games as art' that gamers and developers alike are often too quick to embrace.
[Edited on 05.30.2011 8:52 PM PDT]