Nostalgia and Age Revisited

[Berty]

Okay, so a couple of years ago i started a poll which was looking at the correlation between nostalgia and age when it comes to video game consoles. As I am just about to submit my PhD, i thought that it was about time that I revisited this data. So here is the question...

Take a look at this image...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/d8caf14a7cb01d2477dc81cc107f1631.png

Then vote for the period of console gaming that you are most nostalgic about. Once you have done this, please leave a post with your year of birth, and what generation of console you voted for.

Remember, that for your post to count, it must say what you voted for (based on the image) and the year of your birth.


First Generation (Magnavox Odysessy / Pong Clones / Coleco Telstar)
Second Generation (Atari 2600 / 5200, Channel F, Coleco Vision, Magnavox Odysessy 2, Intellivision)
Third Generation (Atari 7800, NES, Master System)
Fourth Generation (Super NES, Megadrive, TG16, Turbo Duo, Neo Geo)
Fifth Generation (Jaguar, n64, Saturn Playstation)
Sixth Generation (Gamecube, Dreamcast, PS2, XboX)
Seventh Generation (PS3, Wii, 360)

Remember, this is nostalgia, so older systems which you still hold in high regard or play often, despite the fact that they are old and crusty ;)


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example post...

DOB; 1982 and Fifth Generation.

Comments;
Blah Blah Blah

[zemmix]

I was torn between the 3rd and 4th gen. In the end I went with the 4th gen because when I want to go back and play something 80% of the time its a game for the three 4th gen systems.

Eit: Whoops forgot the year, 1980.

[Berty]

I was torn between the 3rd and 4th gen. In the end I went with the 4th gen because when I want to go back and play something 80% of the time its a game for the three 4th gen systems.

Hey Zemmix, cheers for the reply! could I also please get your year of birth in the same post to make collating the data easier.

[Kevincal]

I can't vote because I'm equally nostalgic for generations 3-6. :) I was born in 1981.

[bunnyboy]

3rd gen (NES!), 1980. Didnt have my own system but best friend did.

Is the chart based on system/game releases?

[strassy]

1981, 3rd generation

[Berty]

3rd gen (NES!), 1980. Didnt have my own system but best friend did.

Is the chart based on system/game releases?

Hey, the chart is taken from Wikipedia and is based upon the US release schedule. The original link can be found here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console

as well as explanation of the Japanese and Euro release lists. Keep in mind that I would like all responses to be based around the US version (hence i didnt post the others here also). I am factoring in that the majority of user's here will be English speaking and based in the US, hence that chart.

[strassy]

what is your PhD on? sounds like it could be an interesting thesis...

[winniethepujols]

4th or 5th. If I really had to choose, I'd probably say 4th. The Super Nintendo and the Genesis are the two systems that really turned me into a gamer; with that said, I think I probably got more life out of my Playstation and probably have more memories from that.

Let's go with generation 4! If you can answer multiple generations, then mark me down for 4th and 5th!

[Berty]

what is your PhD on? sounds like it could be an interesting thesis...

It looks at Shmups from a design perspective and examines if there is any way to re-introduce nostalgic design aspects to appeal to older generations of gamers, whilst at the same time maintaining a contemporary feel.

[strassy]

what were your findings? i suspect that i will never really get into another video game system in my life...unless they make a new Kid Icarus for the wii...

[Zebbe]

It is kind of hard to be nostalgic about the seventh generation, especially since I haven't played two of its consoles at all :D. Anyway, I voted fourth. It lasted the longest time during my childhood. Year of birth: 1985.

[thetoxicone]

4th, 1980

[theMot]

I voted 4th gen but i started really playing games in the 3rd. Born 1981.

[bazariah]

i voted third generation

i was born in 1979, the first game i ever played was donkey kong in the arcade, soon after i progressed to aquiring the consoles of the time, so i had played many games prior to the thir gen..

i bought my nes when i was 10 and i absolutley adored the games for it, thus based on my love for the system and the sentimentality of having to properly earn the system rather than just getting it the nes and the third generation as a whole holds a very special place in my heart

[Wraith Storm]

The one I am most nalstalgic about... This is a tough question because I have so many good memories relating to several systems... I am torn between Gen3 (Nes), Gen4 (Genesis/Sega CD), and Gen5 (Saturn).

Since I can't narrow it down any further using nostalgia, I'll go with the system that I defended most... Sega Saturn (I still love you!!!)

I'm curious... Why is there no 3DO lovin' in that chart? Just because it was a retail flop doesn't mean it didn't happen... lol

DOB; 1981 and Fifth Generation (Sega Saturn)

[James8BitStar]

I was born in 1983 but usually I find most of my nostalgia focuses on the 1990s, specifically from 1992 to '96.

[Dire 51]

I voted for third gen, but it was a tough call between that and gens 2 & 4. Born 1974.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

I have equal nostalgia for the Intellivision, and the Genesis. Do I count? Born in 1980, we had an Intellivision with every new release when I was a kid, but the Genesis was the first console I called "my own". I skipped the third generation all together.

I didn't vote...can I get a 1/2 point for each? ;)

[klausien]

The 16-Bit era, 4th gen, is my era of choice. Love the redbook audio of the dawn of the CD age, and it was the heyday of side scrolling action, fighting & shoot 'em ups. Born 1978.

[kaedesdisciple]

Looks like I'm the only one so far who voted 2nd gen.

DOB: 1982, but this was the stuff I grew up on as I have older siblings that already had Atari and ColecoVision. I have some nostalgia about almost every generation, but I have more about the 2nd generation of systems than any other.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[PresidentLeever]

Fourth gen, for sure.

1985.

[sidnotcrazy]

Second generation for me too. I can't imagine a world without the VCS, Collecovision, and Intellivision. Long live cartridge based systems. Oh, and I was born in 1975.

[GnawRadar]

I'm nostaligic about the 4th generation, born in 1988.

[Nesmaster]

Third, 1988

[scooterb23]

Why I'm so old, we didn't even really know or care about system generations when I was a kid. We whittled our own games out of the tusks of sabertooth whales, and we liked them dammit!!

Ummm.... born in 1975, 2nd generation for me please :)

[Pantechnicon]

2nd gen, being born in 1970, and still old school enough to be smug about it.

[GrandAmChandler]

1982, 3rd Generation

[Sudo]

1985, somewhere between third and fourth but I voted first due to being an idiot and not reading the entire post. :duh:

[le geek]

2nd Gen! Born 1974

[Oobgarm]

Gen 3, 1978.

[DigitalSpace]

1982, Fourth generation.

The third generation is a close second. The NES was my first system and I had a blast with it then and I'm having a blast with it now. However, I really got into things during the 16-bit era, and the SNES and Genesis were among the first classic systems I actively collected for.

To this day, the NES, SNES, and Genesis are the only systems I own over 100 games for (though my PS2 collection is close to the 100 mark with 97 games).

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

1972, second generation for me.

I'm proud to have been alive and already more than aware of videogames when stuff like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong came along in the early '80s and made the whole thing go BOOM. That was a great time to be alive and gaming.

At the same time, I eagerly look forward to whatever generation of gaming will exist when my son becomes aware of these things. One of these days when he's all grown up, he can come pick me up in his flying car and take me to pick up whatever machine people are gaming with in The Future so I can still show him what the old man's got via netplay.

[ApolloBoy]

1989, third generation

[Steven]

It's all about the fourth gen, baby. 1983... I was very lucky to have grown up with 8-bit then 16 which IMHO was the peak of gaming itself, combined with a blessed and mostly carefree childhood, meant it was good times a-plenty.

[Damaramu]

1976, 4th Generation please.

[ccovell]

3rd Generation, definitely. Born in 1977.

[Rob2600]

I voted for the third generation, but I have nostalgia for the second, third, fourth, and fifth generations (Atari 2600, NES, Lynx, Genesis, SNES, and Nintendo 64). I was born in the late 1970s.

[p_b]

3rd generation, 1977

[Mobius]

1982, Fourth gen. I started with my older brother's 2600, but my fondest memories are the 16-bit generation. 3rd was a close second, but I find myself going back to the SNES, Genesis, and TG-16 more than the NES.

[Keir]

1974; 2nd Generation

I'm actually not sure if my system of choice for nostalgia (Commodore 64) would fit best under 2nd or 3rd generation, but of the given sample systems I am definitely more nostalgic towards the 2nd.

[Eternal Champion]

1975, 3rd and 4th. Sold my NES, bought a Genesis in 1991, SNES in 1994; realized selling the NES was a mistake, got one in 2002 and joined here!