How Old Is Retro?

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LoganRuckman1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby LoganRuckman1 » March 15th, 2014, 7:40 am

This is one of those questions that will have a million different answers, as no one can quite agree on what makes a game classic. Some will tell you that five years is all it takes for a game to be considered retro, while others don't consider anything past 1985 retro.

Personally, I think ten years is a good limit. Perhaps it's because I was only 10 years old ten years ago, but I think a decade is quite a bit of time for a game to age. Gaming was pretty damn different in 2004 than it is now, and it was far different in 1994 than 2004, and far different in 1984 than 1994, etc.

What do you think? Is one decade an acceptable limit for retro? Should a game be older before getting the retro tag? Maybe less than a decade?

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VideoGameCritic
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 15th, 2014, 2:01 pm

This is kind of an interesting question.  It's really relative.  If you're a 40+ year old guy, 10 years doesn't seen long at all.  However, if you're 15 it's probably an eternity!

Still, I think as a rule of thumb one decade makes sense.

LS6501
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby LS6501 » March 15th, 2014, 3:08 pm

Personally, it's cartridge vs. optical.  Maybe that's a bit unfair because that would make an N64 retro but not a PS1 - or SegaCD for that matter.
I would definitely not call a Dreamcast or a PS2 'retro', so I think your limit should be a lot higher than just 10 years.

Where I live, an automobile has to be more than 25 years old to be eligible to get a classic collector plate.  I think a video system 25 years old (1989 or older) would definitely qualify as 'retro' or classic.

weallmissedme1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby weallmissedme1 » March 15th, 2014, 4:33 pm

15 years I'd say is retro.

Sut1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby Sut1 » March 15th, 2014, 5:22 pm

At this point in time I would say the PS1/Saturn/N64 is now 'retro' like mentioned above I don't think PS2/Xbox/Gamecube are retro yet as gameplay isn't a million miles less advanced than current consoles.

Rev1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby Rev1 » March 15th, 2014, 9:10 pm

I pretty much consider anything past a generation as retro.

m0zart1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby m0zart1 » March 16th, 2014, 3:03 am

[QUOTE=videogamecritic]This is kind of an interesting question.  It's really relative.  If you're a 40+ year old guy, 10 years doesn't seen long at all.  However, if you're 15 it's probably an eternity!

Still, I think as a rule of thumb one decade makes sense.[/QUOTE]

Indeed, the last 10 years have flown by for me.  I find it comical when I hear young kids refer to this previous generation of gaming as classic.

TheLastNightmare1
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

How Old Is Retro?

Postby TheLastNightmare1 » March 16th, 2014, 5:48 am

Retro is an artform. It's when you're limited, in colors, sprites, polygons, or resolution, and you're forced to make the most of those limitations...

It's defined by pixels or basic shapes. I'd count any mainstream hardware pre-Dreamcast.

But this definition won't matter for long, since the Nintendo nostalgia is kicking in hard for the Gamecube. It's traditional for many young adults to revisit their childhoods, after the storm of adolescence quiets down...

El_Shamro1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby El_Shamro1 » March 16th, 2014, 8:43 am

I generally consider 2 generations back as retro, but it always feels weird to adjust after a new generation launches.

PAAppleyard1
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How Old Is Retro?

Postby PAAppleyard1 » March 18th, 2014, 2:27 am

I would say anything 25 years or older is truly classic as well. There has to be a significant difference in the look of the games due to hardware. Gaming has been very samey for many years now.


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