How'd you get your consoles/handhelds?

[SlayerX]

If you guys can remember, it'd be interesting to see when/how/why you guys got the consoles that you own today, or did own at one time.

Myself, as posted in the "Under 25" thread:

NES - Christmas/family gift? No clue, too young, New
SNES - Christmas present from Grandma one year, New
N64 - Christmas present from parents, New
PS1 - Gift for myself with B-day money, New
N64 - After my parents split, Used
PS2 - Bought with Christmas/B-day money, New
Cube - First paycheque, New
Xbox - Bought earlier this year, New

DS - Waiting for me under the Christmas tree, New
Gameboy Pocket - Christmas from parents, New
Gameboy Color - B-day gift from my Mom
GBA - Christmas gift from my Dad
GBA:SP - Bought for myself

And I think that's about it....

*EDIT* Editted the whole thing to shorten it up and make it easier to read

[ghostangelofcky]

NES - Christmas as a kid, thanks mom!
SNES - From a Gameforce
N64 - Used, Gameforce
GCN - New, Gamestop
2600 - Present from Grandma
JAG - Ebay
TI-99 - Thrift store, goodwill
3DO - Ebay
TGCD - Cool Stuff store
SMS - DP Trade
GEN - Bought blockbuster music
SCD - Thrift store, savers
32X - Cool Stuff store
SAT - DP trade
DC - New, Media Play
PS1 - Christmas, mom and dad
PS2 - B-Day, the wife
Xbox - used, reman, EB

God I love Christmas.

[Eternal Tune]

I'll play:

Consoles:

SNES: Christmas present back in 92. My sister also got one, which I later took.

Playstation: Christmas 97. Saw Final Fantasy VII, knew I had to own that system. PS1 combo was a birthday present a few years back.

N64: Following year for Christmas. Had to have Ocarina of Time. Too bad I ended up with a gray cart version. I also have another N64 which is located in a Pokemon Snap Station taken from Blockbuster, when I worked there.

Dreamcast: Originally a Christmas gift, that I returned because I though Sonic Adventure sucked. Later re-bought for RE: CV.

Playstation 2: Bought on launch day. Then I purchased a progressive scan model when they were released. Recieved a white import system from Christmas one year.

Gamecube: Bought on launch day. Gift from my mom.

Xbox: Purchased after Christmas due to the fact I asked for one, but didn't get it.

NES: Given to me by Oobgarm. Toploader.

Genesis: Given to me by Gamestop. Nasty system, that I cleaned up. Model 1.

Sega CD: Given to me by a assistant manager at another Gamestop who had a crush on me.

Saturn: Purchased off Oobgarm in order to play Albert Odyssey.

Handhelds:

Gamegear: Christmas gift....

Gameboy Color: Birthday present one year. Purchased with Link's Awakening DX.

Gameboy Advance: Purchased pink system when it was released. Given a white one by my sister who "didn't want it."

GBA SP: Bought close to launch.

DS: Last year's Christmas present from my parents.

PSP: Bought at launch.

Neo Geo Pocket: Bought somewhere in a bundle....

Gameboy: Adopted it after it was abandoned at Gamestop.

[jcheatle]

Hmm... interesting topic, let's see...

NES (original toaster): given to me by my neighbor in Jan. 89
NES (top loader): Christmas 93 from the parents
Sega Genesis: Christmas 94, once again from the parents
PS1 (original): Christmas 97, parents... subsequently stolen during my freshman year of college
Atari 2600: flea market, sometime in summer 99
PS1 (redesigned version): around Sept. 2000 when it was released... my friend fried it trying to put in a mod chip later on
SNES: flea market, summer 2001 I think
N64: used at EB, summer 2001 also
Gamecube: used at EB, summer 2002
PS2: I think Gamestop online, got a free copy of Vice City with it, summer 2003

I think that's about it.

[alec006]

Off Ebay:

PS1
NES
SNES
Sega CD
Sega Master
Sega Dreamcast
Atari 2600
Super Pong

Walmart:

DS
GBC
GBA
Xbox
Gamecube
PS2

Best Buy:
Sega Genesis
Sega Saturn

Circuit City:
Atari Flashback 1
Atari Flashback 2

Toys R Us:

N64
GBP

Digitpress:

Sega 32X

[Gapporin]

I'll bite:

Atari 2600: Bought at Goodwill (along with E.T. and Defender, yay!)
Dreamcast: Bought from pawn shop.
Game Boy: Birthday present from my parents, eons ago.
Game Boy Advance: Christmas present from my brother.
Game Gear: Bought off of eBay.
Genesis - Model 1: Bought at local game store.
Genesis - Model 2: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, Quintracker!)
Intellivision: Bought in DP deal (Thanks, Mr. Jiggles!)
Microvision: Bought off of eBay. (Thanks, Kitsune Sniper!)
Neo Geo Pocket Color: Bought off of eBay.
NES: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, person from Canada who's name I should remember, but don't!)
Nintendo 64: "Inherited" from the family.
Nomad: Bought in DP deal (Thanks, Chunky!)
Odyssey2: Bought off of eBay.
PSX: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, Quintracker!)
PS2: Bought by the parents, so it's not technically mine...yet.
Saturn: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, om3ga!)
Sega CD: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, VACRMH!)
Sega Master System: Bought in DP deal (Thanks, Ghosts N' Goblins!)
Sega Master System Compact: Traded in DP deal (Thanks, Shernand!)
Super Nintendo: Bought from pawn shop.
TRS-80: Bought in DP deal (Thanks, Jibbajaba!)
Virtual Boy: Bought off of eBay.

Boy, that was a trip. Can't even believe I remember all that.

[Cryomancer]

original 2600 - no idea. been arouns since i remember existing. lost to time.
second 2600 - goodwill
original NES - i think this was an xmas thing but i can't remember. lost to time.
secondary NES - grandparents got it somewhere along the line...recentely got it from them.
genesis - xmas
snes - can't remember. possibly xmas.
32x - bought with birthday money
sega cd 1 and 2 - digital press!
n64 -xmas
brick gameboy - can't remember. birthday maybe. lost to time.
gameboycolor - work
gameboy advance - girl's bro had two because he lost one. was said that if the other was ever found i could have it. found it. too bad one of them doesn't work.
SP - getting it in a few days for xmas
DS - last xmas
odyssey - work
vectrex - work
dreamcast - birthday i think. others from work or trading.
ps2 - free from girl's bro, it stopped working, i made it work again, kinda
gamecube - ebay
xbox - xmas money the year with the JSRF bundle
playstation - free from girl's other bro, have yet to get it working however.
turbografx 16 - from smokehouse

best i can remember

[doogy]

Ok, here's how it went for me... some of these are approximations and guesses

Atari 2600 - Was my Grandma's - give to me in 1992/93 age 3/4
NES - Was my Grandma's - given to me in 1992 age 3/4
Apple IIE - This never belonged to me, but Dad brought it home from 1990-93
Tandy PC with Windows 3.1, 4 MB of ram, and 78 mhz processor - parents bought brand new from Radio Shack for around $1500 I think around '93 or '94... My main concern was "Will it play solitaire?!" (age 4)
Game Gear - brand new from Mom and Dad, Christmas of prolly 95 or 96... guess it was older than I thought at the time - I just looked it up and it was released in 90! I had no clue... anyway, I love this thing!
N64 - the Christmas right after it was released, brand new from Mom and Dad...
PSX - bought used for myself from eBay around 2002
HP Pavilion desktop computer 1.3 ghZ, 256 MB's of ram... upgraded... brand new from mom and dad, Christmas 2002
GBA - bought used for myself from EB Games around 2002/2003
Sega Genesis - bought for myself used from eBay... have since picked up several used... got my first one approximately 2002/2003
Gamecube - bought new for myself sometime just before the price drop to $100... I paid $150... I think approximately 2002/2003...
SNES - bought used for myself from eBay, around 2003
GBA SP - Christmas 2004 brand new from Mom and Dad...
Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop - brand new, customized to my liking, paid for by Grandma and Grandpa for this Christmas... I got it in November...

That's about it... I'm sure I'm missing lots, but those are the big highlights...

[doogy]

stupid double post... sorry!

[Ulticron]

NES - I bought w/saved money back in the 80's
SNES - Again I bought w/saved money back in early 90's
Gameboy - Christmas Present in 89
Saturn - I bought in 97
Virtual Boy - I bought in late 90's on clearance
Game Gear - Traded VB to a friend for
Neo Geo Pocket Color - I bought in late 90's
Genesis & Playstation - I bought same day in late 90's
32X & Sega CD - I bought in late 90's on clearance
Sega Master System - I Bought at fleamarket in late 90's
Vic 20 - I bought at a thrift store in the late 90's
Dreamcast - I bought on 9/9/99
PS2 - I bought in 2001
N64 - I bought the demo unit at work cheap in 2001
GBA - I Bough on Launch day
Xbox - I Bought on Launch day
Gamecube - I bought in 2002
Atari Jaguar and 3D0 I bought off a co-worker in 2003
GBC - I bought several diferent colors cheaply on clearance in 2004
TG16- Traded the same friend from above in 2004, he got a spare mint condition Saturn I had and a spare SMS, I also got back my Virtual Boy from him.
TI-99 - Was given to me in 2004

[Lord Contaminous]

My timeline: (i'm 23 years old now)

NES -Christmas 1988

Game Boy B&W - October 1992, dad bought me one from Montgomery Ward

Super Nintendo -Christmas 1992

Sega Master System - Summer 1993 from a TRU sidewalk clearance sale

Genesis 2 -Christmas 1993

Sony Playstation - Christmas 1995

Sega 32X -Christmas 1996, killed off my Genesis 2

Nintendo 64 -Christmas 1997

Sega Saturn -My Birthday 1998, several months after its death.

Sega Genesis model 1 - January 2000 4 years after the 32X curse, bought a set from Funcoland for 15 bucks.

Sega CD -Spring 2000, it's a long story. In 1998, my friend and I swapped Genesis and SNES for sometime. The Sega CD in which we thought was broken was included. I was curious that if it really did work so I put another AC adapter in, and voila! it worked.

Turbografx 16 - October 2000 traded my import copy of Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Battle 22 for a set.

Sega Dreamcast -Christmas 2000

Game Boy Advance - June 2001, one of the first to get one.

Playstation 2 - Bought it ON September 10, 2001 a day before you know what....February 5, 2005, that same PS2 went under the knife for its passport to Japanese gaming.

Neo Geo Pocket Color -sometime in 2002

Nintendo Gamecube -Summer 2002, sold this past spring

Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD -October 2002

XBox -January 2003, no longer had one as of this past May

Sachen QBoy - Fall 2003. actually a Famicom clone. the controller ports were screwing up

PC Engine Duo -January 2004. sadly it died within a matter of months. Not even a force such as "omnedon" could save it. R.I.P., it's ok, you did your best!

Game Gear -sometime in 2004, member "Ghouls N'Ghosts" sold me one for 15

Super Famicom System - April 2005, my SFC system, accompanied with a boxed Rockman 7, made its pilgrimage from Osaka, Japan to Prince George, Virginia.

PC Engine Duo-R -May 2005, $175 + my basic Turbografx 16 got me back on the Turbo/PC Engine saddle thanks to D-Lite.

And that's it.

[Rogmeister]

This is a good question but I probably have no clue for most of my systems...

Atari 2600--My parents probably gave me my first one. I eventually sold it and when I got one again, I bought it off a guy I found on the internet (probably my first internet console buy).

Atari 5200--Probably bought it new when it first came out but I'm not sure where that may have been at.

Atari Lynx--Can't recall.

Atari Jaguar--I think I may have bought it from a mail order place, possibly Chips & Bits. Are they still around?

ColecoVision--My sister-in-law gave me hers, I bought another at a flea market. Both were within the last 5-7 years, I think.

Sega Genesis--Online auction (not Ebay)

Sega Saturn--Ebay

Sega Dreamcast--Probably eBay but not positive.

PS1--Can't recall where I got my original model, got a PSOne via eBay.

PS2--Not positive but probably Wal-Mart

XBox--Would you believe I honestly can't remember? I'd guess Wal-Mart there, too, though.

Super Nintendo--K-Mart

Nintendo 64--Online trade

GameCube--Wal-Mart

Nintendo DS--Wal-Mart

[punkoffgirl]

I'm going to boot this over to the gaming forum!

[Joker T]

Playstation-Christmas gift from parents
Game Boy Color Yellow-Bought at launch
Game Boy Color Green-Bought at launch (SOLD)
Game Boy Color Blue-Friend gave this to me
Game Boy Advance Purple-Bought at launch (SOLD)
Game Boy Advance Blue-Bought as replacment
Game Boy Advance Silver-Bought around launch (SOLD)
Playstation 2-Present from my Dad
Playstation 2-Replacment
PSone with LCD-bought at Target
Xbox-Bought around launch (SOLD)
Xbox-Bought as replacment
Gamecube-Bought a year after launch
Gameboy Advance SP Blue-Bought around launch
Gameboy Advance SP Black-Bought it when I saw it for $39
Nintnendo DS-Bought at launch
PSP-Bought around launch
Nintendogs Nintendo DS Blue-Bought around it's launch

[christhegamer]

gameboy color(sold)- gift from uncle (complete, see-through purple w/ both pokemon red AND blue complete!)= I think around $100-$150

GBASP- Christmas present from mom (plus a couple of games that I can't remember right now...)= something like $100-$200

N64- Christmas present (complete, w/diddy kong racing complete.)= dunno; think it was all around $150-$160

first NES- garage sale (loose, w/2 controllers, orange zapper, and 7 loose games)= $4!

second NES- [different] garage sale :P (loose, w/2 controllers, orange zapper, a SH1Tload of various manuals, power pad, and 7 complete games and one with box!!! )= sadly, $30

PS2- EB games/B-day (refurbished, w/ THPS3, extra controller and mem. card)= ...maybe around $150-$200

Atari VCS (broken)- friend in in exchange for a manga book [Rave Master #1]

Sega Pico- garage sale w/ five games, two of which with manuals= FREE

-that's all, folks!

[Jumpman Jr.]

Let me think:

NES: Origionally, my parents bought it for me as a kid, not exactly sure when/why
SNES: Same as NES
N64: Bought it for myself after seeing how cool Super Mario 64 was. Must have been '97.
Virtual Boy: Bought various pieces from various people (stand, eyepiece, headset) about a year ago
Intellivision: Bought it off of a forum member at a swap meet 2 Augusts ago.
Master System: My ex-friend gave me her childhood one.
PS1: My brother gave me the one that he's always had
Genesis: Got it at a garage sale when I first started collecting for $10 with some games.
That's all I can think of for now

[tholly]

1. NES - new, back in the day for xmas from parents
2. SNES - used, ebay
3. SNES (compact) - used, local store
4. N64 - new, toys 'r us
5. GCN Platinum - new, eb.com
6. GCN GB Player Platinum - new, toysnjoys.com
7. VB - used, ebay
8. GB - new, backin the day b-day gift
9. GBP Silver - used, ebay
10. GBC Atomic Purple - new, easter gift
11. GBA Platinum - new, eb
12. GBA e-Reader - new, eb
13. GBA SP Platinum - new, eb.com, easter gift
14. GBA SP NES Classic - new, circuit city
15. Sega Genesis (model 1) - new, toy works
16. Sega Genesis (model 2) - used, flea market
17. Sega 32x - new, toys 'r us
18. Sega CD - used, from friend
19. Sega Saturn - used, from friend
20. Sega Dreamcast - used, ebay
21. Sega Game Gear - used, from friend
22. Sega Game Gear (Sonic Blue) - used, from friend
23. XBox - new, gift from grandfather, eb.com
24. XBox (Halo) - new, eb
25. XBox (Lime) - new, mountain dew dew u promotion
26. PSX - used, flea
27. PS2 - new, eb
28. O^2 - new, parents bought it back in the day
29. TG-16 - used, ebay
30. 2600 (darth vader) - used, ebay
31. 7800 - used, local store
32. Lynx - used, ebay
33. Intelli - used, friend
34. NGPC - used, ebay
35. GBC Store Display (teal & berry) - used, digitalpress
36. DS - new, eb
37. PSP - new, eb
38. Wonderswan - used, digitalpress
39. Game.com - used, ebay
40. Pokemon mini - new, pokemon store.com
41. Neo Geo MVS 4-Slot - used, local seller
42. Irem Vigilante cabinet - used, super auctions
43. Nintendo Vs. sit-down - used, local seller
44. Super Mario Bros. pinball - used, super auctions
45. Bally Special Forces - used, local seller
46. Midway Space Invaders Deluxe - used, coin-op warehouse
47. GoGo Juggler slot machine - used, super auctions

[OdSquad64]

These are about in order i think

NES-my dad had it before i was born
Genesis- Christmas present
Gameboy- Christmas present
Gameboy Color- Christmas present
R-zone- suckiest Christmas present ever
N64- Christmas present
Dreamcast- Bought it myself
Gameboy Advanced- Bought it myself
Gamecube- Christmas present
Atari 2600- Bought it myself
SNES-Bought it myself
Sega Saturn-Bought it myself
Atari 7800- Gift from grandma
Intellivision- Bought it myself
Nintendo DS- Bought it myself
PSTwo- Bought it myself
Sega CD- Bought it myself
Sega 32x- Bought it myself
Sega Master System- Bought it myself
3DO- Bought it myself
Virtual Boy- bought it myself

hope i didn't forget any

[Pantechnicon]

1st of each type only:

-Atari 2600, Santa, Christmas 1981, gift
-Gameboy, some mall in Baltimore, 1989, $90
-NES, Goodwill, 1996, $5
-SNES, Goodwill, 1996, $10
-Gameboy Color, Toys R Us, 1998, $50
-Atari Jaguar, Gamers, 1998, $18
-Atari 5200, Gamers, 1998, $35
-Atari 7800, Ebay, 1999, $50
-Atari Lynx, Ebay, 1999, $35
-Milton Bradley Microvision, Goodwill, 1999, $1
-Intellivision, Goodwill, 1999, $5
-Sega Genesis, from friend, 2000, gift
-Colecovision, Goodwill, 2000, $10
-Odyssey 2, Goodwill, 2000, $20
-Sega Game Gear, Goodwill, 2001, $5
-Atari XE, Goodwill, 2001, $10
-Playstation, from friend, 2001, gift
-Vectrex, GameForce, 2002, $70
-Virtual Boy, Goodwill, 2002, $3
-Sega Saturn, Goodwill, 2002, $15
-Gameboy Advance, Noble Collectibles, 2003, $40
-Nintendo 64, Gamestop, 2003, $20
-Sega Dreamcast, Digital Press, 2003, Trade
-Playstation 2, Goodwill, 2003, $10
-Neo Geo Pocket Color, Hastings, 2004, $60
-Nintendo Gamecube, Noble Collectibles, 2004, $15
-TurboGrafx 16, Noble Collectibles, 2005, $45

…it’s been a helluva ride so far!

[jonathonwillie]

nes- buddy, pawn, hock
game gear- buddy
genesis- buddy
game boy- hock shop
gmae boy advance- retail store
snes-gift, hock, pawn, ebay
gamecube- ebay
ps2- retail
n64- xmas gift, ebay, hock