Opinion: HD Remakes Need Old Save Support

With the recent popularity of high definition remakes from old generation to new generation of gaming consoles; It would certainly make sense that soon at least will be a method or system of transferring our trophies or achievements and the save data across from old to new.

Gamers at E3 were ecstatic to hear that Grand Theft Auto 5 will be making that same venture. Coming across from Xbox 360 and PS3 to the Xbox One, PS4 and PC, even better news was revealed that old saves from the original launch could be transferred to those who upgrade. Gamers were more than pleased. That was until the revelation that individuals online characters and scores would be making the transfer, not their single player game progress or trophies.

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Some people may not be fussed about the lack of transferrable content; trophy/achievement hunters and completionist were considerably outraged. Personally I wasn’t outraged and I wasn’t fussed (about GTA 5), the real issue I believe is that we are in a day and age where technology should be more than capable of transferring and aligning saves from games a generation old – particularly those games released last year. Tomb Raider, Metro series, Pay Day 2 and The Last of Us are more than perfect examples, I will be using the latter as my example for the majority of the article.

I, like so many other gamers across the globe, ploughed through the emotionally gruelling 15 hour campaign, when the game launched just over a year ago. However, like me, I assume that most gamers called it a day for a while with “The Last of Us”, vowing to tackle the game again at a later date to complete all the trophies and take on the brilliant adventure once again in the new game plus option.

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Like a lot of PS4 owners, new to the brand and old faithfuls, I am more than interested in diving into “The Last of Us” again. It is here that I question PlayStation and Naughty Dog, that for returning patrons to the game, is it somewhat possible for us to transfer our saves and trophy data from the PS3 to the PS4 so that we may continue our journeys in a more progressive manner rather than re-treading old ground, so to speak.

Being allowed to complete any new game plus play through or simply continuing a single play game on your new console is a feature that I am sure will turn a lot of heads. In the sense that gamers will reflect upon and appreciate the fact that this transfer system has been specifically designed as a way of rewarding and acknowledging players who initially supported these re-released games on their debut.

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With the increasingly large announcements of HD remakes or ports, it is certainly a feature that developers should look into. If anything, it may at least take some of the sting out of re-purchasing a game for those gamers who choose to do so (an upgrade system would be great too but that’s a topic for another day).

What are your thoughts as a gamer? Are you happy to re-invest all that time to take on the single player mode of GTA 5 all over again? Wouldn’t you love to be able to transfer all your progress and skills from Pay Day 2 to its HD re-release when it launches? Please let us know in the comments below.