If you needed another reason to feel the passage of time, look no further than your local mall. As the seventh generation of hardware enters its second decade of existence, the world’s largest gaming retailer is officially moving the goalposts, and the results might make longtime players feel a bit like “historical artifacts” themselves.
GameStop has reclassified the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U as retro consoles, putting them alongside the Sega Saturn and Nintendo DS in the retailer’s retro category.
The Xbox 360 came out in 2005. The PlayStation 3 followed in 2006. The Wii U launched in 2012. All three are now what GameStop calls “historical artifacts” of the games industry.
The company’s stated criteria for the designation: the consoles use component cables, they can’t run Fortnite, and they launched when George W. Bush was president. GameStop attributed the change to what it calls the “Retro Classification Standard.” The Wii U, for instance, came out in 2012, which was after Bush left office, but the company included it as retro anyway.
A trade-in promotion is running alongside the announcement. Through March 21, customers who bring in an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, or anything older will get an extra 10% in trade-in credit. GameStop also said that it will now accept retro consoles in poor condition—defective, missing accessories, or what it describes as “aesthetically unfortunate”—provided the unit powers on.
It’s worth noting that what counts as retro in gaming is genuinely disputed. The Xbox 360 is 20 years old this year. The PlayStation 3 is not far behind. Whether that qualifies under anyone’s definition probably depends on how old you were when you owned one.
Sources: GameStop (Twitter), Nintendo Everything, CNET