What is 'retro'?

Shin_Gouki · Post by **Shin_Gouki** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:49 am

fredghostmaster wrote:It's quite simple. Anything up to and including 8 bit is retro. Amiga and Atari ST are not retro. And if Retro Gamer doesn't stop covering obscure SNES & Megadrive games then I'm afraid it will have lost a customer.

Oh that's right, they're still current! How silly of us! Not retro at all.

What Dudley said - see ya

woody.cool · Post by **woody.cool** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:08 am

Shin_Gouki wrote:
fredghostmaster wrote:It's quite simple. Anything up to and including 8 bit is retro. Amiga and Atari ST are not retro. And if Retro Gamer doesn't stop covering obscure SNES & Megadrive games then I'm afraid it will have lost a customer.
Oh that's right, they're still current! How silly of us! Not retro at all.

What Dudley said - see ya

I have a retro gaming quote directed @ fredghostmaster

"I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH BRAVERY"
(in the words of voice over dude from Gauntlet)

Yet again! Retro is anything NOT CURRENT: So does Amiga / ST and Current fit into the same sentence? I don't think so!

I consider anything NOT CURRENT to be RETRO. This includes everything from the beginning (not sure which machine started it, but I'm assuming the Atari 2600) all the way up to the PSX/PS1 (I class these as retro cos you can no longer buy BRAND NEW RETAIL hardware & software for the original Playsation).

I believe ALL RETRO machines deserve the upmost respect (consoles and computers) INCLUDING THE AMSTRAD CPC!

HOW DARE ANYONE KNOCK THE CPC

CPC RULEZ!

muse hunter · Post by **muse hunter** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:10 am

theres no such thing as retro

muse hunter · Post by **muse hunter** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:12 am

Dudley wrote:
When i order a film from america i'm not an import watcher am i? i'm not retro watching when i watch 'life of brian' for the hundreth time? and i'm certainly not a mainstream watcher when i watch 'fast and the furious'
Um... yes you are. I've seen film magazines and fanatics use all 3 terms.

then they are w@nkers, elitism in watching movies? what retardedness

fredghostmaster · Post by **fredghostmaster** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:25 pm

I seem to have got a bit of stick on here. My personal opinion is that Retro should only cover up to and including 8 bit computers. However, I can understand that some people would like to see the Atari ST and Amiga included under this definition. Thats fair enough, I disagree but thats my opinion. Where does it end? I love my Dreamcast and Saturn but I don't want to read about them in Retro Gamer - it's too soon since they were released and I still have loads of magazines for them. My interest is in the classic arcade games, the early computers and handheld games. I'd much rather read articles about the ZX81, Vic 20, Dragon, BBC, Texas etc as well as the classic Spectrum & C64 stuff instead of some obscure Japanese mid 90's game most of us have never played. If the later computers are to be included in Retro Gamer then please keep it to a minimum - I don't like where the magazine is heading. Shoot me down if you like but thats my opinion - you are welcome to yours.

LoungeVamp · Post by **LoungeVamp** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:33 pm

"Contract cleaner or row four to clean up the can of worms please"

To pinch that clever chaps latin post

For me, retro is anything that I look back on or anything that was in style when the clothes in my wardrobe last were...

psj3809 · Post by **psj3809** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:53 am

fredghostmaster wrote:I seem to have got a bit of stick on here. My personal opinion is that Retro should only cover up to and including 8 bit computers. However, I can understand that some people would like to see the Atari ST and Amiga included under this definition. Thats fair enough, I disagree but thats my opinion. Where does it end? I love my Dreamcast and Saturn but I don't want to read about them in Retro Gamer - it's too soon since they were released and I still have loads of magazines for them. My interest is in the classic arcade games, the early computers and handheld games. I'd much rather read articles about the ZX81, Vic 20, Dragon, BBC, Texas etc as well as the classic Spectrum & C64 stuff instead of some obscure Japanese mid 90's game most of us have never played. If the later computers are to be included in Retro Gamer then please keep it to a minimum - I don't like where the magazine is heading. Shoot me down if you like but thats my opinion - you are welcome to yours.

I agree i dont want anything yet about the N64 or Saturn (Even though the N64 is 10 years old), but consoles such as the NES/Master System/SNES/Megadrive are very very old and all feature a ton of good games, i mean it is called Retro Gamer !

Yes i dont want to hear too much about some obscure japanese game which isnt in english, i've still got 1000's of western games to try yet.

On the other hand Retro Gamer needs to make a profit. If theres articles about the Dragon / Texas /ZX81 that would be a joke. Its called 'Retro Gamer' and Dragon / ZX81 emulators arent exactly popular and thats because people dont really use them for gaming much.

I think more retro arcade games should be featured as everyone uses MAME. But Dragon ???? Not exactly known as a retro gaming powerhouse. The MSX / PC Engine all need more features as they have a ton of good games on them.

You talk about obscure SNES and Megadrive games, but we all know the famous games, theres so many retro games to choose from i'm sure we all miss some classics or unknowns so features like this are good.

Amiga and Atari ST not retro though ? Thats a joke. I think what also annoyed people was the 'toys thrown out of the pram' approach in the 'if Retro Gamer doesn't stop covering obscure SNES & Megadrive games then I'm afraid it will have lost a customer." . Theres articles i'm not keen on every month, eg the Oric one, but i wont stop buying it as i want to support it. Doing a 1 man protest and not buying it wont help will it ?

broton · Post by **broton** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:01 am

Thanks for going into more detail fredghostmaster - we all have our own view of what we would like to see in RG and to some extent I agree with you - I'd like to see more focus on the 8 bits and I'm not interested in Japanese-only consoles/games.

However I disagree with psj, why wouldn't you like to see more articles about the Dragon etc? What did you think of the Oric article in this month's RG? (I loved it, though I never had an Oric, never knew anyone who had an Oric and never saw one in action)

To me, retro gaming is about nostalgia, what it was like to read about the next computer being released in the 8 bit boom, the new games, the peripherals, the whole feel of the early 80s. Playing the games is fun and helps, but there is a reason that RG reprints old adverts and posters, isn't there?

woody.cool · Post by **woody.cool** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:03 am

I have to say that I was really impressed with the Oric article - it's a machine I've never owned and always been curious about

Dudley · Post by **Dudley** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:48 am

I'm quite fond of articles about things I haven't played tbh.

Opa-Opa · Post by **Opa-Opa** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:50 am

I enjoyed the Oric article as well.
I left it untill last as I have never really been interested in the machine but it was an interesting read..

psj3809 · Post by **psj3809** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:53 am

Opa-Opa wrote:I enjoyed the Oric article as well.
I left it untill last as I have never really been interested in the machine but it was an interesting read..

I liked the Oric at the time as it made the Speccy rubber keyed keyboard look decent !

My poor mate had an Oric when all his mates had a Speccy, his parents thought they'll get him a different one ! Was quite cool seeing it and a couple of the games (not many) but even though he was trying to 'show off' when showing me Harrier Attack etc i could tell he was secretly gutted deep down !! I liked the Oric as it made my computer look so good !

Still stunned it was given a 'retro lookback' when other more popular retro gaming machines havent (MSX) etc. Considering its called Retro Gamer i dont think many people will be rushing out to try an emulator for this machine.

fredghostmaster · Post by **fredghostmaster** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:16 am

I enjoyed the Oric article. More of this sort of stuff please! Well done RG.

Antiriad2097 · Post by **Antiriad2097** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:30 pm

Wub!

I still haven't read it. My sub was messed up last month, I've not had a chance to sort it out and none of the shops here have the new issue

The one article I've been begging for has evidently been done some justice and I'm the only one not to see it

Oh, the irony.

sparky · Post by **sparky** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:33 am

I'd say anything is retro that is no longer in production, combined with the age of an item.

Nothing to do with emulators or the popularity of an item, if it's old it's old.

Always a difficult one to define something that so many have opinions about but no definative answers.

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