You might think it’s strange to hear founders of VR companies and social media platforms in general complaining about how much better things are in the days of dial-up. However, that’s what happened at CES on Wednesday, when Oculus creator Palmer Luckey and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian gave a joint talk about the joys of “tech nostalgia.”
Luckey, who first made his fortune in VR and now works for defense contractor Anduril, and Ohanian both agree: Things were better back in the day.
The catch, though, is that Luckey and Ohanian aren’t criticizing the technology itself (Luckey said, in his speech, that he supports AI and feels it’s changing workflows for the better); instead, they criticize the aesthetics of technology. Vintage consumer technology products, he says, are superior to today’s — and it’s the style and form factors of the past that will define the future of technology, he says.
“It’s not just about nostalgia for the old, it’s about a better reality,” Ohanian said of some older products.
After telling a short story about how great the 1999 first-person shooter Quake: Arena was, Luckey also sang the praises of the old medium. “There’s something inherent in the intentionality of building a music library — whether it’s creating an entire album or building a mixtape,” Luckey said, adding that, in the age of unlimited downloads, you’re clearly “missing something.”
Luckey also pointed to young people being nostalgic for a time they don’t remember or have a personal connection to. “Why does he feel good? It’s not because he remembers his childhood. It’s not because he remembers going back to the past. It’s because he knows it’s better, some of this old stuff.”
Certain consumer trends would suggest that Luckey and Ohanian are on to something. Nostalgia is obviously big on the scene these days (look at all the 1980s period pieces coming out of Hollywood), though nostalgic technology design is a particularly thriving niche. Young people are overwhelmed and oversaturated by the internet. As a result, many have developed a new interest in physical media – like collecting cassettes and vinyl. Meanwhile, new low-tech devices with retro designs also seem to be gaining interest (just check Phone Communicator Clicks which debuted at this year’s CES).
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As consumer interest is trending in this direction, Luckey and Ohanian’s passion for vintage technology may turn out to be a smart business strategy. That is, if Americans feel nostalgic, you can make money too.
Indeed, Luckey has done this. Defense contractors, who exercise 80’s mulletlaunch a project in 2024 called ModRetro Chromatic – a Game Boy-like device that costs $ 199, allows the classic gameplay of old cartridges from the 1990s, and is called one of the “the best ever made” of his type.
On Wednesday, Ohanian brought one of his ModRetro units on stage and proudly showed it off to the crowd. Ohanian, who has spoken very publicly about his love for Luckey’s game company, has also said he is interested in making his own vintage-style games.
There were many colorful moments during Wednesday’s lecture, most of which were created by Luckey. At one point, the connection that has come to CES since 16. Astute fans of CES will Note: You’re supposed to be 18 to get in. “I used a fake ID,” Luckey told the CES audience on Saturday, to much laughter. “I pretended I was working for a company exhibiting here,” the mogul said.
Cute retro games may be the future, but so is war. Since 2017, Luckey has mostly focused on starting Anduril’s defense. Earlier this year, after a Series G fundraising round, the company its value rose to $30.5 billion. Lately, the company has collaborated with Meta on headset for the US military.
Anduril was barely present during Wednesday’s talks, but at the end of the conversation, Luckey pivoted briefly to a discussion of foreign policy to make some wild claims. “I was part of the problem for a long time, making all the stuff in China,” he said. “Geopolitically, the United States and China are going through a divorce; it’s a messy divorce – and if people think that it will end with reconciliation, they’re blind. It’s not,” he said.