What do you consider to be retro?

[Flamin Skull]

I would like to know everybodys opinion of what constitutes a retro system?
to me a system becomes retro when it is 2 or 3 generations from its current console or the company has stopped making consoles such as Dreamcast.
So following my guidelines a ps1, N64, Dreamcast, Game boy color and Jaguar would be the latest games to be considered retro.
the original xbox would become retro when their next console comes out...
Thoughts on this anybody?

[SegaFan]

Anything before the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast can't be retro because it's in the same generation as the PS2 and the PS2 still has new games made for it. Some Dreamcast games still feel fairly modern even compared with the current generation but N64 games definitely show their age now. That will only change if the next generation of consoles are a big advancement.

[Ocarina]

8 years ago.

[link64]

10 years ago

[SegaFan]

8 years ago.
The PS2 was released just over 8 years ago. Would you consider the whole PS2 to be retro, or just the games that were made more than 8 years ago?

[IDreamInSound]

Any system that has no new games made for it.

[Spore]

Any system that has no new games made for it.

You know there are still Sega Genesis games being made.

Anyway, anything SNES and earlier is retro.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I consider retro to be the first generation of systems I played in my life, and everything before. That means the NES, Sega Master System, and TG16 are retro machines, the C64 counts, Atari systems, etc. I don't really consider SNES-era stuff or what came after retro, simply because much of my gaming life was consumed by it so it's just a system that I take for granted.

It's the same way with clothes, where anything from the early '80s and before is retro cool, but stuff from the '90s is just a weird throwback.

Again, all of this is qualified because of my age. I'm sure someone who's only 18 or so right now will have a very different idea of retro.

[Angelic Lapras King]

Games that are no longer stocked in the major stores, ie dead (ish)

[Flamin Skull]

yeah or when gamestop stops selling that systems games?
I realize that there may be different definitions of retro... I just wanted to see all the points of views... as I said I believe ps1 and dreamcast qualifies because its not commonly found those days while we can buy a ps2 at target or wherever. Despite the Dreamcasts good graphic I think it qualifies as retro because Sega completely stopped making consoles. (my Wife's cousin's kid just got a job at Sega in SF I can see if I can get some insider info at the next family event?)

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

yeah or when gamestop stops selling that systems games?

GameStop stopped selling N64 and Dreamcast games, but I don't consider them Retro yet.

Basically anything people look back as a 'fond and nostalgic' memory which is also significantly old (12-15 years) and some new gamers can't remember or don't want to play.

NES, Original Game Boy, Atari, Turbo Graphix, old Hasbro/Tiger Electronics one play gaming machines, etc all are starting to fit this bill. But systems like SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, Game Boy Advance, Playstation, Dreamcast and everything else above people still can remember their memories of playing those games quite vividly, somewhat recently or even still having the system plugged in.

[IDreamInSound]

You know there are still Sega Genesis games being made.

Really? Are they commercially released?

[Spore]

Really? Are they commercially released?

There are only two or three in development and no, they aren't commercially released or licensed by Sega or anything. I think one of them is called Beggar Prince.

[SegaFan]

When I say anything before Dreamcast I mean any console before Dreamcast, so a 2001 Nintendo 64 game counts as retro for me but a 1998 Dreamcast game is modern. N64 games now feel like old games but Dreamcast games don't, they're a generation apart. That's the reason why I don't like to say that retro is a set number of years back.

I consider retro to be the first generation of systems I played in my life, and everything before. That means the NES, Sega Master System, and TG16 are retro machines, the C64 counts, Atari systems, etc. I don't really consider SNES-era stuff or what came after retro, simply because much of my gaming life was consumed by it so it's just a system that I take for granted.

It's the same way with clothes, where anything from the early '80s and before is retro cool, but stuff from the '90s is just a weird throwback.

Again, all of this is qualified because of my age. I'm sure someone who's only 18 or so right now will have a very different idea of retroThat's a good point. I got into games quite late so that could explain why I count everything before Dreamcast as retro. I might have trouble ever calling the last generation retro. I collect games from a long time before I started playing seriously (so I don't do it for nostalgia) but anything before Dreamcast feels "old" to me.

yeah or when gamestop stops selling that systems games?
I realize that there may be different definitions of retro... I just wanted to see all the points of views... as I said I believe ps1 and dreamcast qualifies because its not commonly found those days while we can buy a ps2 at target or wherever. Despite the Dreamcasts good graphic I think it qualifies as retro because Sega completely stopped making consoles. (my Wife's cousin's kid just got a job at Sega in SF I can see if I can get some insider info at the next family event?)
Must be where you live because here you can easily buy retro systems, not new but preowned. Master System games usually outnumber Gamecube games in places that sell them now. I thought maybe we should define retro as whether you can buy them new easily or not, but in Japan they started selling new Dreamcasts again a couple of years ago through Sega Direct, and there are "new" retro systems on sale like the Retro Duo.

[Ocarina]

The PS2 was released just over 8 years ago. Would you consider the whole PS2 to be retro, or just the games that were made more than 8 years ago?

No I don't think the PS2 is retro because Need For Speed ProStreet just released for it and thats not a retro game, you see I thort the PS2 released 7 years ago. I think Zelda Majoras Mask is a retro game and that released 8 years ago and Paper Mario released 7 years ago so around that time period has retro games.

Sorry to say but the Nintendo 64 is retro now.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Sorry to say but the Nintendo 64 is retro now.

As I said in my original post, it depends both on how old you are and when you started gaming. I don't consider N64 retro, since it's generations newer than the systems I started gaming on.

[Ocarina]

As I said in my original post, it depends both on how old you are and when you started gaming. I don't consider N64 retro, since it's generations newer than the systems I started gaming on.

I think it depends on what year the Consoles are made, The N64 is 12 years old and thats old for a Console.

Keep in mind Technology moves so fast.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I think it depends on what year the Consoles was made, The N64 is 12 years old and thats old for a Console.

Keep in mind Technology moves so fast.

Still, that means I was nearly an adult when it was first introduced, and that the newest licensed games on the system were being released as recently as a few years ago. That doesn't scream retro to me. I don't think of bands from 1996 as "classic rock" either. I think everyone's definition is going to hinge on different things.

[ZueriHB]

This is what Wikipadia states about Retro:

“Retro” can also be applied to forms of technological obsolescence, for example, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held cell phones, or the resurrection of old computer games. But most commonly, “retro” is used to describe objects and attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem “modern.

It's interesting to note that even The Wiki says that's it of a personal nature.

Retrogaming

Retrogaming is a pastime which is becoming increasingly popular where individuals play video games on vintage computers and games consoles; although the idea of what constitutes a vintage or retro machine is one open to debate. Typically most retro gamers are interested in Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and classic Game Boy games and consoles.

I mostly agree with the article, as I grew up with NES and Super Nintendo, so for me a Console is retro if it's not easely obtainable in retail stores.

So for me, a PSX or a N64 is retro. And Dreamcast is special anyway (since it was abandoned).

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

It's pretty obvious that there's not going to be a definitive definition of the term, simply because "retro" is a relational prefix. It depends for its meaning on that which it qualifies. Strictly speaking, the PS1, and even the PS2, could technically be considered retro under a correct definition of the word, but most people implicitly agree on a more tightly qualified understanding of the term.

[neuzd]

I haven't a very precise idea in mind.
I often use the word retro for the previous generation of gameplay, but with this statement I'm putting in "current gen of gameplay" all the 16 bit games.

But that's not so easy, because another important factor that determined a very different style of gaming is the massive introduction of 3D elements in games.
Generally you can assume that I see eveything before the mass use of 3D as retrogaming, but when I think at games like Super Metroid and A Link to the Past, I can't deny that they still have a freshness that makes them stand out even today.


Not an easy question. I see 2 major steps. The late 8bit, full 16 bit era and the 3Deverywhere era (which began on 16 bits machines, indeed).
If I have to consider the word "retro" by itself, I romantically say:
18 years ago.

[Splutter]

Anything that the general games playing public would laugh at you for playing :D

No seriously the two generations ago runs true for me, though the Dreamcast is a bit of an anomaly as it's been dead for so long, yet the technology isn't that old. I define retro not as a system but as a style of game where gameplay still shines through what are now considered technical limitations. A good game is a good game and it always will be ( I sound like Bruce Forsyth!)

[pdRydia]

IMO, games/consoles become retro if they aren't current or last gen.

Your PC/Mac becomes retro by the time you get it home and out of the box.

Hairstyle & clothing isn't retro until you have kids/nephews/nieces to look through your old yearbooks and laugh at you.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Hairstyle & clothing isn't retro until you have kids/nephews/nieces to look through your old yearbooks and laugh at you.

Nah, hair and clothing is retro when your kids/nephews/nieces look through your old yearbooks and then pick up the styles for themselves. Retro-chic fashion.

[Splutter]

Hairstyle & clothing isn't retro until you have kids/nephews/nieces to look through your old yearbooks and laugh at you.

When the hell did the 80's come back in fashion, I see all these kids wearing leg warmers and florescent colours and it's doing my head in the 80's was an awful decade for fashion

(I guess that makes me officially old now)

[link64]

dreamcast or earlier

[DEMON212]

See, really anything that's not this genm is retro. However, anything that's still getting games made for it, can't be retro (PS2, DC in JPN).

[KeeperBvK]

See, really anything that's not this genm is retro. However, anything that's still getting games made for it, can't be retro (PS2, DC in JPN).

Maybe the console itself isn't retro then, but some games on it already are IMO. Soul Calibur comes to mind for example. Just because the console still gets a new shooter twice a year, doesn't keep its oldest games from becoming retro.

[DEMON212]

Maybe the console itself isn't retro then, but some games on it already are IMO. Soul Calibur comes to mind for example. Just because the console still gets a new shooter twice a year, doesn't keep its oldest games from becoming retro.

I see where you're coming from, but while a console is still being developed for, I really can't say that it or it's games are retro. Because the PS2 has lasted 8 and a bit years, so a year and a half ago, would you have called GTA 3 retro?

[KeeperBvK]

so a year and a half ago, would you have called GTA 3 retro?

Yeah, I probably would.
I mean: According to your classification there would be no retro PC games, right? ^^

[coire]

Anything up to and Including Dreamcast.

Although in today's gaming society, playing a game you got 2-3 years ago(and in some cases not even) is considered retro to some.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Anything up to and Including Dreamcast.

So... PS2?

[coire]

The Dreamcast was released a full year before the PS2 and its production cycle ended in 2001 (although some games were still being released in 2007).

So no, I don't consider PS2 to be retro.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

The Dreamcast was released a full year before the PS2 and its production cycle ended in 2001 (although some games were still being released in 2007).

So no, I don't consider PS2 to be retro.

Still, they're both part of the 6th generation, and games were being officially and widely developed for both systems between 2000 and 2001. So does that mean the cutoff is the year the DC was first released? And that DC games released after the PS2 launch are not retro? Etc.? Complicated business, this retro precision. ;)

[Clayman]

Anything up to and Including Dreamcast.

I have trouble thinking of a 3-D, online-enabled system as retro. I divide retro from recent right along the SNES/PS1 transition- when games switched into 3-D and new genres sprang up to replace the 16-bit steadfasts. You know, the fall of the 2-D platformer for the FPS, and all. It's just such a dramtic change. You can sort of see the roots of current gen games on PS1 and N64, which prevents me from classifying them as retro.

[coire]

Still, they're both part of the 6th generation, and games were being officially and widely developed for both systems between 2000 and 2001. So does that mean the cutoff is the year the DC was first released? And that DC games released after the PS2 launch are not retro? Etc.? Complicated business, this retro precision. ;)

Yes, but one thing the Dreamcast had were tons and tons of Arcade ports and Arcades are sadly dying out now, to the point that they could be considered retro.

Also, although the Dreamcast was online enabled, it was the first system to boast its online ability (even though systems before it could be online enabled, the Dreamcast is still considered the mainstream 'first'). Also, in this month's issue of Retro Gamer there is a feature on the Dreamcast, and because Retro Gamer are a respected source on all things retro gaming, I'm gonna have to side with them.

Another thing that is also notable is that the Dreamcast was officially taken from production while games were still being released for the PS1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was released on the PS1 and the Dreamcast, but the Dreamcast never got Pro Skater 3 or 4, whereas the PS1 got both.

It is tricky buisiness, but everyone's got an opinion. ;)

[Flamin Skull]

Yeah I have said again and again, I believe a system is retro when it's 2 generations away from the current system which is usually 10-12 years old, or the company has stopped production (Dreamcast)

N64--------- GCN-------Wii

PS1----------PS2--------PS3

the x box is NOT retro until the 360 has been replaced by it's successor,

so basically anything during/before the PS1/N64/DC is Retro

[SegaFan]

Also, in this month's issue of Retro Gamer there is a feature on the Dreamcast, and because Retro Gamer are a respected source on all things retro gaming, I'm gonna have to side with them.
It really surprised me to see that and it just shows how much things have changed. When Retro Gamer started they mostly focused on 8-bit computers and only in Issue 44 (I have it here), realeased just last year, they said in response to a letter that they didn't plan to do any PlayStation retrospectives for "a good ten years at least" (which I take to mean they didn't plan to cover anything as modern as the PlayStation in the next 10 years).

I think they must be broadening their deffinition of retro to attract more readers, which is not neccesarily a bad thing and there's deffinitely a place for a magazine that focuses on any non-current console. Retro Gamer also often review brand new games that just happen to be a bit 2D which I don't consider to be retro at all.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I think for many people it definitely depends on age. I still have a hard time thinking of the N64 as retro because I still think of it as a new high-tech console that I never bought. The SNES was my main console for eons.

[SegaFan]

My conclusion is it's sometimes best not to over-analyse things. If you try to fit all games into a catagory (either by genre or retro/non-retro) you'll end up with exceptions to rules and it just takes away from the individual merits of each game. I think terms like retro are fine for casual conversation but to try and precisely pin down what they mean is impossible. It can depend on the individual like Jogurt points out, and also who you're talking to. I prefer to just appreciate each game for what they are.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

My conclusion is it's sometimes best not to over-analyse things. If you try to fit all games into a catagory (either by genre or retro/non-retro) you'll end up with exceptions to rules and it just takes away from the individual merits of each game. I think terms like retro are fine for casual conversation but to try and precisely pin down what they mean is impossible. It can depend on the individual like Jogurt points out, and also who you're talking to. I prefer to just appreciate each game for what they are.

Exactly. It's just like genre debates in music. What's Indie, Rock, Pop, Emo, etc. It can be useful as a very general means of classification, but when you try to give any kind of precise definition, the whole idea just falls apart.

I use retro in casual conversation to distinguish between playing new games (Wii and PS2 games) and playing old games (VC games or emulated oldies). Those are vague enough categories and most people know what I'm talking about, so we don't run into much trouble. ;)

[Tull]

My childhood.

[DEMON212]

Yeah, I probably would.
I mean: According to your classification there would be no retro PC games, right? ^^

I don't class any P.C game as retro because I don't class a P.C as a console. A P.C is a tool that plays games.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I don't class any P.C game as retro because I don't class a P.C as a console. A P.C is a tool that plays games.

That doesn't make much sense unless you believe that consoles are the only thing to which "retro" applies... which clearly isn't true, considering the term was borrowed from other areas. There are definitely retro PC games (gold box, Lemmings, WarCraft 1, etc.).

[gardawg62]

I consider it to be, any games not on the wii, ps3, or 360.

[TheDudeAbides]

If it isn't a current gen console or a last gen console, then it's old enough to be retro.

Although, in fairness, what actually is retro can be debated.