wyatt8
06-20-2007, 04:59 AM
I'm not sure why I'm feeling so nostalgic about this tonight but I can remember a couple of events in my life that involved video games that are so clear to me that it seems like they could have happened yesterday. Personally, these are some of the moments that really affected me and explain my love for video games today.
As a 5-year-old I can recall going to the babysitter while my mother was at work. It was the summer of 1980. I wasn't in school so I had to be under the supervision of the daycare provider. A neighbor next door had an Intellivision and a lot of games and he would let us come over and play. It was the first time I had ever played a video game on any console. Pitfall was the first game I can remember playing there and I was totally in love with it. As a little kid I was so hyper I can remember literally jumping from my sitting position on the couch every time I jumped over a log or jumped to a vine in the game. We also played Swords and Serpents which was a sweet 2-player RPG type game. While we were there we caught this TV show where people played arcade games for prizes....I can't remember the name of the show, does anyone remember it?
This was my first taste of video games and I loved it. Over the next year or so I also played some Atari 2600 at my cousins' house and that was really fun too but not quite as good as the Intellivision. Eventually my parents bought me the Atari 2600, probably in 1981 or 1982 with Pac-Man as the pack-in game. Although I liked the Atari I remember being somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that most games never ended. Vanguard, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders were all great but they just kept going. The only game that I owned and remember having and end was Riddle of the Sphinx which was pretty sweet by the way. I beat it so many times that I started to do what could only be classified as "speed runs" today. The Atari just left me wanting more.
Then in 1986 the NES was released and that was the moment where I was hooked. I can remember my friend inviting me over to his house to stay overnight. He was telling me about this video game system called Nintendo. I didn't know anything about it but he RENTED the system and got 3 games with it. I very clearly remember getting Commando, 1942 and Super Mario Bros. We stayed up all night playing the NES taking turns playing SMB and thinking "man, this game is tough!". We would go on to beat Commando that night. I fell asleep in the car on the way home the next morning, I hadn't slept a wink.
Later in High School me and 2 friends would spend every Friday and Saturday night in the basement switching off between playing NES (usually Tecmo Super Bowl or Baseball Stars) and the Commodore 64. That was always a ton of fun since you could play a season in Tecmo and when you were done with your game you could go play one of about 500 games for the C64. Pretty much the only one I ever touched was Pirates! which was an unbelievable game at that time.
I'd go on to purchase my own NES (Power Set) eventually and later I owned a Sega Genesis, Turbografx, PS1 and so on.
In 2001, me and a friend started a website dedicated to classic video games and in August of 2006 I opened a retail store specializing in used video games.
It's funny because a few months ago I was shopping at my local Target and I ran into my friend who introduced me to the NES. I was telling him how he was partially responsible for my love of video games that he was a big part of the reason I opened my store.
So, here I am today. Still playing games and now I sell them for a living. I feel very fortunate that I have a passion for video games and that I am able to share it with people on a daily basis. Whenever someone buys Commando or 1942 I always mention that it's one of the first NES games I ever played. It's just cool to be able to talk to people about the games they played and grew up with.
Does anyone else have any similar experiences? I'd like to hear them.
Thanks!
Wyatt
As a 5-year-old I can recall going to the babysitter while my mother was at work. It was the summer of 1980. I wasn't in school so I had to be under the supervision of the daycare provider. A neighbor next door had an Intellivision and a lot of games and he would let us come over and play. It was the first time I had ever played a video game on any console. Pitfall was the first game I can remember playing there and I was totally in love with it. As a little kid I was so hyper I can remember literally jumping from my sitting position on the couch every time I jumped over a log or jumped to a vine in the game. We also played Swords and Serpents which was a sweet 2-player RPG type game. While we were there we caught this TV show where people played arcade games for prizes....I can't remember the name of the show, does anyone remember it?
This was my first taste of video games and I loved it. Over the next year or so I also played some Atari 2600 at my cousins' house and that was really fun too but not quite as good as the Intellivision. Eventually my parents bought me the Atari 2600, probably in 1981 or 1982 with Pac-Man as the pack-in game. Although I liked the Atari I remember being somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that most games never ended. Vanguard, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders were all great but they just kept going. The only game that I owned and remember having and end was Riddle of the Sphinx which was pretty sweet by the way. I beat it so many times that I started to do what could only be classified as "speed runs" today. The Atari just left me wanting more.
Then in 1986 the NES was released and that was the moment where I was hooked. I can remember my friend inviting me over to his house to stay overnight. He was telling me about this video game system called Nintendo. I didn't know anything about it but he RENTED the system and got 3 games with it. I very clearly remember getting Commando, 1942 and Super Mario Bros. We stayed up all night playing the NES taking turns playing SMB and thinking "man, this game is tough!". We would go on to beat Commando that night. I fell asleep in the car on the way home the next morning, I hadn't slept a wink.
Later in High School me and 2 friends would spend every Friday and Saturday night in the basement switching off between playing NES (usually Tecmo Super Bowl or Baseball Stars) and the Commodore 64. That was always a ton of fun since you could play a season in Tecmo and when you were done with your game you could go play one of about 500 games for the C64. Pretty much the only one I ever touched was Pirates! which was an unbelievable game at that time.
I'd go on to purchase my own NES (Power Set) eventually and later I owned a Sega Genesis, Turbografx, PS1 and so on.
In 2001, me and a friend started a website dedicated to classic video games and in August of 2006 I opened a retail store specializing in used video games.
It's funny because a few months ago I was shopping at my local Target and I ran into my friend who introduced me to the NES. I was telling him how he was partially responsible for my love of video games that he was a big part of the reason I opened my store.
So, here I am today. Still playing games and now I sell them for a living. I feel very fortunate that I have a passion for video games and that I am able to share it with people on a daily basis. Whenever someone buys Commando or 1942 I always mention that it's one of the first NES games I ever played. It's just cool to be able to talk to people about the games they played and grew up with.
Does anyone else have any similar experiences? I'd like to hear them.
Thanks!
Wyatt