Nostalgia in video games

Nicholas David Bowman; Tim Wulf

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101544

Nostalgia in video games

Nicholas David Bowman, Tim Wulf

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Video games have been a popular form of media entertainment since the 1970s, with gamers of all ages experiencing and engaging digital worlds and creating lasting memories in those spaces. As video games mature, so are their players—by some estimates, the average age of a gamer is in their 30s, and often playing games with their children. As such, video games are a potentially powerful elicitor of nostalgia, as is being recognized in more recent research and discourse. In this article, we describe and explain nostalgia as elicited from video gaming experiences, discuss the effects of gaming-induced nostalgia on psychological well-being, and offer direct avenues for fostering and growing this research.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	101544
Journal	Current Opinion in Psychology
Volume	49
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101544
State	Published - Feb 2023

Keywords

Game studies
Media history
Nostalgia
Video games
Well-being

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Psychology(all)

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10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101544

Cite this

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title = "Nostalgia in video games",

abstract = "Video games have been a popular form of media entertainment since the 1970s, with gamers of all ages experiencing and engaging digital worlds and creating lasting memories in those spaces. As video games mature, so are their players—by some estimates, the average age of a gamer is in their 30s, and often playing games with their children. As such, video games are a potentially powerful elicitor of nostalgia, as is being recognized in more recent research and discourse. In this article, we describe and explain nostalgia as elicited from video gaming experiences, discuss the effects of gaming-induced nostalgia on psychological well-being, and offer direct avenues for fostering and growing this research.",

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AB - Video games have been a popular form of media entertainment since the 1970s, with gamers of all ages experiencing and engaging digital worlds and creating lasting memories in those spaces. As video games mature, so are their players—by some estimates, the average age of a gamer is in their 30s, and often playing games with their children. As such, video games are a potentially powerful elicitor of nostalgia, as is being recognized in more recent research and discourse. In this article, we describe and explain nostalgia as elicited from video gaming experiences, discuss the effects of gaming-induced nostalgia on psychological well-being, and offer direct avenues for fostering and growing this research.

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KW - Media history

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KW - Well-being

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Nostalgia in video games

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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