I often hear the phrases "modern-era", and "retro-era" around the world of gaming.

Is there a set year where you considered this shift to happen?

edit: some say the step-up to 3d was when it started, but others consider Banjo-Kazooie, Panzer Dragoon, and Ocarina of Time to be retro games.

October 2016 when PSVR came out.

5th to 6th gen for me.

What can be defined as retro is an ever increasing category. Obviously when the PS1 launched, it melted my brain with games like Tekken, Ridge Racer, Destruction Derby, Warhawk, ect. I would now classify that era as retro. Maybe Retro-Gross, as a significant number of games/genres from that gen haven't aged well.

Most ppl will give different preferences but for me it's during the start of 7th gen. This is the start when the game looks more realistic with high poly model and higher texture overall compared to previous gen. The most significant jump in 3d era unless you only upgraded to the Wii.

I'd say the switch to 3D. So, the N64, Saturn, PS era I consider to be modern. Prior to that, I'd call retro. However, games from that generation feel very different than games today. So, there may need to be another era figured out.

Modern gaming began with Dreamcast/PS2/GC/Xbox for me.

You could also say that pre-NES and Master System the games were quite different. I could argue that you have the pre-NES era, the NES & Master Sytem through SNES & Genesis (and even early into the next gen to some extent) era, the PS through PS2 (and others of the time), and then PS3 through current.

So the Wii, ds, and 3DS are retro?

The day I looked in my window and saw a three-dimensional Mario jumping across my TV screen - summer 1996.