This might cause some debate here but I was wondering what does Retro mean to you? Like what systems would you consider retro? Would you consider a remake of a retro game on a newer system as retro? Is the the number of years that a system has been around even though it is still in production?

Anyway my thoughts on retro are.....

I think what people mean by retro is anything thats not this current gen system (Wii, Playstation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, DS).

My definition would be anything up to Dreamcast is retro (at least 10 years old and out production for while) so in my book Gamecube, Xbox, wouldnt be considered retro and defiantly not PS2 but thats just me.

As for remakes of games themselves sure Super Mario All Stars on the Wii for example may be a port of the SNES version but I dont consider the Wii version retro.

So what are some of your thoughts?

Anything further than Last Gen.

For me, in Nintendo terms, NES, SNES, GB and GBC are retro. Still can't bring myself to call N64 or GBA retro, and GameCube definitely won't be, for me, until the sixth home console comes out.

In video game terms, I guess anything before the 6th gen.

To me, retro is anything past the last console generation. Either that, or the company behind Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Anything before 2006.

To me, retro refers to a game/genre which I personally have nostalgia for and is incidentally missing from what is available in the current generation.

Examples:
The Obvious
Pong, Pac Man, Mega Man, Space Invaders, 2D Zelda, Sonic, Mario, blahbittyblahbittyblahblahblah...so on and so forth. Also Duck Tales.

Game/Genre
All Street Fighter games before IV is retro. From IV on, not retro. IV also revived the fighting genre (mainstream).

Generation/Gameplay
Jet Set Radio Future which I have posted in the other thread was a very fun Xbox game, there is currently nothing like it at the moment, so to me, its retro.

Retro is a shortening of the word 'retropositronics', a term meaning 'everything was better before.' At least, it seems that way to me.

Anything up to Dreamcast, GC and PS2 is retro to me.

Anything from the 5th Generation and before. How can you call the PS2 retro? It's still on store shelves and they still make them after ten years, but I think they'll stop soon if the PS3 picks up in sales even more.

Truthfully unless PS3 get actually backwards capabilities again at least for PS2 discs I believe the PS2 will be around for awhile due to its grate library of games. Heck I know people who play their PS2 more than their PS3.

But yep I agree cant call PS2 retro since you can still buy them and the games for them in any electronic store.

I would say all the stuff before the GBA/Gamecube.

Wait, the PS3 isn't really compatible with the PS2? Still, it's nice to have the PS2 on the market, it's a great console and it's more budget friendly. Isn't it only $109.99? Plus, none of the games exceed $29.99.

Early models of the PS3 were indeed backwards compatible with PS2 game discs. My friend has one of them and he is able to play his PS2 game discs on his PS3. After abut a year or so Sony took the component out saying it was a cost efficiency move and from since no PS3s werent backward compatible.

IMO I think Sony did that cause they still saw a market for PS2 systems and games.

'Retro' is pretty subjective...

Having started gaming in the early 80s with the Atari 2600 and the playing through the 8,16 and 32-bit age, I tend to see those early games as more specifically retro than say, the Dreamcast.

I suppose the further I think back, the more 'retro' the games seem to me.

Anything before last gen is retro.

So the Xbox 360 is retro? That came out in 2005 and it's still being produced today.

Anything good in videogaming

8-bit & atari