There are a few definitions, all plausible in some way. One is simply “20 years or older”, which I feel doesn’t really work with how much technology has slowed down. 20 years ago was 2006. 20 years before that was 1986. The difference between 2006 games and today is far more minor than 1986 games and 2006. Another is “when games weren’t all native widescreen and weren’t widely played online”, which would be anything pre-Xbox 360 and PS3. I like this one, and also “anything that isn’t playable on current console hardware”, which would be (some) Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii or earlier - technically Wii U counts, but almost every notable game from that era was ported to Switch. It’s currently similar to “20 years or older”, but focuses on accessibility rather than technology.
There are a few definitions, all plausible in some way. One is simply “20 years or older”, which I feel doesn’t really work with how much technology has slowed down. 20 years ago was 2006. 20 years before that was 1986. The difference between 2006 games and today is far more minor than 1986 games and 2006. Another is “when games weren’t all native widescreen and weren’t widely played online”, which would be anything pre-Xbox 360 and PS3. I like this one, and also “anything that isn’t playable on current console hardware”, which would be (some) Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii or earlier - technically Wii U counts, but almost every notable game from that era was ported to Switch. It’s currently similar to “20 years or older”, but focuses on accessibility rather than technology.