What do you consider retro?

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

2 minutes ago, The Strangest said:

What about modded Game Boys? It’s still an old Game Boy inside but can have new buttons, shell, screen, and/or have other modifications.

The core of the system is still not retro, just old.

I've had people ask me if I collect retro games. I say, "No, only old games."

[DarkTone | 984]

Anything AVGN reviews.

[Tekdrudge | 126]

17 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

Retro and old don't mean the same thing. Retro is something that's brand new but in the style of something that's old.

You are correct. This is the true definition of the word. However, many people in this community of gamers and collectors that play old games, have referred to themselves as "Retro Gamers" or "Retro Collectors". It was in this context that I was using the term "Retro". I was under the impression that this forum was for people that are part of said "retro" community.

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

6 hours ago, Tekdrudge said:

You are correct. This is the true definition of the word. However, many people in this community of gamers and collectors that play old games, have referred to themselves as "Retro Gamers" or "Retro Collectors". It was in this context that I was using the term "Retro". I was under the impression that this forum was for people that are part of said "retro" community.

A word doesn't develop a new definition because people use it incorrectly. It doesn't equate to old in any context.

[OptOut | 8,881]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

A word doesn't develop a new definition because people use it incorrectly. It doesn't equate to old in any context.

Apart from that is EXACTLY how language develops naturally over time.

Gosh, I'm so glad this stupid semantics argument has been resurrected for the billionth time, what fun! 

[fcgamer | 4,719]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

A word doesn't develop a new definition because people use it incorrectly. It doesn't equate to old in any context.

I prefer descriptive linguistics rather than prescriptive linguistics. I'd argue the world's best polyglots likely prefer descriptive as well. Prescriptive is just for stuffy old professors, but has little use outside of that context.

[Mugi | 83]

NES homebrew is retro

its new, but made to look like the old games from 30 years ago (restrictions d'oh) hence, only retro nes games are the ones that came out recently ^^;

as such, the argument that this is a retro gaming community stands, as there are numerous retro developers present.

 

that then brings us to an interesting question since we're going on about semantics of the word "retro"

 

since, say battle kid is a true retro game, being fairly new, but made in the style of old, at which point it stops being retro, and becomes just old ?

(plz dont hurt me, it's a lighthearted conversation)

[OptOut | 8,881]

7 minutes ago, Mugi said:

since, say battle kid is a true retro game, being fairly new, but made in the style of old, at which point it stops being retro, and becomes just old ?

If we are using the term retro with this specific meaning, that is a modern product imitating the style of something old, then I would say by that definition Battle Kid would remain retro even when it becomes old. Whether it is a year old or a hundred years old, it will always be a game designed to reflect the style of games popular long before it was created, it will always be retro in that specific sense.

12 minutes ago, Mugi said:

(plz dont hurt me, it's a lighthearted conversation)

Come here you little!!! 

[Mugi | 83]

5 minutes ago, OptOut said:

I would say by that definition Battle Kid would remain retro even when it becomes old. Whether it is a year old or a hundred years old, it will always be a game designed to reflect the style of games popular long before it was created, it will always be retro in that specific sense.

and so few generations from now, nes collectors will face the paradox of collecting ......retro retro games

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Mugi

[PineappleLawnchair | 88]

Retro is basically a fashion term, so applying it to games, is just whatever is old and popular. So NES is retro, but Jaguar isn't Super Nintendo but not 3D0, etc, et al.

 

[Tabonga | 2,314]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:22 AM, Code Monkey said:

Retro and old don't mean the same thing. Retro is something that's brand new but in the style of something that's old.

Retro is just short for retrograde.   Retrograde can either be something that appears to go against the direction (i.e. backwards*)  that everything else does or it can be something that actually does so .For example a planet can be observed (from earth) as going backwards in its orbit - but it is an (optical) illusion.   Venus and Uranus are the only two planets that rotate in the opposite direction of the others - so they are referred to as having retrograde rotation.

When applied to social behavior in gaming  it can either be something in the style of older trends or actually using older games equipment etc.  Or a combination of both - playing the old physical copies of games on new equipment - or using original consoles/games on a newer monitor/receiver.  Or producing new games on older formats.  So the term can encompass various things.

*Retrograde is originally Latin and means "backward step".

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Tabonga

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

Any cartridge based system or anything 20+ years old.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Bearcat-Doug

[Deadeye | 1,595]

@DefaultGen's video on defining era's of video games, won we over on his logic about it.  Worth a watch, it tackles this topic.  I would say that as soon as the industry went using a lot of open world sand box games, that is modern.  So as a safe bet, PS1 is "retro" and PS2 straddled the line between "retro" and "modern".  So for me, time is not the factor, as in that the cut off changes as years go on.  For the line to change again, the industry would to change to pretty much all VR or some other dramatic evolution.  

[Cepp | 34]

Anything older than 10 years old is retro in my book. That's how it was when I first started talking about them on forums in the early 2000s, and I've pretty much just stuck with it. So the SNES was retro in 2000 and the PS3 is retro now.

The only thing that's changed is my perception of time. In 2000 I was 16 and ten years was a lifetime ago, but today at 35 it passes in the blink of an eye.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Cepp

[AstralSoul | 502]

Retro to me is N64 and backwards. I'd probably include Dreamcast in there too since it doesnt feel quite as recent as the next generation. PS2/Xbox/GameCube and forward feels too modern to me.

[Koopa64 | 51]

I think of retro as pixel graphics. I'm inclined to agree with that one guy that retro means something new made in the style of something old. But sadly, language does change, even if it's for the worse.

I dearly love my N64 games, but it's hard to call them truly retro. Many of them pioneered gaming conventions we still see today. Quasi-retro?

[croagunk | 798]

I consider anything that came out before or around the time of the N64 retro.