What was the moment/event that got you into Retro Gaming?

[Anthony1]

I'm curious as to the moment, or event or situation, that headed you into the world of Retro Gaming. What was it that led you onto the path of being so interested in games and systems that the mainstream population has forgotten about?



Here is how I got into it:


I was just your average video gamer. I had a XBOX and about 5 or 6 games, and a GameCube and a couple of games. I would basically play my games and maybe buy a new game for one of the systems every other month or so. During Xmas time, I would always buy like 4 or 5. I would also rent an occasional game from Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. I didn't play games that often, probably only about 3 hours a week. I only had one subscription to a video game magazine. So I really wasn't much of a hardcore gamer at all.

Of course, all this changed......


I can trace it back to me visiting a Hollywood Video store, to look for a DVD movie to rent. When I went to this Hollywood Video store, I noticed that they had this Video Game store attatched onto it, called "Game Crazy". I decided to stroll over there and check it out breifly, and while I was in there, I saw alot of games from systems past. Game Systems that I had sold a long ago, while they still were somewhat viable. I was looking around and I saw a old Sega Genesis game, Madden 93. It was 99 cents. I can remember back in 1992, when me and my buddies used to play that game over and over. We had tournaments and leagues, and wagered money on that game. It brought back alot of special memories.

But, I really didn't care. That was the past. No need to dwell on it. So I left and went home with my DVD rental and that was that.

Then a couple of weeks later, I was at a friends house, trying to help him erase a bunch of stuff off his computer, to try to make it run a little faster. He had gotten the PC from a friend who had a million things on the hard drive. I was trying to help him clean it up a little bit. While I was erasing all kinds of programs, I noticed that there were some emulators and Roms on his computer. There was a Sega Genesis emulator and a Super Nintendo Emulator, and a bunch of Roms.

I had remembered that a couple of years back, I had a MAME emulator and Roms on my PC to play old classic arcade games like Defender and Galaga. Back then, they had Genesis and Snes emulators, but I think that they only ran in DOS, and I didn't want to screw around with DOS.

When I got home, I thought, "You know I should see what emulators they have nowadays. They probably have some really good ones that run in Windows. I ended up downloading a Genesis and a SNES emulator and some Roms. After playing some of those old games for awhile, I started thinking. "Man, these old games are so simple compared to today's latest games, but they have a special charm to them."

So I started downloading even more roms. And I discovered that what I love about the older games is that the world within the game is more defined. What you can do, and what you can't do in their game worlds are much more defined and regulated then todays modern games. Especially the old 2D classics.

Then I happen to go into Hollywood Video again, looking for another DVD movie to rent, and I go back into that GameCrazy store. I see that Madden 93 for the Genesis for 99 cents and decide to buy it. At the same time I also bought NBA Live 95 for the Super Nintendo. Another one of my all time favorite sports games from back in the day.

Why did I buy these games? I don't even have a Genesis or a Super Nintendo. Well, I thought that I better buy these games now, before somebody else buys them and I can't get them again. I would just try to find a old Super Nintendo or Genesis really cheap somewhere at a later date.

That particular Game Crazy didn't have any old Super Nintendo's or Sega Genesis. So I started calling around, at some of the different gamestores, and I found one that had a Sega Genesis, with one controller for $19.99. I decided to drive over and buy it. While I was there, I also bought Sonic 2 for a couple of bucks.

When I got home, I got out my old RGB Monitor from back in the day, and found my old Sega Genesis RGB cable. I hooked everything up, and I was transfered back in time to the early 90's! It was great. The emulators were nice, but there is nothing like plugging the old cartridge into the slot and flipping the power switch and holding that controller in your hands. Seeing Sonic run around on that RGB Monitor was just beautifull!

And that is basically where it all started for me. Since then, I've gotten a Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, Turbo Grafx and a Nintendo 64. I've also bought about 30 or so games. Now I'm on the hunt for a Atari Jaguar, a Sega CD, a 32X, a 3DO, and at some point a Turbo Duo.


So what are your guy's stories?

[Sylentwulf]

Into gaming, or collecting?

Mines simple either way:
Colecovision for Xmas when I was 5
Ebay Discovered when I was 21

[Anthony1]

I mean into either playing or collecting really old games and systems that the general public is no longer interested in.

[nesman85]

i had been into playing my older systems for a while, and thought that i had a decent collection even though i had only around 20 games for nes and snes. when i finally got a computer about a year and a half ago i found out that my "collection" was nothing and that some people had entire ROOMS full of games. then i got addicted and started buying other older systems and lots of games.. then some rarer games.. then some protos.. *takes another bite of top ramen* .

[AB Positive]

Well, with me it happened as it usually does. I get a huge urge to play an old game. In this case though, it was my 2-year itch to have play the TG-16. I've had one, then a duo, and parted with them mere months after obtaining them. Now, I wanted one and wanted one to stay. But as I looked for TG stuff, I remembered all the fun times I had with the Genesis... then the SNES. NES, Master System... I went out and found good deals on all. I work at a game store so of course came the XBOX, PS2, Gamecube... but still I love the 8 and 16-bit eras. I don't think I'll ever part with them. I'll sell my XBOX before selling my TG-16 this time around.

-AG

[calthaer]

I never got rid of my old stuff. Except for the VIC-20, which didn't work any more. I took my NES to college with me. Me and my friends played it. The system wasn't too old at the time, but it wasn't the latest and greatest and it certainly wasn't what everyone else was playing. The best thing was that "retro" gaming wasn't as big back then and a lot of people were getting rid of their stuff. I found good games for little money (important for a college student).

I was never into the 2600. The old Apple and Commodore systems had way better graphics and I liked the old RPGs like Bard's Tale and Might & Magic better. The really cool thing was that all those RPGs were interchangeable...you could take an Ultima character and put it into Bard's Tale, or a Wizardry into Might & Magic. Maniac Mansion, old Epyx games (Rad Warrior, anyone?), Starfox, old Sierra adventures...those were all way better than Atari. I still have my LASER 128 (Apple II clone). Nintendo had them beat when it came out, sure, but not in the mid-80s.

I just never stopped liking old games. Graphics are not a huge seller with me - it has to have the gameplay, and a lot of modern games just don't have it. 3D didn't improve everything, or even most things.

[Perkar]

mine is relatively easy to tell

i've always been mildly into video games, owning a few systems through my childhood... played the crap out of the standard super mario worlds and zeldas...

a year ago my store is clearancing out some n64's, i decide to pick one up, buy a few games for that, while i'm at a gamestop looking for n64 crap, i randomly decide to pick up a genesis a few carts, then win an auction off ebay for 60 genesis carts. that kept me busy enough, until...

2 months ago, i stumble on this page... and now video games are pretty much as addictive as crack. i'm almost up to the 400 mark on games, while 2 months ago i was at something like 200.

ri-goddamn-diculous

[YoshiM]

I've been a gamer forever. I've been actively collecting since about 1988.

I've always progressed upwards when I got exposed to a new system and liked it. I started truely collecting when I repurchased an Atari 2600 (small model) about a year after I sold my 4 switcher and games for NES game money because I missed some of the games on that system (and the fact that a buddy of mine had a huge stack of games collecting dust in his basement). I hung onto that system and then I got an Intelevision as a gift. From there I thought "hmmm, this is way more fun than collecting comics." So over my high school years I kept up with the times (I purchased a Genesis the year it came out followed by a TG-16 about a year later) and collected what games I found. When I got exposed to the power of PC, my console collecting and playing came to a screeching halt. PC gaming in the early to mid 90's was pure bliss...

Until 1996 when my then future-brother-in-law and I chipped in a bought an N64 after we saw a 3D Mario playing at Blockbuster. However as these newfangled 3D games came out, the challenge of the past was mostly gone and replaced with the challenge of how much time one had. I looked back to my youth and the remnants of my collection (most of which I sold off due to lack of interest). My early teenage to teen gaming past was filled with great titles that still are great to play even today. And I discovered there were some gems for systems I skipped (like the 3DO, my current fave system). I was back into retro gaming again. Well, as retro as early/mid 90's gaming anyway.

[kainemaxwell]

I've been a gamer all my life since early 80's when I first got my Atari 2600. Since then jumped form different systems and still enjoyed them all and kept the systems and a few core games I wanted.

When I started in college a friend of mine then introduced me into emulation for NES and GB titles. Once I upgraded my PC a bit then I was able to play many older favorites on Atari, Coleco, Nes and other systems I once had or still did have, or neve rplayed and always wanted too.

It was when I arrived here that I started seeing how cool retrogaming was and it lead me down the path of being a collector as well as gamer.

[NE146]

I never "got into" "retrogaming". I've just always played videogames and always liked getting the latest and greatest consoles which is how I got my current collections. I guess unlike a lot of kids, I was never one to abandon a console once a newer and better one came out. Rather, the newer console was just a cool addition to an already happy family of playable videogames!

So growing up I never saw anything odd about playing my 2600 when I got my brand new 5200 and Colecovision later. And I never thought twice about playing my 5200 when I got my Genesis & TG-16 and beyond. I didn't stop playing my NES when the SNES came out, And I didn't stop playing my SNES when the N64 came out, and I didn't stop playing my N64 when the Gamecube came out. You get the idea And that continues on to this day. i.e. I've just always played what I've had and never threw/gave/sold away anything. Sure I might play them less if I tired of most of the games. But it's always a sure bet that I'll get a hankering someday and play something on it again.

As far as playing forgotten oldies on Mame. That's just a case of finding those games I still wanted to play but just weren't around anymore. I don't consider it "retrogaming" or even nostalgic. I just consider it playing the games I've always liked

And I still don't consider myself a collector either since I don't really hunt.. No I'm really more a videogame PACKRAT

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Well, I've always kept my trusty old Odyssey 2 on standby - I just love showing it to people who don't remember anything outside of Atari. But the 2600 was never far behind on the "hot standby" list. Then four things happened in rapid succession in late 1998:

John Dondzila's "Amok" for the Odyssey 2.

Going through a lot of reconstructive dental surgery at a dentist's office where there was a Pac-Man cocktail machine.

Finding a store near that dentist's office that had a whole special section devoted to NES-and-older systems and carts, often at what now seems like insanely cheap prices - I miss that place. Scooterb23 can attest, I sent him there when he moved to that part of the country.

Learning of the wonder that is MAME.

There's been no turning back since then.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

I started collecting when i was 14, when i bought a complete GB for only $ 20...since that, i collect and i will collect forever...

[dreamcaster]

Well, it could perhaps have had its roots for me in 2001. I got a Sega Game Gear with four games off my cousin for free. He claimed it didn't work anymore - it's worked perfectly for me! I always loved Game Gears, but they were too expensive 'back in the day' and now I'd managed to get one for free! Great stuff. It temporarily re-ignited my interest in retro games.

Later that year I also freely acquired an Atari 2600 JR. What a great find! It showed me what games were like before I was born. And I still play my 2600 every now and then. I then looked at all my consoles so far - Nintendo 64, Atari Lynx, Game Boy Color, Sega Game Gear, Game Boy Advance, Atari 2600 - and was impressed with what I'd collected over the years. I considered perhaps collecting games. I always wanted to collect something, and stamps seemed so boring - so games it was!

However, I was still regretting my selling of my SNES back in 1997. I did not want to devote any time to collecting until I at least had a SNES. However, GCN was just released and I blew all my money on it (and then some). SNES was put off for a while.

About this time last year I finally got a SNES again, after a five year absence from my home. SNES was back, and I still loved it!

Now I figured, "well, why don't I start collecting all the SNES games I had and always wanted?" and that what I started doing. So you could basically say I started collecting in June 2002. Since then, I have acquired: NTSC N64, NES, PS2, Dreamcast, Saturn, two Mega Drive's and a Mega CD. That's how long I've been collecting.

I've been a retro gamer since I came to the realisation that I'm dissatisfied with the state of the gaming industry, and that there's more enjoyment to be had in other, older consoles. That happened about the beginning of this year.

And I love your avatar Arqueologia!!! CAPTAIN COMIC RULES!!!!!