Anduril’s Palmer Luckey thinks the future of tech is in the past

City: Las Vegas: At CES, Palmer Luckey and Alexis Ohanian talked about how some old tech is better than new tech. They call this “tech nostalgia.” Luckey is known for creating Oculus and now runs Anduril. Ohanian co-founded Reddit. They think the look and feel of older tech products might shape what tech will be like in the future.

They said many old products are just better. Ohanian praised old games like the 1999 shooter Quake: Arena. Luckey also talked about how making music playlists was more special in the past. He believes younger folks like old things too, even if they never experienced them.

This love for the past is shown in today’s trends. Many young people are collecting things like vinyl records and cassettes. Retro designs are becoming popular again, like the Clicks Communicator phone that was just unveiled at CES.

Luckey seems to be cashing in on this trend. His company launched a project called ModRetro Chromatic. It’s a device like a Game Boy that allows users to play vintage games for $199. Ohanian even brought one to show off on stage.

Luckey shared funny stories from his CES visits since he was 16, even sneaking in with a fake ID. Although they joked about old games, Luckey has been serious about his defense startup, Anduril, valued at $30.5 billion. He mentioned his concerns about U.S.-China relations and how things might change in tech production.