When did you get your first NES?

[Jibbajaba]

I thought this might make for a good topic in light of the NES's 20th anniversary. I'll go first.

In the summer and early fall of 1987 Nintendo ran TV ads advertising The Legend of Zelda. I had already played SMB at some kid's house, some I was alredy wanting a NES. My dad took me to Toys R' Us to check out the different game systems, becase neither one of us knew anything about them. Once he almost bought me a 2600 Jr. when hey were going for $50, but ended up not buying it. Anyway, we decided that the NES was cool, and that I might be getting one for Christmas. Because of the Zelda ads on TV, I asked for that game as well. Well one day in October, he comes home and asks me to help him get a box out of the trunk of his car. (This was nothing unusual as he would sometimes ask me to go get a box of files or groceries or whatever out of the car.) So he gives me the keys, and I go out to the garage and open the trunk and there is a shiny new NES control deck set (system + SMB, but no zapper or ROB), and sitting on top of the box is a shiny new copy of LOZ. I was a happy happy boy.

So we set the thing up and played it, and I TOTALLY didn't get Zelda. In fact I didn't really get into that game for another year. I was an SMB addict. He and I were very competitive when it came to SMB, over who could get farther into the game, or who could get a higher score. I was always better than him, but he was about to have some minor surgery and he told me that he was going to move his bed into the living room so that he could practice while he recovered and while I was at school. He never did, but the spirit of competition that we had over that game gives it a special place in my heart.

My dad passed away when I was 14, and the memories that I have of him and the NES are some of the best. It brought us closer than we normally were. I still have that same nintendo that he gave me, and it is the one piece of my gaming collection with which I will never part.

Chris

[NESVIDIOT]

We got the Nes the first Christmas it was out- my dad spent over 350$ picking it up! Just goes to show you that even though games are more
technologically advanced, the price has stayed near the same.

[Funk Buddy]

About 2 1/2 years ago. I'm serious. :D

[Maddrox]

I bought it after my third b day.
1989

[sniperCCJVQ]

1987

Control Deck kit w/SMB

127.99 at Canadian Tire

Best thing ever happend to me :D

[Lady Jaye]

I got mine in 2003, two sets in fact bought at the same time from SlyDC (as SniperCCJVQ may remember). My first exposure to the console, however, goes back to 1988.

[Emily]

My grandparents on my moms side discovered the NES befor my parents did, and were very enthusiastic about the little machine. They gave us our first one, as they already had a few they picked up used. Im pretty sure this was like 87' or 88'.
Since this was a long time ago, and I was like 2, I dont remember our first game. I do remember playing Super Mario Bros. alot, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .
Ive played that same Nintendo, pretty much all of these years.The next system we got( the first system we ever bought new) was a N64, and it interrupted the NES playing for a year.
Now my NES has a prominent place with my Cube and Xbox, since having multiple systems hooked up is easy.
Actually the one hooked up right now is my new Top-loader, but I still have the original+a new pin connector in it :)

[Kepone]

I think my dad got our NES in 1987 or 1988. I'm not too sure but I was in 1st grade at that time so it's possible.

[Flack]

When the NES was taking over America, the Commodore 64 had taken over me. Which system is better remains debatable, but the fact of the matter was I could download Commodore games for free, so that's the system I stuck with.

In the early 1990's I had several friends who still owned NESs and played them regularly. In fact, most of my friends had them, even people you wouldn't classify as "a gamer" like we do today. In 1991 when I was a senior in high school, a co-worker of mine decided to sell his NES and all his games for $100. Little did I know he was selling it to save up money for the SNES, which was just around the corner! Regardless, for $100 I got my first NES, one of those soft red and blue Nintendo bags, and ten games which included a lot of crap but did have Super Mario Brothers 1 and 3, Star Wars, Tetris and Dr. Mario, all of which are still favorites of mine to this day (ok, not so much Star Wars).

[le geek]

When the NES was taking over America, the Commodore 64 had taken over me. Which system is better remains debatable, but the fact of the matter was I could download Commodore games for free, so that's the system I stuck with.

Pretty much the same here, but I would play nes at different friends' houses. I loved playing Zelda the most...

I didn't get one of my own until the mid 90's... I now have around 30 games for it, just my favorites...

Cheers,
Ben

[Damaramu]

1997. I picked a returned top loader, practically MIB from Electronics Boutique for $.99. Yup, that's ninety nine cents!

I was pals with the guys who worked the EB and while talking about games and such, I asked if they had anything cool in the back. One of the guys told me about the NES.

Basically, for some reason or another, some mom returned it minus the operating manual. The EB never sent the unit back to Nintendo and it just sat there in the back for months. Until I showed up.

I had them check the price. $.99. They check it again with the same results $.99. So that's what I bought it for.

Truly, I left luck to heaven. :roll: LOL

[GarrettCRW]

Well, the begging started in 1987, when the babysitter me and my brother went to back then bought the Deluxe Set for her kids (meaning the NES, SMB, ROB, Gyromite, the Zapper, Duck Hunt, and Hogan's Alley at first). And, believe me, after seeing games like Zelda, Kid Icarus, Kid Niki, and Tag Team Pro Wrestling (in addition to the stuff they got at first), I was hooked.

So, fast forward to December 25th, 1989. Going through the haul, my brother and I scored a TV. Then, an NES game (I forget which one) appeared, which led to the ominous big box being opened, revealing an NES Action Set! In addition to the SMB/Dunk Hunt combo, we scored Zelda II, Marble Madness, The Karate Kid, and a fourth game I totally can't remember. (We later learned that some kid at the store had swayed Mom away from Tecmo Bowl and Zelda I, only to be spotted getting both for himself. Bastard.) Dad also dutifully signed us up for a subscription to Nintendo Power, and throughout 1990, we scored what continues to be the core of my library: Super Mario Bros. 3 (practically on release day), Ninja Gaiden, R.C. Pro Am, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Batman, SMB 2, Double Dragon II, Castlevania, Tetris, and Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Oh, and my first NES Advantage, too, for forty bucks at the closing sale at the Zayre's on the Barre-Montpelier road. :D

[squirrelnut]

It was christmas. Maybe about 88 or 89. I only got it cause my aunt had the employee discount at this furniture/electronics store. It was a SMB/DH set. Imagine, buying a console, getting 2 FULL games with it. 2! controlers AND an extra accessory. God bless the 80's

[Nesmaster]

i got mine before i even remember, so i imagine it was 90-91

[Push Upstairs]

I think i got mine Christmas of 1990....along with Super Mario 3.

I hardly touched the orginal SMB...it was all SMB3 8-)

[Bratwurst]

I grew up on Atari.. 2600, 600XL, and I even chose a 7800 over the NES because it was cheaper and I hated that little d-pad. But one fateful day I tried out Super Mario Bros. 2 on a playchoice machine in Canada and got hooked. While visiting relatives in Louisiana I picked up a set and the game at a local Target in the same area I was originally born in.

Years later I tried to resell the NES deck to make some cash but the game shop wasn't taking them in anymore by that time. Suppose I was destined to hold onto this thing.

[Dr. Morbis]

Before the local Mac's Convenience store got a Playchoice-10, the only videogames I had ever seen or played were Dungeons of Daggorath on a CoCo 2, and Carnival on a 2600. When the owner of Mac's enlightened me about the availability of a home machine that would play those PC-10 games, it was all I could think or talk about until Christmas day that year 1987 (might have been '88).

[cracked8ball]

Christmas 87. Played SMB and Duck Hunt for about 12 hours straight that night

[Cleatis]

I think I got mine for the Christmas of '89. I sure did admire all the kids who had one before me! I wanted one SOOOOO bad!
I was opening my presents and the stuffed Pink Panther was my fav gift. When I thought all my presents had been opened my dad "found" another. It was my NES! I sat it right on top of my ex-fav Pink Panther and admired it in all its beauty.

[badinsults]

We got an NES back at Christmas 1989. It came with the standard Super Mario World/ Duck Hunt. I managed to defeat the game within two months, and we got SMB 3.

[EseGamer]

I got my first NES+SMB back in 1990 when I was 5 years old. I was super happy when i first got mine & played it for non stop hours.

[Quintracker]

I don't know exactly when we got our first nes, but I'm sure it was early on. *looks up at the power set box that has a price sticker on it* Bought it at radio shack for $169.88 :D

[kainemaxwell]

Got my NES the Christmas of 1989. Had gotten close to a dozen games for it at the time, including SMB/DH, Zelda, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden and Legacy of the Wizard. Over the years I got other systems and bought and sold off various NES titles, but still kept the system. Good thing I did considering I got into collection.

[neuropolitique]

I bought my first NES off a friend of mine. It had to be '86 or '87. I think I paid him $70 for it and some games. No idea what there were now. The system and games are now long gone.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Summer of 1988, a Nintendo Action Set.

First games we got for it was Blaster Master and Batman

[slip81]

I got mine January of '87. I had to use all the money I got that Christmas, and go to three different store before I found one. I it with SMB/DH and Rambo, and I hated Rambo.

[Crush Crawfish]

1991, when I was just a wee lad of four years old. :D

[RockyRaccoon]

1989. My Brother got one. No..I did'nt but my brother did...and since we slept in bunk beds... It was..like kinda mine. I mean..I got to rent games for it occasionally.

I remeber SMB.. SMB2 and SMB3... ALONG with My FAOVIRTE sitll to this day...Gyruss...throught out it's life. THEN... a few years later my dad sold the NES at a Flea Market for 10 bucks...with the games. :-(. That was a SAD SAD Day. :-(.

But...Now I have two of em...and possibly getting a third this weekend. No ones going to take you now nessie..nah-uh! -hugs his NES's-

[Xexyz]

Spring of 1990. It was my first video game system, a gift from my family for my First Communion session at church.

[ScottK]

I grew up on the Atari and I was 13 in 1988 when I first saw a NES display. The Display unit was at Sears and there was a kid playing regular Baseball on it. He invited me to play with him and I was instantly hooked. This was in June of '88 and That was the year that every kid had to have one (The big NES boom). I'm glad that it was June when I saw it and that my mother was smart as she bought me one for xmas in August (right before you couldn't find them anymore). The first 5 games I played on it were: Mario/D.H., Trojan, Zelda 2, Double Dragon, & Mike Tyson's Punch Out. By 1992, my collection grew to over 200 titles and all were bought brand new.

[rayearthknight]

I got my NES for Christmas 1985, it was the $299.99 Deluxe set, which, as we all know, had R.O.B, the gun, the control deck and two games. Alas, a year later R.O.B. suffered an incurable spinal condition that rendered him unable to lift his arms past his base. The HMO at Nintendo wanted seventy dollars to repair him...something that my parents were not willing to do.

[TheSmirk]

Don't remember the year, but it was when NES was all over the place. We got the deluxe set (R.O.B., Light gun, Duck hunt, SMB, Gyromite, Control deck, two controllers) That thing got played to death, my Dad and I would play Duck Hunt until our eyes were so tired/watering, just hours and hours.....Gyromite was cool for about a day, SMB was, well, SMB, what can you say? Alot of fun

[klausien]

In about 1988. I had an SMS, but my new stepbrother had an NES with ROB & the Zapper. While our parents were dating, we used to bond over Kung Fu & Baseball. He is 6 years older than me, but we hit it off right away. We continued to play a lot together until he left after high school, and we still do today. Good stuff.

[Simply Dave]

We received our first NES in 1990, I believe. The only thing I can remember is playing SMB non-stop for months because it was the only game we had. LOL

[fergojisan]

My sister got an NES for Christmas 1987. I had been away from games at that point for about 4 years, after putting the VCS on the shelf. I kind of resisted the NES at first, until I went to a friend's house and saw him playing Zelda. I went to Caldor (:sigh:) and bought it right away, and got lost in it for weeks (I was never as good at the NES as I was at the VCS). Now it's probably my favorite game of all time. I spent a lot of money and disappointment trying to find a similar game, to no avail. I still have my sister's NES and her game and system storage units. :-P

[Ruudos]

My brother bought it in 1990 or 1991. It was the Action Set.

[videogameking26]

XMAS of 1986

[NESaholic]

yeah me too around the summer of '88,still use that one, got it out of storage almost 2 years ago,modded it and strated collecting again.Needed some cleaning but still works mega great!

[EnemyZero]

xmas of '88 i remember opening it up at my grandmothers and i had no idea what it was....never did i know it would launch me into my days as a collector

[Ulticron]

If I remember correctly I was 11 yrs old and it was 1987. I did yard work, saved up my allowance and I finally got my NES off layaway early that summer. I think it costed me around $200. I got the deck, Super Mario Bros/Duckhunt, 2 controllers and the zapper. I really miss the days when you got some decent gear for your $200. Two controllers and at least 1 game were always a must if you bought consoles back in the day.

[dreamcaster]

December 2002.

I was never interested in the NES back in the day, and I'd already been collecting (very mildly) for a year and I was never compelled to buy one - hence the late start. :P

[Xantan the Foul]

My parents got me one when I was 6 :-D

[SebasC]

It started when i played Cookie monster on an Atari 2600 (if im correct) and than 3 years of whining started and finally in 1990 i got a NES! And today still it stands strong :)

[briguy578]

Christmas 1989. I was 5 years old. I got the standard set with Super Mario /DH and the zapper, as well as a copy of Legend of Zelda. Over the next couple of years I picked up Battletoads, SMB 2, SMB 3, TMNT, Top Gun, The Simpsons, a couple of crappy unlicesened games, Wall Street kid :) and finally Metroid, which was the very last NES game I got until I started collecting. I sold everything to a friend of mine a few years later for $25.