Media and Communication (ISSN: Ϯϭϴϯ–Ϯϰϯϵ) ϮϬϭϴ, Volume ϲ, Issue Ϯ, Pages ϲϬ–ϲϴ DOI: ϭϬ.ϭϳϲϰϱ/mac.vϲiϮ.ϭϯϭϳ Article Video Games as Time Machines: Video Game Nostalgia and the Success of Retro Gaming Tim Wulf ϭ, *, Nicholas D. Bowman Ϯ , Diana Rieger ϯ , John A. Velez ϰ and Johannes Breuer ϱ ϭ Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, ϱϬϵϯϭ Cologne, Germany; E-Mail: twulf@smail.uni-koeln.de Ϯ Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV ϮϲϱϬϭ, USA; E-Mail: nicholas.bowman@mail.wvu.edu ϯ Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim, ϲϴϭϱϵ Mannheim, Germany; E-Mail: diana.rieger@uni-mannheim.de ϰ Department of Journalism and Creative Media Industries, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX ϳϵϰϬϵ, USA; E-Mail: john.velez@ttu.edu ϱ Data Archive for the Social Sciences, GESIS, Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, ϱϬϲϲϳ Cologne, Germany; E-Mail: johannes.breuer@gesis.org * Corresponding author Submitted: ϭϵ December ϮϬϭϳ | Accepted: Ϯϵ January ϮϬϭϴ | Published: ϳ June ϮϬϭϴ Abstract This article conceptually integrates research on the experience of nostalgia—defined as a predominantly positive, social, and past-oriented emotion—into the fold of video game research. We emphasize the role of nostalgia as an explanation for contemporary retro gaming trends, and suggest that nostalgia towards gaming events is a necessary area of research. To those ends, we broadly review existing literature on nostalgia before specifically focusing on media-induced nostalgia, and demonstrate how theoretical and empirical observations from this work can be applied to understand video game nostalgia. In particular, we argue that engaging in older gaming experiences indirectly (via memories) and even directly (via replaying or recreating experiences) elicits nostalgia, which in turn contributes to players’ self-optimization and en- hanced well-being. Moreover, as gamers and the medium mature together, nostalgic experiences with the medium are likely to become increasingly prevalent. The broad aim of this article is to offer future directions for research on video game nostalgia and provide a research agenda for research in this area. Keywords entertainment; nostalgia; retro gaming; video games; well-being Issue This article is part of the issue “Games Matter? Current Theories and Studies on Digital Games”, edited by Julia Kneer (Eras- mus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and Ruud Jacobs (University of Twente, The Netherlands). © ϮϬϭϴ by the authors; licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- tion ϰ.Ϭ International License (CC BY). ϭ. Video Games as Time Machines: Video Game Nostalgia and the Success of Retro Gaming The emergence of the video gaming industry in the ϭϵϴϬs has provided modern-day video gamers with over three decades of experience with the medium. From the Nintendo Entertainment System of ϭϵϴϰ that is largely credited with re-establishing the fledgling entertainment medium, games have gone through a number of critical, economic, and technological evolutions that have trans- formed them from children’s toys (Ivory, ϮϬϭϱ) to an in- tegral part of society (Bogost, ϮϬϭϭ). Perhaps unsurprisingly then, retro gaming is a recent phenomenon in video game culture—gamers are start- ing to return to their initial and past experiences with games. Typically, retro gaming describes playing and col- Media and Communication, ϮϬϭϴ, Volume ϲ, Issue Ϯ, Pages ϲϬ–ϲϴ ϲϬ