What is the definition of 'retro' to you?

[CellRising]

I voted for over 10 years because most that is considered Retro is already 10 to 15 years old. But for me retro is anything that has ceased production and teeters on the edge of becoming lost media. Only being saved by communities like this one getting talked about and sharing memories among people who enjoyed them.

 

[RageBurner]

I voted for over 10 years because most that is considered Retro is already 10 to 15 years old. But for me retro is anything that has ceased production and teeters on the edge of becoming lost media. Only being saved by communities like this one getting talked about and sharing memories among people who enjoyed them.

That's a very good way to put it.

 

[Leon]

I said this in the other thread about this but i put them in categories.
Ps3 is classical era (for lack of a better word).
PS1-PS2 is retro to me.
16 bit and earlier is vintage.

 

[ScroogeWantsYeMunny]

What everyone else has said. 15 to 20 years seems like a good transitional point.

 

[daro_glez]

For me, it's not retro if you can't play it in your mom's cellphone.

 

[PhrawzT]

I consider the PS2 and original Xbox the cutoff for retro. Anything after that is too similar to modern gaming.

 

[daratmp+wxqvs]

I could imagine that for younger generations it depends on their age. Anything they played in their youth 'feels' retro to them.
And I'm sure thats why some older folks here might think calling PS2 retro just doesnt feel right to them, because they grew up on an Atari 2600.

 

[Ikagura]

I missed a ton of replies there.

I could imagine that for younger generations it depends on their age. Anything they played in their youth 'feels' retro to them.
And I'm sure that's why some older folks here might think calling PS2 retro just doesn't feel right to them, because they grew up on an Atari 2600.

I guess so, something from childhood always seems much more far removed than something played as a late teen/young adult (which is apparently a psychological thing but I won't get further).

 

[ThirdEidolon]

Retro changes, year by year.

The PS3 is considered a retro console now.

Sad times.

Post automatically merged: Dec 11, 2024

I missed a ton of replies there.


I guess so, something from childhood always seems much more far removed than something played as a late teen/young adult (which is apparently a psychological thing but I won't get further).

my idea of retro is Sonic 2 on the Sega Megadrive (my first game), but even the PS3 console is now considered retro, sadly.

Post automatically merged: Dec 11, 2024

this is also how I feel

I consider the PS2 and original Xbox the cutoff for retro. Anything after that is too similar to modern gaming.

 

[Ikagura]

The 7th gen is a special case because while it technically started in 2005 I always felt that 2010-2012 PS360 games had a different feel from the early titles.

The Wii had some "classic Nintendo" feels in its early days (and a bit in the later years) but that's just Nintendo being Nintendo and having some lag compared to Sony and Microsoft.

 

[Stingy Perry]

Retro for me are games you grew up with up to a few years back that made you feel nostalgic and made you think those were great times.

 

[randomdudeguy]

Won't be long before mobile games start being considered retro.

This post was sponsored by RAID Shadow Legends.

 

[Ikagura]

Won't be long before mobile games start being considered retro.

This post was sponsored by RAID Shadow Legends.

Considering that 32-bits IOS and previous Android versions games are barely playable on current versions.

First generation apps are interesting to see.

 

[qoei]

Many people are saying that to young people, retro might start at PS3's generation. However, despite me being on the younger side of Gen Z, nothing is retro after the 5th generation (N64, PS, etc).

Maybe it's because I don't really have the context of how old these games actually are. However, the honing of 3D is the line that separates just "an old game" versus a retro one.

 

[Dyne]

If it has an HDMI port, it isn't retro (in my book)

Retro is from an earlier time, a time of CRTs and wired controllers. A time before HD graphics and internet connectivity.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

I'd definitely call the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/Dreamcast era retro. Not just age-wise.
Up until the late 2000s you could comfortably call any console two generations older (sometimes only one when you look at the giant leap to the 32/64 bit consoles) than your current machine "retro", but I feel like age alone is less of a factor now because the industry has changed dramatically after the 128-bit era and aaa games move much much slower now.

To illustrate this, the PS3 is retro when it comes to its age, but gaming paradigms haven't really shifted much since its release. We're still playing the same kinds of games basically, just spiffier. By the same metric the Wii I would consider retro because it represents long dead trends, a different world.

 

[Zeph]

As a zoomer baby, I classify everything before PS 3 as retro. Hard to explain but calling a game from the PS 3 era retro somehow feels wrong to me.

 

[RashFaustinho]

Unfortunately I think the option I need is missing in the poll...

To me, something becomes part of "retro gaming" when it's taken out of the market.
If the system isn't being sold anymore, and they're not producing new units in factory, that means that the console life cycles has been ended.
Thus, for me, it becomes a retro system.

That means that everything up to PS3, Wii and Vita/3DS for me is retro gaming.
Which is -too new- for many, but that's how I feel

I don't like (due to personal taste) attaching the retro label on very arbitrary points like the presence of HD graphics, the usage of 2D sprites instead of 3D graphics or similar.
Just - is the console dead and out of the market? That means it's not a current console, thus it's retro.

 

[Ikagura]

Unfortunately I think the option I need is missing in the poll...

To me, something becomes part of "retro gaming" when it's taken out of the market.
If the system isn't being sold anymore, and they're not producing new units in factory, that means that the console life cycles has been ended.
Thus, for me, it becomes a retro system.

That means that everything up to PS3, Wii and Vita/3DS for me is retro gaming.
Which is -too new- for many, but that's how I feel

I don't like (due to personal taste) attaching the retro label on very arbitrary points like the presence of HD graphics, the usage of 2D sprites instead of 3D graphics or similar.
Just - is the console dead and out of the market? That means it's not a current console, thus it's retro.

I think that with GaaS and remasters this makes the mark blurrier than usual.

When a console is no longer in the market they can still see some kind of post-life like the Wii U with the many ports on the Switch or even when you play on backward compatible consoles.

 

[RashFaustinho]

I think that with GaaS and remasters this makes the mark blurrier than usual.

When a console is no longer in the market they can still see some kind of post-life like the Wii U with the many ports on the Switch or even when you play on backward compatible consoles.

I consider rereleases a different affair alltogether from original releases to avoid that blur.

In February 2025, for example, Konami is releasing the Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection with a bunch of emulated GB/GBC/GBA games.
Or Sony is selling some PS1 games on PS Store.
And Nintendo has its own emulation service for NES/SNES

These are all considered retro consoles, the fact that they are selling the same games again doesn't make them lose the retro status.

 

[DanCalibur]

Everything up to Dreamcast, XBOX, PS2, and GameCube

That's a good point, that was the last gen made for SD tvs. The next gen were predominantly HD. Yep, I'm ignoring you, Wii

 

[fmsynthetic]

I said this in the other thread about this but i put them in categories.
Ps3 is classical era (for lack of a better word).
PS1-PS2 is retro to me.
16 bit and earlier is vintage.

That makes ME 'vintage' lol

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2024

Many people are saying that to young people, retro might start at PS3's generation. However, despite me being on the younger side of Gen Z, nothing is retro after the 5th generation (N64, PS, etc).

Maybe it's because I don't really have the context of how old these games actually are. However, the honing of 3D is the line that separates just "an old game" versus a retro one.

This is the correct answer btw

 

[GeoHikari]

Much years before, the gaming industry developed various games who becomes a state-of-art for many gamers around the world. Today, not every game becomes sucessfull, and for(possible) various reasons.

Like the invention of TV, the vinyl disc, the CD or even VHS, that 8-bit and 16-bit consoles such as Genesis and SNES becomes immortals and important for actual generations(if a amount of buyers likes. PS1 is included. Those are my opinions.

 

[Adrastia]

I think it's come up to the point that what I thought was once retro (SNES, N64) is now vintage and that hurts me. Is Xbox 360/PS3 retro? I feel like people don't view it as such, people I talk to. I feel like graphic fidelity has alot to do with what people consider retro. The 360/PS3 still looks up to par with even the latest mobile games.

This is like when I turn on the classic rock station and hear Guns N' Roses. That's not Bad Company, Boston or Led Zeppelin. Wrong era! I'm not that old!

I want to liken this to radio even more because as a kid I listened to a ton of radio. Mainly the oldies, classic and contemporary rock stations. They all had their niche and only played stuff from those eras. So maybe I grew to stuff things into their respective boxes a bit more. But I don't really see anything newer than the PS2 era as retro.

However, depending on your age and what games you played as a kid, your mileage may vary. Some day the now latest releases will be considered retro. Time marches on.

 

[Ikagura]

This is like when I turn on the classic rock station and hear Guns N' Roses. That's not Bad Company, Boston or Led Zeppelin. Wrong era! I'm not that old!

I want to liken this to radio even more because as a kid I listened to a ton of radio. Mainly the oldies, classic and contemporary rock stations. They all had their niche and only played stuff from those eras. So maybe I grew to stuff things into their respective boxes a bit more. But I don't really see anything newer than the PS2 era as retro.

However, depending on your age and what games you played as a kid, your mileage may vary. Some day the now latest releases will be considered retro. Time marches on.

Speaking of music I remembered that one meme talking how radio stations often say: "The best musics of the 80's, the 90's and today" while it is lasting over two decades.

Is this actually telling us that we culturally stagnated in the last two decades?