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What is "retro"?

Bman94

Bman94

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,545
You think Retro gaming you usually think of Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega GENESIS, SNES right? Well we were thinking the same thing in early 2000s, too, but most of the games we were most fond of at the time was only 10 years old at that point.

So going by that logic, is Gears of War considered Retro because it came out 10+ years ago? Kinda weird to think of Xbox 360 as retro right? How do you define retro gaming? Nostalgia? Years the game was released? By console generation?
 
VegiHam

VegiHam

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,587
Note that the "we" you're talking about have aged, and that effects their sense of time.

Younger people do think of Gears of War as an old game from the old times. But they don't post on Internet forums.
 
Nozem

Nozem

Member
Oct 27, 2017
396
Anything more than 2 console generations ago is retro.

And some things are more retro than others.
 
kennyamr

kennyamr

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,587
New York, NY, USA
Retro to me is pre 5th gen. My guess is that soon enough, PS1 and PS2 gens will be considered retro by the majority. It changes over time and is never an accurate description.
 
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Mega Man Zero

Mega Man Zero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,827
I think anything before last gen or the system before is pretty retro. PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, DS, and Wii are pretty retro in my mind.
 
oni-link

oni-link

tag reference no one gets
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,014
UK
retro1
/ˈrɛtrəʊ/
adjective
adjective: retro
  1. 1.
    imitative of a style or fashion from the recent past.
    "retro 60s fashions"
    synonyms:in period style, period, nostalgic, evocative, of yesteryear, olde worlde; More
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It can be whatever you want it to be really, it's open to interpretation.

I wouldn't trust anyone who is adamant there are clear lines to be drawn around what games can be classed retro
 
Stopdoor

Stopdoor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,778
Toronto
I'm pretty comfortable with anything not sold as new in stores anymore. Seems like a hard enough line.

So yeah, Wii U is retro, what you gonna do about it?
 
hanshen

hanshen

Member
Jun 24, 2018
3,855
Chicago, IL
Two generations before the current one. However I don't think many 360/PS3 games would feel retro in the near future, as they plays and looks very much like contemporary games. The lack of huge innovation in AAA game design and the diminishing returns in graphics makes a lot of last gen titles hardly retro at all.
 
tolkir

tolkir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,252
Games with 10 years or older.

Mega Man Zero said:
I think anything before last gen or the system before is pretty retro. PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, DS, and Wii are pretty retro in my mind.
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So PSP isn't retro even if it's older than Wii?

Is this retro?
91Cc3lcI0oL._AC_SX215_.jpg
 
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tolkir

tolkir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,252
When is considered a PC exclusive retro for people who are talking about generations?
 
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Lindsay

Lindsay

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,131
Disagree with the gen before last thing counting. Theres plenty of space between old & new ta squeeze in other categories, doesn't gotta be a two choice one or the other thing. PS2 was still getting games as of 2014. PSP as of at least 2016, an so on. I'd say real retro is pre-90's stuff. 90's falls into something like an aged category, 00's recent, 10's fresh.
 
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,543
For me it's anything from two gens ago. Even if it feels wrong to think of Ratchet as retro, for example.
 
low-G

low-G

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,144
'Retro' is a style: "imitative of a style, fashion, or design from the recent past."

The Messenger is retro.
 
Barely Able

Barely Able

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,105
I subscribe to the Retronauts school of thought. 10 years ago. But that's is getting harder to justify since games haven't really changed that much in the last 10 years besides graphics and processing power (my opinion). Throw in the glut of indies that mimic older titles, and it's getting tough to distinguish.
 
hibikase

hibikase

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,820
I follow the official Retronauts rule that it needs to be at least 10 years old.

Really hate the term itself though. "Classic" or "legacy" are more fitting.
 

Deleted member 5725

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,115
Barely Able said:
I subscribe to the Retronauts school of thought. 10 years ago. But that's is getting harder to justify since games haven't really changed that much in the last 10 years besides graphics and processing power (my opinion). Throw in the glut of indies that mimic older titles, and it's getting tough to distinguish.
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Yeah, I find it hard to distinguish last gen games from this one (in game design point of view). I'd say VR is the biggest differentiating factor right now.
 
DeuceGamer

DeuceGamer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,476
I think it depends on who you are talking to. Different generations and different people have a different opinion on what is considered retro. Personally, I consider retro everything up to, and including, N64/GBA/PS1. That said, I also think it's a fluid term and in the next few years will likely include the GC/PS2/Xbox gen.

I also want to add that just because I may not consider something retro doesn't mean I don't consider it collectible. I collect for systems that I don't consider retro already and demand is already increasing for some of the newer systems like DS, GC, PS2, etc...
 
angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
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Nov 8, 2017
9,133
Ohio
Whatever games/systems are in the retro section of gamestop dot com. PS2 just recently made it so I'd say that gen and before.
 
Lindsay

Lindsay

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,131
On a different note: what happens when "throwback" games (indie or otherwise) become retro by peoples definitions? Will games start springing up imitating them o.o?
 

Animagne

Member
Oct 27, 2017
252
Leap to HD was quite large, so it's easy to call pre-HD games (PS2/GCN/XBOX generation) retro. PS3/360 games show their age, but I guess it would have to take a few years into next gen for them to be considered retro. Wii is old af.

Though most of those games have been remastered, so there's very few good games really remaining retro in that generation. PS1/N64 is a goldmine though.
 
Josh5890

Josh5890

I'm Your Favorite Poster's Favorite Poster
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
23,170
Whatever came out yesterday.

Honest answer: I consider anything last gen retro.
 

Deleted member 3082

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'm me.

As an authority on all things me, "retro" is anything that people graduating High School this year are younger than, so anything older than 18 years old. So, for example, this year's new additions to the "retro" category are games from 2000 and earlier; Vagrant Story, Pokemon Stadium, Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, Chrono Cross, Time Splitters, Diablo II, etc.

I find this is a good rule of thumb because it always ensures your appreciation of old games advances with time, so you don't sit there and say "Well, NES and SNES are old, but PS2 isn't because that's what I grew up with" despite the fact that the PS2 is now, as of this year and by my reckoning, a retro console.
 
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