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Would you consider retro a specific era or a line that moves as time goes on? (self.askbeehaw)

submitted 2 months ago by Gamers_mate to c/askbeehaw

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For example people consider ps2 retro but I always considered retro being in the 80s and earlier. No right or wrong answers it was just something I was curious about.

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[–] bbbhltz 5 points 2 months ago

I think it is a blurry line.

Video games have always used terms like "next generation" in marketing, so that does have an influence. My students think PS4 is retro. They think iPhone 13 is retro!

When I was in my early 20s we didn't consider CDs retro or vintage, and that was the early 2000s when the tech was around 30 years old.

Before we also had big jumps, or at least we were told they were big jumps.

Analogue to magnetic tape to digital 8-bit to 16 to 32 to 64...

If I had to write an essay on the topic, I would focus on the aspect of "the way things were..." Meaning that something could be thought of as retro if the process of making it work vastly differs from the current process.

The PS2 didn't have HDMI, but it did have internet connectivity. There were wireless controllers, but they were a little different from today. The TV was probably a CRT so you had to change the channel to make it work. Magazines still had demos sold with them...

My conclusion: a young person can probably figure out how to get a PS2 up and running, so it isn't retro technology, it is just retro gaming.