What exactly is "old school"? What game defines the term?

I myself have gone a bit old-school crazy of late. Are there any like-minded souls out there? You know, when you get sick of hearing about the new game summer line-up, the christmas release schedule and you think, great, more money. Whereas the old games, many of which are still great, and greater still if you haven't discovered them yet, are out there at a cheaper price, and it feels great when you bag a bargain and know you're gonna get hours of gameplay out of it. Granted, it's not always about money - if you have to have Saints Row 2 and Far Cry 2 now, you gotta fork out for these top-shelf games. But money doesn't always buy quality. Just look at all the movie-conversion games doing the rounds -- cynical tie-ins designed to cash in on the storm of promotional hype a movie as bland as the third Pirates of The Carribbean generates.

Does this mean I'm getting old?

Probably. Or more mature. I believe it's more than simple misty-eyed nostalgia; a yearning for the bygone glory days exemplified by sayings such as "When I was your age I was into Mortal Kombat..." I believe I'm somewhere around the average gamer age (18-30), but I could be wrong.

So what's old school for this generation (Gen-X Gen-Y Gen-Strange)? Is it Konami's Frogger? Is it Alex The Kid on Sega Master System? Is it the launch of Tomb Raider on Playstation or more recently, does the term old school now encompass Grand Theft Auto III?

I think it's interesting but some will most likely cringe at this blog.

Whatever, let's crack out those old-school games and see if they really do live up to the fond memories.