Define retro. I’ll wait. I don’t have a definitive answer, either. It’s more of a feeling than a definition in some cases. Sure, you can easily argue that 1980s arcade cabinets and most 90’s consoles like the Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy Colour are retro. But the Wii U!?
Well, GameStop says it’s among the three consoles that deserve the moniker of “Historic Artifact.” In an update posted this week, the company says the Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3 will be included in the retro console section of their stores.
GameStop Thinks We’re Old, But Maybe That’s Ok
The update is a little snarky and has some fun with the announcement referencing former U.S. President George W. Bush and component cables. In their defence, there are likely thousands of customers out there who have no idea what either of those is. It’s also nothing “official,” as it’s a way to divvy up and change which games and consoles will receive new trade-in credit.
Likely looking to take advantage of the continual boom of retro game collecting, GameStop says any items from the Wii U, 360, and PS3 will get a 10% trade-in value bump. On top of that, stores will now take defective hardware as well, something they’ve refused to do in the past. The only caveat is that the console must be at least powered on.
The press release also reassures gamers that, despite their new classification, the move still means that the consoles are “very cool, and anyone who owned one at launch is absolutely not old.” I’ll choose to believe that. For now.
For reference (and science), the Wii U released in 2012, the Xbox 360 in 2005, and the PS3 hit store shelves in 2006 in North America. In the past, GameStop has added the Sega Saturn (1995) and Nintendo DS (2004) to their retro category.
