Anyone who knows me personally would already know that I am a massive Rockstar Games fan. From racing through the seamless environments of Midnight Club, to the neo-noir detective masterpiece L.A. Noire, to the genre defining Grand Theft Auto series, the company have continually raised the bar when it comes to gaming. But ask me which is the best and I’ll quickly tell you that there is one game that stands above them all, and that is Red Dead Redemption.
For those of you not familiar with the game, Red Dead Redemption is an open world, western adventure shooter set during the decline of the American Frontier in the year of 1911. You play as John Marston, a former outlaw sent across the American West to capture or kill his former gang members. Think Grand Theft Auto, but a century earlier when cars (mostly) didn’t exist and horseback riding was the primary mode of transport.
First and foremost, the biggest appeal for a remaster of RDR would be the graphical improvements. While the game still looks great, there is clearly a huge gulf between the visuals of current gen titles compared to those on PS3 and Xbox 360. We have seen the visual improvements made in remastered titles such as Metro Redux, Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto V. The world of RDR is a vast, detailed and expansive sandbox, and there is so much visual potential to unlock.
While we know that gamers would benefit greatly from a remaster of RDR, the commercial potential for Rockstar would be massive. In August 2015, RDR reached a total of 14 million copies sold worldwide. Then, the week Rockstar announced that the title would be available for the Xbox One backwards compatibility program, Amazon sales multiplied by nearly 5000%. Consider how amazing that jump is, while bearing in mind the game is 6 years old and the backwards compatible version offers nothing new besides a stable frame rate.
Now consider how many of those 14 million plus people would purchase a remastered, graphically improved, 60fps version of RDR? Gears of War, a decade old title, has sold nearly 3 million copies since it was remastered. Metro Redux outsold Metro: Last Light on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined. It is clear that, as long as the price point is set right, gamers are keen to buy remastered titles. Set the price around the $50 mark, and Rockstar would sell a LOT of copies of a remastered RDR. This has also been proven in the release of GTA V on PS4 and Xbox One, which sold tremendously.
With hype building around a potential announcement of Red Dead Redemption 2 at Gamescom in August, now would be an ideal time for Rockstar to dedicate some resources to a remaster of RDR. The success of the recent backwards compatible release, combined with the anticipation of an inevitable sequel, would see excellent sales of a remaster and truly please gaming fans alike.