Which Retro Console..?

[joa]

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking of picking up a retro console to play until the pandora is upon us.

things i want... Gameplay, fun, addictive.

things i don't want... uncomfortable controller, or a console i've previously owned...n64, megadrive II, ps1.

So which console/system is just pure fun?

Joe

 

[Squirrel61]

Sega Dreamcast, no doubt about it. But you might want to add a third-party controller. Personally, I'm not disliking the DC controller, but others are and the design is slightly different from what we're used to. Modding for backups is not necessary at all.

The old XBox is a good second. Easy to mod, a lot of nice games in different genres, it's my personal second favourite (only marginally behind the Dreamcast).

The PS1 is also quite funny, but a bit outdated. I haven't come to like the PS2 yet, although atm. I've got 4 of them...

 

[norm]

get a nes, so many good games

 

[Username]

@Squirrel61

I think he said retro console. My choice would be a Genesis.

 

[abertalia]

@Squirrel61

I think he said retro console. My choice would be a Genesis.

He also said he didn't want a console he previously owned, so no Genesis.

Dreamcast seems retro enough and it's hard to emulate so could be worth it.

 

[White Demon]

I think he said retro console. My choice would be a Genesis.

I know the definition of retro varies greatly from person to person, for example one person could say the Dreamcast is retro while others may say nothing after 16 bit is retro and so on.

A while back, after thinking long and hard about it, I came to the conclusion that any console that is no longer supported (ie no longer being sold new in shops and no new commercial games released) I would classify as retro. So in this case the Xbox can be retro (and is quite a good choice since, once modded, can emulate many other systems) while the PS2 is not, since it is still being sold with new games still being released for it.

@joa: you MUST get a Dreamcast, since there were so many AAA games released for it. Check this thread for some DC classic game recommendations.

And why just limit it to a console? If you can find one, pick up an Amiga (preferably an A1200, but an A500 is fine too, as long as it has a 1meg upgrade card in it). Plenty of retro fun to be had there. So many great games.

 

[Squirrel61]

A while back, after thinking long and hard about it, I came to the conclusion that any console that is no longer supported (ie no longer being sold new in shops and no new commercial games released) I would classify as retro.

That's my opinion too, why I advised the Dreamcast and Xbox consoles. I know the PS1 was out-of-question, because joa owned that previously and he said that he didn't want a console that he owned previously. The remark about the PS2 was not meant as an advise, but just as a remark related to the PS1, meaning that I find the PS1 (despite it's age) more fun than the PS2.

 

[gadgetoid]

The Dreamcast it must be!

I've still got two, one of which I sprayed silver for a laugh. I've also got quite a hefty collection of official games, a full compliment of controllers with rumble packs and more VMUs than you can shake a pointy stick at. Oh and a keyboard but no mouse!

Shenmue is all you need to play, try and track down Shenmue 1 and 2 and they will keep you hopelessly busy. I'll admit to loving Sonic Adventure, too, every, single, character, including Big The Cat and his fishing levels.

Then there's loveliness like Powerstone, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi... okay now I'm parroting the linked thread.

I wish I had a VGA cable and wireless controllers for the damned things.

I think I have a spare copy of Shenmue 1, by the way.

 

[Squirrel61]

It's still pretty easy to get the VGA box off of eBay. I did about 2 months ago, cost me less than $30 including shipping. And it's worth every cent of it, the screen is incredible!

 

[Orkie]

A while back, after thinking long and hard about it, I came to the conclusion that any console that is no longer supported (ie no longer being sold new in shops and no new commercial games released) I would classify as retro. So in this case the Xbox can be retro

There is no way in hell I will ever think of the Xbox as being "retro" for at least another 15 years. For me, even calling the N64 retro is pushing it a bit.

 

[Username]

There is no way in hell I will ever think of the Xbox as being "retro" for at least another 15 years. For me, even calling the N64 retro is pushing it a bit.

N64 really is the very last of the retro consoles, and it barely qualifies.

 

[White Demon]

There is no way in hell I will ever think of the Xbox as being "retro" for at least another 15 years. For me, even calling the N64 retro is pushing it a bit.

N64 really is the very last of the retro consoles, and it barely qualifies.
@Orkie: your logic is flawed. By your own logic you can't call the N64 retro, or even the Saturn or Playstation, since they were released in 1995 and therefore 15 years haven't passed yet. So until 2010 the PS1 and Saturn are not retro, and the N64 can't be until at least 2011.

What consoles are commercially viable today? Lets see....

PS3
Xbox360
Wii
PS2
DS
PSP
GBA? (not sure on this)

Everything else is not commercially viable anymore, so why can't consoles like the Xbox or especially Dreamcast be considered retro? Retro gamer have covered the Dreamcast in a previous issue, and it just seemed to fit so perfectly with their MO.

Orkie, Username, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on exactly what classifies a console as retro or not. Especially Username, as hgoing by your post, you seem to know exactly what qualifies. So what are your reasons?

 

[Orkie]

@Orkie: your logic is flawed. By your own logic you can't call the N64 retro, or even the Saturn or Playstation, since they were released in 1995 and therefore 15 years haven't passed yet. So until 2010 the PS1 and Saturn are not retro, and the N64 can't be until at least 2011.

Umm... no... your reading skills are flawed. I said calling an N64 was pushing it, not that I would class it as retro. Meaning I can accept that some people may consider it so, but I would not. And no, I would not class the PSX as retro, and I would certainly not describe the Saturn as such! Retro I would define as currently anything before the switchover to 3D, I am not sure if I will ever think of the current machines as "retro", probably just "old".

 

[quote]

I'm with you there

 

[jakshep2]

get a chip8, that's where it's at!

 

[Orkie]

get a chip8, that's where it's at!

Chip-8 is a virtual machine specification.

 

[Username]

I was just referring to my opinion. But oh well.

 

[Squirrel61]

I think the best definition of "retro" is "what one considers as retro". I think we all agree on calling 8-bit consoles "retro", but for anything beyond that, it just depends on your own opinion.

I for myself consider anything that I've been playing in my school time as "retro". That includes C64/C128, Amiga 500/1200, DOS, GB(A) and, futher back in time, the TV-games (pong!) and the Atari's.

I also tend to attach the term "retro" to anything that isn't available anymore and where no new games have been released in the past years. Calling the Dreamcast and XBox retro, as I did in my first post of this thread, probably is not really right. But since I have the same kind of fun playing these consoles as I have with real retro consoles, I still consider them closely-related to retro.

But other people will have a different view.

 

[White Demon]

I said calling an N64 was pushing it, not that I would class it as retro. Meaning I can accept that some people may consider it so, but I would not. And no, I would not class the PSX as retro, and I would certainly not describe the Saturn as such! Retro I would define as currently anything before the switchover to 3D, I am not sure if I will ever think of the current machines as "retro", probably just "old".

Hey, that's cool. As I said originally, retro is a very subjective thing anyway.

Totally hijacking the thread (and taking it in a slightly different direction), something that has bugged me ever since I read about it in an issue of edge once, why is it called retro anyway? I mean, if you read an old book or watch an old movie, it's not called retro-reading or retro watching is it?

So why are we pigeon holed as such when playing an old game? Why is it, when I hook up my C64, I'm suddenly doing something classed as 'retro', yet when I watch an old disney movie, i'm doing exactly the same thing as when I'm watching the latest James Bond movie (for example)?

Surely whether I'm playing GTA4 or the original Sonic game, that's all I'm doing, is just playing a game. There's nothing retro about playing a game surely? I'm doing the same things - holding a controller in my hand, looking at the TV screen/computer monitor, reacting to what I see - so how is that retro when I'm playing Sonic?

Just a thought for others to ponder on. If you have some thoughts on that, please post them, I'd love to hear (see/read) it.

 

[Chip]

The neat thing about getting a DC or Xbox is that while the systems themselves are far to recent to be retro, they both run emulators of retro systems quite well. I think I've spent nearly as much time playing SNES games on my Xbox as I ever did when I had an actual SNES.