That "feeling" of buying a new NES, Genesis, or SNES game back in the day....

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Remember back in the day when you would go to a Toy Works, Toys R Us, Funcoland, or a random department store like Sears and they would have all that great "World of Nintendo" signage up and the games would be displayed in giant glass cases? Remember that feeling you'd get when you were out with your parents and you want to walk by the video game section of whatever store you were visiting just to catch a glimpse of the games or that insane feeling of fun and wonder you'd have if you were actually there to buy a game?

Man, I miss that feeling and I'll always hold dear the great feeling of going into a toy store or department store and seeing NES, Genesis, and SNES games proudly displayed and a console set up for you to play demo's on.......those days were the best. You know something? I don't even know why I wrote this or posted it but I guess it's because I want to see if anyone remembered those glorious days? I don't get that "feeling" with todays consoles.....

[skaar]

That's because the price tags actually mean something to you now.

And the internet has already told you everything about all of those games. You barely even have to look at the boxes anymore.

Oh, and they're just CDs in a case now. No weight, no manual, and there's stickers all over it.

And the sequel has already been announced. It'll be out in 8 months.

[Neb6]

Oh man, totally! I used to walk through the video game section of department stores just to soak up the atmosphere. Looking at the back of the boxes to see the graphics and wonder at what awaited in the games. That and the awesomeness of the actual console packaging -- complete with screen-shots.

I think these images really capture a lot of the excitement:

http://www.colecovisionzone.com/page/miscellaneous/you.html

[fluid_matrix]

We had a Service Merchandise store in our local mall that had those giant glass display cases. I remember going in and salivating over all the gaming hardware, like the TG-16 CD-ROM add-on, etc. That's actually where I bought my 1st gen Sega Genesis from that came pkgd with Altered Beast. Loved that thing, never should have gotten rid of it.

[BlastProcessing402]

I loved the way TRU was back in the NES/SMS days. Giant plexiglass wall with the game boxes behind it, with little tags you took up to the register to buy the game, then after you paid you took the tag and receipt over to a little window and collected your game. It really made things seem special somehow.

Of course if they were down to the last copy, you'd have to get a clerk to open up the wall and get your game out, that really felt like a big deal.

Then in the SNES/Gen era, they replaced the plexiglass wall and gameboxes with those "flaps" that had the box art and stuff on them, somehow it just didn't feel the same (probably didn't help that by then I'd discovered EB and Babbages).

[PizzaKat]

Oh for sure. I remember and miss these days greatly. I also remember the smell of the NES when you opened it. I had this experience when I bought a ROB NES Deluxe some years back it was practically new! Gyromite and Duck Hunt looked mint box, manual everything. Im so glad I got this before the prices went insane on anything R.O.B. related especially the set. But back to seeing the World of Nintendo signs the displays to play games. i remember some stores had them in the glass displays so you would look down or a wall of games behind the counter. I also remember the poor Sega Master System having a small space for their games and systems. Same with the TG 16.
Having that feeling when I was going to get a game that day was such a thrill or getting a game rented for the weekend on a Friday night. Thanks Mom!
I think the feeling has gone for me mainly because its easily attainable to get a game. It was an event back in the day. Now its just like, yeah I think I want the game, jump in my car and just go and buy it and just tell my parents "yeah I'll be back."
Also someone mentioned we can easily see everything about the game. I picked games based on the cover and screenshots on the back.
I'd probably get excited if I went to a retro store that had affordable prices and great inventory. There are still some things I would want. Turbo Duo or Turbo Grafx CD for starters.

[DiEsmitty]

Wow service merchandise, how about Montgomery wards! I remember getting the little slips of paper from toys r us, and they would get the games out of a little room. It's a shame how much has changed, the box and the manual ment as much to me as the game itself. Now a days it's a case, and one piece of paper with an online code or other such nonsense inside.

[wiggyx]

I love the smell of a freshly opened SNES or NES game box. Prolly toxic fumes from the ABS plastic gassing off, but it smelled like sweet, sweet candy to me.

[XYXZYZ]

Don't forget reading the manual and staring at the box on the ride home.

When Street Fighter 2 for SNES came out (remember that long awaited holiday?) My family was on an out of state vacation, and we had no SNES. We found a store in a mall that had SF2 the day it was released, my cousin and I snatched up our copies fast. It was DAYS of reading the manual and staring at the box before we could get home and play it. Long, long days of agony.

[StealthLurker]

Don't forget reading the manual and staring at the box on the ride home.

Haha yes!! Oh god yes...

For my circle of friends and I, we would also bring in the manual of a new game we got and talk about it... quick reviews, etc.

.

[Rickstilwell1]

Don't forget reading the manual and staring at the box on the ride home.

I was just as excited about doing this during the Game Boy Advance days.

[JSoup]

I loved the way TRU was back in the NES/SMS days. Giant plexiglass wall with the game boxes behind it, with little tags you took up to the register to buy the game, then after you paid you took the tag and receipt over to a little window and collected your game. It really made things seem special somehow.

My local one didn't use a plexiglass wall. It was just a wall with black and white xeroxed copies of the box cover with the 'take this up to the register to buy it' slips underneath. But everything else was the same. The little window entered into the most secure room in the entire building, wall to wall games all over the place. I remember thinking it must have been a great place to work when I was little.

[wiggyx]

Don't forget reading the manual and staring at the box on the ride home.

When Street Fighter 2 for SNES came out (remember that long awaited holiday?) My family was on an out of state vacation, and we had no SNES. We found a store in a mall that had SF2 the day it was released, my cousin and I snatched up our copies fast. It was DAYS of reading the manual and staring at the box before we could get home and play it. Long, long days of agony.


Oh dear yes! I recall reading the Zelda manual about a hundred times within the first hour or so of ownership, as if I would find something new on that 47th read through :P

[XYXZYZ]

Oh dear yes! I recall reading the Zelda manual about a hundred times within the first hour or so of ownership, as if I would find something new on that 47th read through :P

I did that too, reading the Zelda manual makes the game so much better. Except when it's wrong, I wasted a lot of time trying to find those "invisible doors" in the "caves where people live". My ass.

[GhostDog]

Video games had a huge part in my childhood in the 90s. I loved going to SEARS and running straight to the game section and seeing all of those games behind a glass as well as the full versions of games set up and not demos like you had in the PS1 days that took the fun out of everything. The only places that often had sales on games seemed to be KB Toys where they had a bargain bin. Software ETC. and Electronics Boutique also were favorites in the early and mid 90s. The late 90s became all about Funcoland for me. Nothing beat being able to test out any game you wanted and if they didn't have a used copy of a PS1 game that I wanted to try out, they'd open a new copy. Seriously, I could have died happy as a kid thanks to the joys that video games provided me. Don't even get me started on how awesome arcades were in the 90s. Video games were to me what alcohol is to alcoholics. I didn't necessarily always have to play them but I enjoyed being around them. Simply looking at video game magazines, game boxes or just walking through an arcade would give me a thrill.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

The drive home after actually getting a new game was always the worst. The excitement and anticipation of looking at the box and holding the game, reading the manual, envisioning what the game will be like to play, it all created the experience that we know and love. It's sad, I haven't had that feeling since the N64/PS1 days.....

[GhostDog]

The drive home after actually getting a new game was always the worst. The excitement and anticipation of looking at the box and holding the game, reading the manual, envisioning what the game will be like to play, it all created the experience that we know and love. It's sad, I haven't had that feeling since the N64/PS1 days.....

I can totally relate to this. Even with a NES game with its basic graphics even back then, I would get all excited after getting a game from a garage sale for dirt cheap. I remember being so excited about taking Bad Dudes for NES home back in 1993 or so that was bought for me at the garage sale and thinking that I hope my mom doesn't get in a wreck or something and makes it home so I can play the game. I remember the arcade version of the game and I was expecting more of the same for some reason but of course the NES port is nothing to the arcade original.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

http://theretrovideogameaddict.blogspot.com/2013/10/video-game-visits-by-retro-video-game.html

A little something about this topic I wrote up on my blog, check it out. :)

[ReaXan]

http://theretrovideogameaddict.blogspot.com/2013/10/video-game-visits-by-retro-video-game.html

A little something about this topic I wrote up on my blog, check it out. :)

Nice blog post, shares many of my sentiments

[GhostDog]

http://theretrovideogameaddict.blogspot.com/2013/10/video-game-visits-by-retro-video-game.html

A little something about this topic I wrote up on my blog, check it out. :)

I agree. Those places you mentioned were awesome along with Software ETC. and Electronics Boutique. The 90s were awesome to be a kid.

[sloan]

Pretty cool to read about all the fond childhood memories on this thread. I do not have them.

I was 15 when I got my Atari VCS in 1980 and newly married when my wife bought me NES Control Deck set for Christmas 1985. I too remember unwrapping those gifts and the great feelings, but never read the back of the box or instruction manual while the parents drove me home. Just arrived a little too early for that party I guess.

[Neb6]

Pretty cool to read about all the fond childhood memories on this thread. I do not have them.

I was 15 when I got my Atari VCS in 1980 and newly married when my wife bought me NES Control Deck set for Christmas 1985. I too remember unwrapping those gifts and the great feelings, but never read the back of the box or instruction manual while the parents drove me home. Just arrived a little too early for that party I guess.

I'm sure there must have been an equivalent ride home. You know, like getting a new Micronaut, Meccano kit, or the Coleco hand-held football game -- or something along those lines...

[Rickstilwell1]

I use the bus, so for me there still is always a ride home. I would just need to check stuff out that I bought instead of playing with my music device to relive the experience.

[GhostDog]

Pretty cool to read about all the fond childhood memories on this thread. I do not have them.

I was 15 when I got my Atari VCS in 1980 and newly married when my wife bought me NES Control Deck set for Christmas 1985. I too remember unwrapping those gifts and the great feelings, but never read the back of the box or instruction manual while the parents drove me home. Just arrived a little too early for that party I guess.

You obviously like Jet Moto according to your avatar. Were you excited for any PS1 games? Did you get the PS1 at launch?

[sloan]

I'm sure there must have been an equivalent ride home. You know, like getting a new Micronaut, Meccano kit, or the Coleco hand-held football game -- or something along those lines...

Funny you mention it, but I got a Mattel hand held football game for Christmas 1979 and played that thing to no end. It could be played head to head, and I had a friend who played it with me. Great times.


You obviously like Jet Moto according to your avatar. Were you excited for any PS1 games? Did you get the PS1 at launch?

Playstation takes me back to the mid 90's and we got the system for our son shortly after launch. Lots of good times playing Jet Moto, Destruction Derby, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer, Crash Bandicoot, etc. I have all those games and the system, but he lives too far away now.

[DiEsmitty]

Don't forget reading the manual and staring at the box on the ride home.

When Street Fighter 2 for SNES came out (remember that long awaited holiday?) My family was on an out of state vacation, and we had no SNES. We found a store in a mall that had SF2 the day it was released, my cousin and I snatched up our copies fast. It was DAYS of reading the manual and staring at the box before we could get home and play it. Long, long days of agony.

Tonight some Wii U games came in the mail. I got Pikmin 3 for my wife to play. While she was washing the dishes I caught myself looking at the box and the manual without realizing it. It reminded me of when I got Mario paint, I was so excited. I don't really know why, I have always sucked at drawing, but for some reason I really wanted that game.

[GhostDog]

Funny you mention it, but I got a Mattel hand held football game for Christmas 1979 and played that thing to no end. It could be played head to head, and I had a friend who played it with me. Great times.



Playstation takes me back to the mid 90's and we got the system for our son shortly after launch. Lots of good times playing Jet Moto, Destruction Derby, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer, Crash Bandicoot, etc. I have all those games and the system, but he lives too far away now.

The mid 90s were something else. I just turned 9 years old five days before the PS1 launch and I loved video games. I remember being blown away seeing all the next generation of consoles lined up at Good Guys and Toys 'R Us and the latest games being shown. Your son was super lucky to have those things soon after launch. I had to go to stores just to have a taste and still remember being blown away by PS1 even in 1997 when a friend of mine had it. I finally got a PS1 of my own when I just turned 12 back in 1998 and finally I had this dream machine at my home that I bought used at a flea market for cheap but later traded it up for a newer model that holiday season. It was like a status symbol for me and I cherished it. Even playing a demo disc that was bundled with the system was amazing. I remember playing the demo disc that had Metal Gear Solid, MediEvil, Crash 3, Gran Turismo, Cool Boarders 3 and just thinking that this machine was something else. I now have a stack of a bunch of old Electronics Gaming Monthlys from the early-mid-late 90s so I'm able to relive the awesome 32-bit era of PS1 and all the hype that went along with it. Who would have thought that the PS1 would have been the mega success that it was back in 1995. I think it had to have been until 1997 that people really started realizing the monster that the Sony Playstation brand really was. Good times. I miss the 90s and my childhood so much. You can play those games in memory of your son and then call him up or Skype him and tell him of the awesome times and memories you had and have with all the old PS1 games!

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

The mid 90s were something else. I just turned 9 years old five days before the PS1 launch and I loved video games. I remember being blown away seeing all the next generation of consoles lined up at Good Guys and Toys 'R Us and the latest games being shown. Your son was super lucky to have those things soon after launch. I had to go to stores just to have a taste and still remember being blown away by PS1 even in 1997 when a friend of mine had it. I finally got a PS1 of my own when I just turned 12 back in 1998 and finally I had this dream machine at my home that I bought used at a flea market for cheap but later traded it up for a newer model that holiday season. It was like a status symbol for me and I cherished it. Even playing a demo disc that was bundled with the system was amazing. I remember playing the demo disc that had Metal Gear Solid, MediEvil, Crash 3, Gran Turismo, Cool Boarders 3 and just thinking that this machine was something else. I now have a stack of a bunch of old Electronics Gaming Monthlys from the early-mid-late 90s so I'm able to relive the awesome 32-bit era of PS1 and all the hype that went along with it. Who would have thought that the PS1 would have been the mega success that it was back in 1995. I think it had to have been until 1997 that people really started realizing the monster that the Sony Playstation brand really was. Good times. I miss the 90s and my childhood so much. You can play those games in memory of your son and then call him up or Skype him and tell him of the awesome times and memories you had and have with all the old PS1 games!

I love your spirit when it comes to this subject, it's amazing just how much a certain "feeling" can define an era of gaming.

As for the PS1, I absolutely love that console and consider it one of the best ever next to the NES, SNES, and 2600.

[SparTonberry]

Who would have thought that the PS1 would have been the mega success that it was back in 1995.

Not many. It was later revealed it's why we didn't see a Sega PlayStation was because Sony was such a mediocre third-party before they released the PS that EGM predicted it was going to go away with the 3DO and Jaguar (I remember they said something like "when you take away the lesser consoles, it's still going to boil down to a Nintendo and Sega console war."). (would you have expected the company that made Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero... among several ridiculous Famicom games like Paris-Dakar Rally Special to soon dominate the industry? :)

[GhostDog]

I love your spirit when it comes to this subject, it's amazing just how much a certain "feeling" can define an era of gaming.

As for the PS1, I absolutely love that console and consider it one of the best ever next to the NES, SNES, and 2600.

Thanks a lot. I have been doing a retrospective of my life and without a doubt the best years of my life were the 90s during my childhood and video games were a huge part of providing me unimaginable joy and I like to think about it and share my experiences. Sure, movies were ok and watching tv was fine too but video games, especially arcades, blew my mind. I was getting high on life because of the awesomeness that were video games but I'm sure all the sugar I was consuming also had something to do with it. Anyway, home consoles to me at the time seemed like a lesser experience at home than the arcade. I know now that this was the wrong attitude but I couldn't help but feel that I was severely missing out on the better graphics that the arcade provided when comparing to my SEGA Genesis at the time. Then came the new batch of systems and I was blown away but it still wasn't quite there yet. I remember seeing SEGA Rally for Saturn and thinking that sure it looks and plays well but the arcade version looks so much better. Over time I learned to except this deficiency that the PS1 and other systems had over the arcade and before I knew it the graphics started to get better and games like Tekken 3 looked awesome and the PS1 was really hitting its stride. I just cherish those times so much that I recently bought a ton of EGMs and Gamepros from the 90s to relive those times. I also miss my old PSMs (Playstation Magazine) that I used to have. PSM was such a great magazine that really made you proud to be a PS1 owner. The way they hyped the PS1 and celebrated its awesomeness was a joy to read.

[GhostDog]

Not many. It was later revealed it's why we didn't see a Sega PlayStation was because Sony was such a mediocre third-party before they released the PS that EGM predicted it was going to go away with the 3DO and Jaguar (I remember they said something like "when you take away the lesser consoles, it's still going to boil down to a Nintendo and Sega console war."). (would you have expected the company that made Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero... among several ridiculous Famicom games like Paris-Dakar Rally Special to soon dominate the industry? :)

Really? It would be interesting to see that for myself. I have a bunch of EGMs from 1994 and 1995 so I probably have that issue. I'll gather those issues up and see what they really have to say about it and read more closely. So many developers were on board for the PS1 and a price of $299 was reasonable enough that I don't know how anyone could have downplayed the system because the system was really set up from the beginning to succeed. I suppose the fact that this was Sony's first shot at a console may have concerned some gamers but it didn't take long to realize that the system was here to stay with games like Resident Evil. The PS1 really hit its stride in 1997 in terms of the quality of games that were being released. In the February 1998 issue of EGM it says that there was a worldwide installed hardware base of over 23 million units. The year 1998 I would say the PS1 really hit the home stretch like Usain Bolt in his prime and demolished the competition with so many more awesome titles hitting the system and continued well into 2000 when the PS2 was on the horizon.

[Haoie]

The good old, bad old days: pre GameFAQs, Ebay, Amazon etc etc

Times have a-changed!

[Neb6]

Really? It would be interesting to see that for myself. I have a bunch of EGMs from 1994 and 1995 so I probably have that issue. I'll gather those issues up and see what they really have to say about it and read more closely. So many developers were on board for the PS1 and a price of $299 was reasonable enough that I don't know how anyone could have downplayed the system because the system was really set up from the beginning to succeed. I suppose the fact that this was Sony's first shot at a console may have concerned some gamers but it didn't take long to realize that the system was here to stay with games like Resident Evil. The PS1 really hit its stride in 1997 in terms of the quality of games that were being released. In the February 1998 issue of EGM it says that there was a worldwide installed hardware base of over 23 million units. The year 1998 I would say the PS1 really hit the home stretch like Usain Bolt in his prime and demolished the competition with so many more awesome titles hitting the system and continued well into 2000 when the PS2 was on the horizon.

Going back to the game development days on the N64 in 1996, I recall that at least half the studio staff would rather have been working on the PS1. So I think quite a few of the people working on developing games were quite aware of what the PS1 was capable of (both in performance and for the future of gaming). In fact, we had one set up to play on our breaks. When Edge Magazine did a hardware profile on the PS1 prototype, I was right in there absorbing the machine's stats. I could see it coming -- but only because I was a computer hardware freak back then and was carefully tracking the various CPUs, GPUs, and the like. The PS1 was a true (and IMHO successful) attempt to package the power of an arcade machine in a home system and couple it with the flexibility of CDROM media.