James, over at We Suck at Games, (for whom I also write) suggested that there was a lack of ideas for new articles, and I couldn't agree more, so thanks go to him for the subject of this.

So how old does a game have to be to be defined as classic?

The first thought that comes to mind is Last-Gen, but this is clearly crap. For a start, Last-Gen isn't strictly over yet. PS2 sales continue to dominate the PS3 and even Sony themselves are encouraging developers to continue working on PS2 games. I, personally, would say the same of the Gamecube and Wii, given that my 'Cube has seen more game-hours than my Wii in the last 6 months. Though most of the world seems to disagree as Wiis continue to fly off shelves at a rate that really isn't deserved.

So fifth-generation, then? We're looking at about 1994-2002, there. That sort of links on to a conversation with a friend earlier, who claimed not to many play games released after 2002, preferring classic games. Now, everybody's favourite wiki just happens to have a list of games released in 2002. Now, I see a number of big titles in there: Deus Ex, Eternal Darkness, a couple of FF games, Kingdom Hearts, Metroid Prime, Soul Calibur II, Super Mario Sunshine, UT2003, Warcraft III (and that's likely not exhaustive, so don't whine if I missed something). I also see some weird stuff: Bikini Karate Babes? Have to check that out sometime. Austin Powers Pinball? They'll make a game of anything, it seems.
Anyway, the issue at hand is whether Bikini Karate Babes, or more likely the titles on the first list, classify as classics. This is kinda awkward for me. I know people I'm sure would call Warcraft III and Deus Ex classics, but neither of those are in my expertise and I can't really comment. Though the rest, I'm not sure would fall into the category of 'classic'.

Another issue I haven't really dealt with is what constitutes 'classic' and that's not an easy one. It's kinda like art. You can't really define it in any sort of strict parameters, but at the same time, everyone has a general idea of what it is. Unfortunately Wikipedia is not a great deal of help, with articles on classic literature, films and music, but not games. (Now there's a project for someone: start a wikipedia page on classic video games.) Maybe we could work with those other articles for a basis, though. In terms of films, the 'films considered greatest ever' by a sizeable number of people is given. In music, the music associated with 'high culture' is given. Much the same is said of literature. I don't know how many people associate video games with 'high' culture, but I suspect it's a minority. Games considered 'greatest ever' by a large number of people, though - that could work. But by that definition modern games could be classic. Would Gears of War or Bioshock fall under the heading of 'classic'? I'm not sure they would. 10 years down the line, I'm absolutely certain that people will be saying "Bioshock, now that was a classic game", but not now, so there's definitely an age parameter in there. But the issue is in where it lies.

Let's move on to 2003, which sees F-Zero GX, two more Final Fantasies, GTA Vice City, Neverwinter Nights and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Personally, I'm leaning towards calling Neverwinter Nights a classic. But a mere 4 years ago? That seems a bit recent for calling something classic.

2001, then? Black and White, GTA III, another three Final Fantasies (including 9 and 10), Halo, MGS2, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Sounds a bit more like it. I think a few of those would qualify as classic, at least by enough people to count, I'd say.

I'm not gonna go and set anything in stone, because as I already pointed out, it's not the sort of thing you can define like that. But you can get a sort of picture from those ranges of games - and if you didn't, look at the full lists for yourself - and I think 2001-2 seems somewhat sensible. "Games over about 6 years old and are considered great by a sizeable number of people" - a fair description of 'classic' games?

Icefox out.

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Listening to: Rhapsody Of Fire - Heart Of The Darklands
via FoxyTunes