r/classicgameroom

I think part of the problem is that modern games replaced score-chasing with progression systems.

Back in the arcade era, your score *was* your progression. If you wanted to show off, you had to earn it. A leaderboard full of initials was basically a trophy case.

Today, most games reward time spent more than skill. Battle passes, unlock trees, cosmetics, daily quests, etc. They're fun, but they're a different kind of motivation.

I've actually been experimenting with this idea in a small prototype recently (screenshot below). The most interesting feedback I've gotten is that the moment you put a visible score in the corner, people immediately start trying to beat it—even when there's no reward attached.

Makes me wonder if players never stopped caring about high scores. Maybe the industry just stopped building games around them.

If a game tracked your best scores forever and had meaningful rankings, would you care? Or are high-score tables something that only worked in the arcade era?


When I was younger, a huge part of gaming was chasing high scores. Arcades, pinball machines, racing games, even simple flash games all had leaderboards people cared about.

Now it feels like everything revolves around battle passes, cosmetics, and progression systems.

Do people still care about pure score-chasing and competition?

Would you play simple arcade-style games if there were meaningful tournaments, rankings, or collectible rewards tied to performance, or is that era gone for good?

What's the last game you genuinely cared about your score in?