What is your retro gaming range?

[retroman]

I saw this on Racketboy, and thought it would be a good topic if it has not already been done before. For me it starts at the Atari 2600, and everything in between and ends with the Sega Dreamcast. That is my main retro collecting.

[ZP3]

I saw this on Racketboy, and thought it would be a good topic if it has not already been done before. For me it starts at the Atari 2600, and everything in between and ends with the Sega Dreamcast. That is my main retro collecting.

I pretty much go NES-Gamecube...that being said, if I see something good from Sega (genesis, dreamcast, etc.) or Atari for cheap
I will pick it up, but I like to stay on the four older Nintendo home consoles.

[PizzaKat]

Its pretty much NES to whatever is the last consoles that are in the retro range.

[Atarileaf]

Pong systems to about the 16-bit era for me

[rmaerz]

Pong to NES

[treismac]

With slight deviation, I have a range for retro collecting from the 2600 to the SNES, but I play whatever with a heavy emphasis on my retro gaming range.

[Tanooki]

I knew this looked familiar. This is what I wrote over there so I'm pasting this.

My first system was the NES at the end of 1985, and my first computer was Christmas 1990 and it had a big free game bundle CD along with also 'The Manhole.' Because of those things, my taste in console games are the refinements the NES gave us, and PC games from 1988-1990 and after though most of the 1990s when it comes to retro.

It isn't just Nintendo though, later years got me a Master System and a Nomad(Genesis) too plus a Turbo Duo. I find most the time I bounce between liking 8 or 16bit the most. I did have a N64 in its life, the PS1 as it was dying and PS2 hit too, but I find it very hard to go back and enjoy much of those. I find that first generation of 3D home systems to be on the level of pre-NES era stuff, where you had to have it as your first or it's just too crusty for most of the games. Making it worse, those systems don't work right on LCDs anyway.

Beyond that I don't have a retro range, I just keep around a few games I like for the Gamecube and try something new on occasion but like the N64 I've only got around 20~ games for stuff post-SNES. As far as portables go, I settled on only keeping a GBA around as I really do like the 8bit Gameboy but it's hard to stick with it long as they haven't aged as well as the NES did.

I'll also add I still draw fun from stuff many do hate like old late 70s/80s LED and LCD games (Tiger, Wildfire Pinball, Mattel Hockey, etc.)

[sloan]

VCS to PS2 and everything in between.

[BetaWolf47]

NES to Gamecube with me as well. I don't really have any desire to get into anything pre-NES.

[The Adventurer]

NES to Modern

For whatever reason, even though I'm old enough to have had one, I really don't care about Atari 2600 or its contemporaries.

[wizardofwor1975]

Atari 2600 to PS2.

[SpaceHarrier]

NES to PS1

There's nothing I'd really care to add to my excellent Dreamcast lineup.

[buzz_n64]

Atari 5200 - Dreamcast. I have games and systems before the 5200, but they don't interest me too much. The Atari 5200, along with a pong clone system my brother had were the first systems I ever played. I'm close to having a complete set of Atari 5200 games, I have 61 out of 69 Atari 5200 games. Still, I enjoy the NES the most, and it was the first system that was mine, and not one that belonged to my brother.

[Damaramu]

5200 through modern consoles. I don't collect everything, though. No interest in Jaguar, 3DO, CDI, or NeoGeo.

[JSoup]

NES to PS2 would be my current range, if I'm understanding the question correctly.
While I like many of the games pre-NES, I've never had much desire to own any of them.

[ProjectCamaro]

Didn't we have this topic a couple months ago?

Anyways I say any console that has cartridages as its medium is retro.

[Tanooki]

I decided to re-establish my interest in the GBA this weekend. Yesterday for $8 I found Dr Mario/Puzzle League along with Classic NES Donkey Kong all loose, and then today a CIB copy of Metroid Fusion (marked $30 but with credit cost me $5.) It should be fun shifting to that again as it has been a few months. I try and not go all over the place but sometimes you have to or you just burn out due to time and life interruptions.

[homerhomer]

2600 to Wii

Wii games are pretty cheap and I've been collecting the games that interest me. Plus it plays my Gamecube games. :)

[buzz_n64]

Didn't we have this topic a couple months ago?

Anyways I say any console that has cartridages as its medium is retro.

In theory this sounds good, but you have cartridge based systems all the way until the 2000's with the Gameboy Advance in 2001 and the Xavix console in 2004.

By this definition, would the PC-Engine CD from 1988 not be retro? Or the CD-i system from 1991?

[Tron 2.0]

NES to the 16-bit era.Though i consider PS1,PS2 more of modern from that point on.

[Tanooki]

^^Good point I really hadn't considered in this thread but do in person. I don't consider post-N64/PS1 era 3D games to be 'retro.' The 3D in them even today doesn't look bad at all, hell it looks better than most of the modern tablet 3D games do or on par with them on the stuff where people really put their best into it (on either back then or now.) Thinking of it that way my 'retro' range would be NES to the N64, even if it is to the Gamecube/Dreamcast type stuff, and even then the N64 for now is retired without a way to play it currently.

[celerystalker]

Honestly, I'm not sure what this topic is asking. Is it more of a "What do you consider to be 'retro' games," or "What 'retro' consoles do you get into?"

If it's what do I consider retro, I guess maybe 32-bit consoles and back, although I guess since my PS2 is 15 years old or so now, I should probably lump it in as well.

If it's what I enjoy and collect or play with any regularity, it's Atari 2600 and up. I don't play a ton of the Atari generation of games, but Warlords still is every bit the party game, as is its port of Track & Field w/the arcade controller, and my Centipede cabaret gets a lot of play. In the last year, every single console I own has been played at least a little bit, and I have just about everything through PS3. Even the PC-FX got some love when I picked up Last Imperial Prince in the spring.

[y9784]

I don't believe the OP is asking what users define as retro. I believe the discussion is regarding what consoles we play most and for which systems we buy games. It seems like most people tend to have a range of 20 years (maybe delineated by their childhood).

As the years go by, there's always new games added to the pile, but you could look at the past in the same way. There's always a system you never had or played and obtaining one of those unlocks a rich library of games. It's like an underground mountain of games to pick through :)

[ProjectCamaro]

In theory this sounds good, but you have cartridge based systems all the way until the 2000's with the Gameboy Advance in 2001 and the Xavix console in 2004.

By this definition, would the PC-Engine CD from 1988 not be retro? Or the CD-i system from 1991?

Oh come on, you seriously didn't know what I meant?! For you I'll make sure I'm completely literally and point out every single irregularity that may or may not exist so you'll know what is being said.

[The Adventurer]

Oh come on, you seriously didn't know what I meant?! For you I'll make sure I'm completely literally and point out every single irregularity that may or may not exist so you'll know what is being said.

Sorry your arbitrary designation doesn't make much sense?

[goldenband]

I collect, and am mainly interested in, Atari 2600 through Dreamcast, plus a little bit of GameCube.

(Well, actually my collection goes a bit further back: I have a few RCA Studio II games, but no system. I'd like to have a Channel F someday.)

The only thing I own outside that time range is my Game Boy Advance, and I barely play any GBA games on it anyway -- it's 95% Game Boy, 5% Game Boy Color.

[retroman]

What I mean when I said range is: What is the oldest system that you collect for up to(not including modern systems) your cut off point for retro collecting and everything in between. I think everyone is on the track with what the meaning was from what I have read. Thanks for your input on the topic, and keep em coming.

[Gentlegamer]

I'm interested in systems from NES to present. So many games I missed over the years, it doesn't matter if it is classic/retro, there's no way I played or knew about them all when new.

Classic to me is up to Dreamcast at this point (see sig), and even the PS2 generation feels classic to me given those systems are from over a decade ago.

[Aussie2B]

Even the PC-FX got some love when I picked up Last Imperial Prince in the spring.

Nice. That's a fun little game. Always happy to hear about people playing and enjoying the PC-FX.

Anyway, to answer the topic question, I'll buy and play games from any system/era. The oldest games I own are for the Channel F, and I play everything up to what's modern and current. But if you're talking about what I primarily own and play, I'd say I mostly stick to 8-bit through 32/64-bit gaming. I have plenty of favorites outside of that range, but those are sort of my bread and butter.

[jonebone]

NES to Modern and I'm turning 31 soon. Not sure if that puts me in the "old enough to appreciate Atari" age group, but I sure don't. Have never owned a single game pre-NES and never will.

[retroman]

NES to Modern and I'm turning 31 soon. Not sure if that puts me in the "old enough to appreciate Atari" age group, but I sure don't. Have never owned a single game pre-NES and never will.

Just curious, but why no interest at all?

[celerystalker]

Nice. That's a fun little game. Always happy to hear about people playing and enjoying the PC-FX.

I do like the PC-FX a lot. I can't say it has a massive library full of astounding games, but it sure does have some really awesome exclusives. I really like the 2 nutty FMV fighters, Battle Heat and Tengai Makyou... I haven't seen anything like them on any other system. The thing streams cutscenes so well with its fast disc access speed, and they end up looking way cleaner than a Playstation or Saturn. It's really geared toward anime fans with its voiceover idol games and digital anime magazines, and as a result it has a pretty unique look and feel to its library.

[Tanooki]

I've technically never owned a pre-NES console game. I've had the atari flashback fall into my hands before though, and my mom had a fairchild channel f system, but I would have never used either at my expense. The atari wore thin because I'd just think of the arcade games it was bastardizing badly and I didn't care much for the unique titles really either other than maybe river raid and it has comparable games on the NES and later anyway. The fairchild was just bad but if I were stuck I'd use it as it could pass time in a pinch. I'm older than jonebone by a few years but I'm still in my 30s and really, I doubt it's an age thing more than an acceptable minimal standard for entertainment to last more than 5 minutes or so. The games are paper thin, the graphics and audio help for nothing, and depending on the player you can take it or leave it on those joysticks.

[BydoEmpire]

2600-Genesis. And I might sell off my Genesis collection, which would leave me with only "pre-crash" consoles and the Master System. Been selling off my collection bit by bit over the last few years. It's all about the pre-NES stuff for me.

[celerystalker]

I've technically never owned a pre-NES console game. I've had the atari flashback fall into my hands before though, and my mom had a fairchild channel f system, but I would have never used either at my expense. The atari wore thin because I'd just think of the arcade games it was bastardizing badly and I didn't care much for the unique titles really either other than maybe river raid and it has comparable games on the NES and later anyway. The fairchild was just bad but if I were stuck I'd use it as it could pass time in a pinch. I'm older than jonebone by a few years but I'm still in my 30s and really, I doubt it's an age thing more than an acceptable minimal standard for entertainment to last more than 5 minutes or so. The games are paper thin, the graphics and audio help for nothing, and depending on the player you can take it or leave it on those joysticks.

I mostly agree that the Atari generation doesn't hold up, but there are a couple of big exceptions. I firmly believe that Warlords, especially with 4 players, is every bit as fun a multi-player game as there is on any system. Put it in during a party. It'll take over. I like Track & Field with the special controller a ton on 2600, and Asteroids and Defender, despite being inferior to the arcade, still manage to be rather fun on Atari if you ask me. There are other good ones, but I admit they're a drop in the bucket of inferior crap that is out there. Seriously, though... Warlords on 2600 beats the arcade experience in my book.

[Gentlegamer]

Tank Pong is the greatest multiplayer mode of all time.

[7th lutz]

Atari 2600 to gamecube.

Atari 2600 shouldn't be a shocked since that Atari 2600 games first got me hooked on game console gaming back in the 1980's.

[Tanooki]

Celery I know there are, not that one for me, but I did like that screwy Adventure title enough to play for a time and River Raid seems the usual go to people suck up to, but at least it's warranted butt kissing. :)

[Steve W]

My range goes from the beginning of the gaming industry (which includes Pong consoles, although I have plenty of those so it would have to be an interesting machine for me to bother picking up nowadays) up to the Xbox/PS2/GameCube era. I don't actively collect Nintendo games or systems, I tend to go for pretty much everything else. I especially have a love for the oddball consoles. But in the end, my real focus tends to be on pre-NES era games. Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision, Vectrex, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Astrocade, Fairchild Channel F - when I'm in the wild looking for games I tend to pass later consoles and only look for those classics from my youth, mostly focusing on the Atari 2600, which was the game console I had as a kid and what hooked me on video games in the first place.

[DK1105]

My range goes from rocks and sticks to today. I was born in 1990 so a far amount of my collection is older than I am. I have personally grown a fondness for the odyssey 2. My two biggest collections are my Genesis and PS2 sets and they pinball back and forth. It's just so much easier to find PS2 stuff though so that's in the lead right now. Only arcade stuff I have right now is a Millipede and was the first arcade game I bought when I was 15. I also like diving into uncommon or oddities in gaming. Imports are becoming a bigger and bigger part for me. I'm not that big into PC stuff but would love to but i'm just not very familiar with it. For the most part I have no interest in handhelds but I do still pick up some stuff here and there.

The biggest reason I don't like to lock myself down, I love looking into the evolution of games. Sitting down and jumping between an Odyssey2, Saturn, TG-16 and a PS2 in a single gaming session for me is a wonderful feeling. Also retro gaming and collection have very little to do with nostalgia for me. Sure I get some feeling of nostalgia when playing sonic 2 but really the gameplay today means more to me than memories of the past.

[KlytusImBored]

I'm just really getting in to collecting, but I am trying to start from the beginning of my console career and continuously collect the games that have made some sort of impression on me. I was gaming on handhelds, family's Atari 2600s and our C64, but the first home console my parents got me was the Sega Master System. Life changing. I want to start there and at least own all the systems I've owned in my life and as many of the games as I can remember.

[WCP]

I don't collect (except gaming magazines), but for me, I really love 1989 (intro of TG-16 and Genesis), 1990, 1991 and 1992.

That four year period is my sweet spot. I also like 1993 and 1994 and 1995, but it's really 1989 through 1992 that really fascinates me. Mainly TG-16, Genesis and Super Nintendo.

[Tanooki]

Well it's fair to say that year sweetspot is when games hit a quality level in fleshed out design, gameplay, and audio/visual levels of what still looks like quality by todays standards in 2D gaming. Sometimes you can go back, sometimes you can struggle some and go back, but you do hit a point where it's just not happening.

[Bloodreign]

I'll play early arcade titles from the late 70's onwards and the Atari 2600 up to the PS2, but am very picky on what I like (though my range for liking games is wide, and includes Sega consoles as well). I have a Wii and a PS3, but I use those mainly for what older games are on offer (like PS1 games on PS3). otherwise just between the 2600 to PS2 era (mainly compilations towards the end).

[Bubble_Man]

NES to PS2/Gamecube for me.

[GreatBazunka]

I collect everything Nintendo. I started gaming on the NES so that is really the center of my collection. But I have all Nintendo consoles released and most variations of them (11 DSs). I do have a healthy helping of Atari and sega stuff to, but my game room is decked out with Nintendo from wall to wall. Oh and a couple arcade machines in there for good measure.

[GreatBazunka]

2600-Genesis. And I might sell off my Genesis collection, which would leave me with only "pre-crash" consoles and the Master System. Been selling off my collection bit by bit over the last few years. It's all about the pre-NES stuff for me.

SELLING!!!.... Don't even mention that. Selling the collection is not even in my scope of options no matter what happens. Even if I lost everything, I would use my collection to build my house.... DOWN BY THE RIVER.

Oh and I think I am going to steal your signature, tis the wisest thing I have ever heard.

[Zap!]

My range is from Miley Cyrus to Betty White. :)

[Captain_N77]

2600-Dreamcast for me. Though I still do have a collection of post-Dreamcast games. I also still occasionally buy GameCube, Wii, PS2, GBA, and DS games, and if it's my only option, X Box versions of multi-platform games that I cannot find on the GameCube or PS2.

But just as far as retro collection, it pretty much ranges from 2600-Dreamcast. I'm not opposed to pre-2600 stuff, just haven't found anything from that era at a good price yet. And without giving it much thought, I considered the Dreamcast the last retro console without knowing exactly why. I think Pat the NEs Punk put it nicely by saying, and I'm paraphrasing here, that the Dreamcast was the last console to feature a good number of original 2D games and arcade games from it's time. I also feel it was the last console to feel like a home console, and not a console that played a lot of games that tried to mimic Hollywood productions. And yes, I know(and love) Shenmue, which was very ambitious for it's time. If the Dreamcast had a longer life, I wonder if it would have wound up feeling like "modern" gaming like the PS2/GC/XBox. Just my thoughts on the matter.

[Arkanoid_Katamari]

It's weird, cuz I don't see a fine line between retro and non retro. In some ways I still think of the N64 as a modern system, it's more modern for sure then the Colecovision. But to me it's any consoles that give me nostalgia, or just represent a different period in time. I play and collect Atari 2600 and after, although I'm curious about pre-Atari consoles too just because I love weird things. I'm too young for Atari, I started playing on an NES, but how can u not love Atari?

[LaughingMAN.S9]

Starts at 32bit and will probably end with this generation. If there even is a new generation of consoles after this it's looking more and more like they'll all be cloud based.

I emulate everything before the playstation and sega Saturn.

[wizardofwor]

Classic gaming begins with the Atari 2600. Anything past the PS1 is 'new'. You need some age on you to appreciate 'classic'.

[Leo_A]

I still can't quite bring myself to consider the GameCube, Xbox, and PS2 as classic gaming.

But I think that's more at this point just the fact that I find it difficult to believe that as much time has passed as there has since they were in their prime (Although I still see new PS2 games here and there at major retailers, and the Wii preserving this level of technical capabilities for another generation probably is also a contributing factor to it not feeling as old as it is).

I regularly play the 2600 and pretty much everything in-between. Pre VCS, I enjoy the early B&W arcade games and have an appreciation for dedicated systems like Atari's Stunt Cycle. And I have a soft spot for pre microprocessor pinball as well, although I'm as enamored with all the ramps, lights, and so on as most everyone else with modern pinball.

The Dreamcast, which is the last console that focused on arcade conversions, Sega's last console, and one which experienced an early death is my current cut-off point since it has long felt right to me to view this one as a classic.

I'm also a modern gamer as well.

[Tanooki]

I can't consider 21st century systems retro either, but perhaps we can blame the Wii on that one since it's marginally nicer than the PS2/Cube stuff (very marginally) which kept that era alive for a whole extra generation. Had that non-HD level of gaming died when it was supposed to (ie Wii being HD which it wasn't) then maybe?

Old stuff is just that, very crusty 3D that looks not even that great by that era standards and awful by today and then the non-3D level stuff. It really is another era with those games. The PS2/GC stuff and beyond hit this level of sorta realism or better where age isn't doing much harm at least with the product that put a lot of good effort into it.

[o.pwuaioc]

I still can't quite bring myself to consider the GameCube, Xbox, and PS2 as classic gaming.
Honestly, I think classic gaming ended with the 64 bit era. Final Fantasy IX is more similar to Final Fantasy XIV than Final Fantasy I. That classic feel just doesn't really exist (for me) with 3D games. If we were to step back and look at the development of games over time, I think we'd see this period (PS, Saturn, N64) as the true transition to modern era gaming. 2D to 3D was the biggest leap since the beginnings. We won't enter a new era until virtual reality becomes dominant.

[slip81]

Genesis to PS1. I used to go NES to current, since the NES was my first system, but it got to be too much. I had a bunch of games that I had no room for and would probably never get around to playing, so I just cut it back to what I really cared about, SNES, Genesis and PS1. The NES was great, but I just enjoy the SNES catalog so much more.