Quote Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster
Main Entry: ret·ro
Pronunciation: 're-(")trO
Function: adjective
Etymology: French rétro, short for rétrospectif retrospective
: relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past : fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned <a retro look>
I think that it's interesting that this dictionary definition incorporates the notion of fashionability into the meaning of "retro". Perhaps there's a certain aura of chic that attaches to older things, separate from simple nostalgia.

For that reason, I would suggest that a game system needs to first pass through a stage of being perceived as "last-gen", filled with "jaggies", and just all-around "old" and/or "lame" before it can emerge from its status as a pariah and be seen as "retro-cool". Thus, for the "mainstream" gamer, I think that a retro system is a system that one may remember from the distant past, but would hardly consider playing seriously.

For the collector, on the other hand, I think that a "retro" system is one that is old enough that its place in the evolution of the form is settled; enough time has passed that its impact on video games in general can be clearly seen. And since serious collectors tend to be older, their memories stretch back much further than the ten years that some of you are proposing. Hence some of the reactions of "heretic!"

Those of you calling the Dreamcast "retro" today will understand the outrage five years from now when today's 14-year-olds start calling the X-box "retro".

OK, I'm done talking through my hat.