We have just emerged from a period in which the video game industry, as a whole, has turned a blind eye to its very own past. Publishers were so consumed with a forward-looking vision that they never stopped to consider preserving their very own history.

Thankfully fans were on hand to ensure huge chunks of video game history weren't lost forever, which is why the hundreds of thousands of titles released on 8-bit and 16-bit systems have been preserved in some form, regardless of the legalities involved.

The explosion of cellphones, Blackberries and other handheld devices has given publishers new avenues to explore and their existing back catalogues are chock full of games that can run on these lower spec devices.

In short, it's nice to finally emerge from that dark age where video game history was verboten, into an age where a kid can pick up an iPhone, enjoy a game of Doom or Pac-Man and even rave about the experience.

Although I think the visual gap between older generation titles and current gen titles isn't going to be quite as large as in the past, simply because the availability of games, and games discussion has grown considerably thanks to the internet, we'll always have avenues to look back on older titles more easily from here on in.

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I can understand a kid brought up on Xbox 360 games finding 8-bit games too visually abstract to relate to, but in 20 years time will the likes of Resident Evil 5 and Crysis look too old to be playable?

I think the biggest divide is actually the 2D/3D barrier. In terms of basic design, it's a much bigger gap. I remember a few friends who considered themselves hardcore gamers back in the 8-bit days really struggling to get to grips with the spatial awareness required in some 3D games. Some first-person games would just leave them feeling disoriented and confused.

Unless our core 3D game design principles change radically over the next decade or two — possibly in response to full body motion sensor controllers — then it's difficult to imagine something like Crysis being impenetrable to a gamer from 2029. Unless the whole concept of having to use a mouse/keyboard or a gamepad you hold in two hands is completely foreign to them.

It's all a matter of preference and age, and to know that the most important aspect is gameplay, better graphics and pyshics don't make a better game (but they can help); and even though i'm a retro gamer at heart i still enjoy new games with something new and innovating.