Growing up Gaming: which is your system?

[Jackattack]

My first system as well as the one that brought me into gaming was my SNES. Before that time I played on my friends NES, mostly Paperboy. I love paperboy.

[PentiumMMX]

I was introduced to gaming by Atari 2600 and PC, but the Nintendo 64 is what really got me started.

(BTW, I was born in 1991. I'm as old as Sonic the Hedgehog!)

[goemon]

I was born in 85 and my first system was the Game Boy. I played console games at my friends houses and Game Boy everywhere else. I also played computer games -- my father would get old computers from his job and I got to play games on them. He was one of the first people in my hometown to get home internet access, so I downloaded and played lots of crappy freeware games too. (14.4 ftw) Then I got a Playstation and I've been stuck there ever since.

[Gentlegamer]

I played the Atari Video Computer System with my father as a young child, but "my system" was the Nintendo Entertainment System.

My hands would cramp up listing all the awesome games I experienced first hand during that era.

Edit: also, C64 is a close runner in this category

[Push Upstairs]

I started out by playing my brothers 2600 but moved on to an Apple IIc. But the game systems that were "mine" and the ones i'd cite as the inspiration are the NES and Genesis.

Mario got me started, but Sonic solidified my interest in video games.

[Randor650]

My first video games were played on the Intellivision and Atari PC's but the SNES is probably what sealed me as a adict of video games.

[Steve W]

My first videogame obsession was the Atari 2600. It was the machine that defined my gaming addiction for years to come. I had a Pong console before the VCS, and I've had heaps of consoles since, but the 2600 will always be my first real videogame love.

[Hwj_Chim]

born in 85 and have had an Nes since 91. My dad found it at a garage sale for 25 bucks it came with Mario and jack nicholson golf. but I never really got into it until later. When I was younger It was all about the Genny and mortal kombat for me.

[rcgamer]

Born in 72, the first system I actually owned was an atari 2600 though a sears pong system was probably the first I played. I didn't really love gaming though until I got my Master System in 86 I beleive, I did have an NES prior to that but didn't get into it as much as I did the SMS.

[shoes23]

The 2600 was the 1st one for me..But the NES was the System for me

Same here. I remember playing games like Combat, Asteroids, Jungle Hunt, and Bezerk on our Atari. That didn't start the obsession however, that title is given to the good ole' NES. I still remember being a 1st grader and hearing a friend describe Super Mario Bros. to me before I had ever even seen it. One of the few games that exceeded my expectations in every way.

[DigitalSpace]

I was born in 1982.

At first, it was the NES that my mom bought for me as a birthday gift and because she didn't want me asking her if I could play something if we were at a store, laundromat, etc that had an arcade cab. I played the games I got as gifts, the games my friends had, and the ones my cousins would let me borrow. Any time I met a kid my age, we'd eventually wind up talking about Nintendo. Every kid wanted to know what games you had and would tell you what they had.

Then, after begging my mom for one, I got my SNES for my birthday in 1993. I did get some exposure to the Genesis, but I didn't really discover what it had to offer until I started collecting and bought one in 2004. The NES was blinky and back then, nobody knew anything about NES maintenance and since it was collecting dust while I was playing my SNES, it eventually got sold at a garage sale. I didn't get another one until late 2005.

As for portables, my mom refused to buy me a Game Boy because it was black and white, but she did buy me a used Game Gear. The only games I owned for it were Sonic Chaos and Mortal Kombat. I hardly ever played the thing on the go due to the poor battery life - I usually played it in my room, plugged in to an outlet. Unfortunately, it broke about a year and a half after I got it, and the games were sold off. But when I was a kid, that was my portable. I'd like to own another one, but haven't had much luck finding one that isn't broken, missing a battery cover, and/or isn't a Majesco unit.

Back to the SNES - I discovered a lot of SNES games through my cousins (who introduced me to Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger and FF III) and the neighborhood kids who'd borrow a game from me (usually Donkey Kong Country) and I'd borrow whatever they offered that wasn't a shitty sports game (that's how I discovered that Biker Mice From Mars and Spanky's Quest were actually a LOT better than their cart labels suggested).

I continued playing SNES through the PS1/N64 era - I got to spend some time with both but until my brother got an N64 late in the system's life, we never had one in the house (except for the time my cousin let us borrow his). Even after that, I continued to play SNES most of the time. Finally, when the PS2 came out my senior year, I got one - the backwards compatibility with PS1 games was a big factor. The SNES eventually was boxed up (the console and most my games were stored in the PS2 box) and went in the closet.

Around Spring 2003, I was bored with the few PS1 and PS2 games I owned, and too broke to buy a new game, so I decided to take it out of the closet again. It never went back in. Later on, I discovered stores that sold SNES games, and started buying games I had missed out on but wanted to play (and games I had played but never beat back then, such as the loose Super Metroid I spotted for $10). I also bought some cheap PS1 games. Then I discovered Digital Press while doing a search for SNES rarity lists and joined the forum, and here I am.

So, the short answer would be "well, I started with NES, and then I got an SNES which eventually fueled the game addict I am today. As for portables, I had a Game Gear for a short time." But no, I had to go and get carried away and make a huge post. Sorry to anyone who fell asleep.

[cyberfluxor]

Like many of you DP'ers I grew up gaming. I was born in '86 so some of you are probably older and more experienced.

Being born in '84 I'm not too far off from ya bro. However the first system I touched was a 7800 at the grandparents house at around 4 yrs old. Growing up though we had a SMS in the house and I loved playing Wonder Boy (In Monster Land), Shinobi and Cloud Master to name a few. It wasn't until '95 that I got a GameGear (mainly because I really wanted one and my brother had a GameBoy brick) and got several games for it, which in turn I liked Shinobi 1 & 2, Sonic 2, Zoop, Aladdin and many others I got over the years. Then until 2002 it was pretty much nothing but PC gaming because at this time I finally got my first job. The first system I bought was a Genesis and picked up Columns for it because it was one of my favs! My grandma got me an N64 the previous Fall so I also began buying some of those titles I never owned but saw others play. From then on I've been adding onto my collections and there's been some good times.

So the SMS was what started it all but actually thanks to ROM emulation on my PC during the 90's I got to play many cart games never seen and today I buy those I enjoyed or look interesting and I didn't play.

[Emuaust]

First console was a SMS and ill be a SMS gamer till i stop playing games, That system
will always be my system of nostalgia/choice.

[RJ]

Born in '71, Atarian to the end.

1st gaming taste was on a neighbor's VCS 10 yrs after. Influenced by this, we rented a VCS & 3 games from Discount Video (Combat, Pac-Man & Space Invaders- hey, it was all I knew! Though I debated renting Activision Skiing). I once had my dad take me to the mall where Wards or JC Penney had 5-6 systems set up to play. I figured I'd soon get a VCS rather than him spending time/gas whenever I got a gaming jonesin'. Must've been an Xmas soon after I scored a VCS. I dont think I was ever w/out a game system from then on! 2 friends in gr. 6 had ColecoVision, I once biked to one's house, the other I got a ride from Dad. I remember another friend being mad b/c I got Spider Fighter before him. I'd also bike to another mall on wkends for a movie & arcade games at Circus. Good grades=tokens: 3 for an A, 1 for a B.

From there I moved up to an 800XL in '84. I pooh-poohed other systems awhile, even after a good friend got an NES. (He actually had an 800XL b/c of me to swap games.) You may say I was quite anti-Nintendo. The only time ever playing SMS was once on a store display. Didnt have mauch to do w/ 16-bit games 'til late 80s when I got a dogbone Lynx w/ my own $$$. Got a Jaguar in the early 90s after moving out, & picked up the rest of my systems here & there. At Best Buy I got the next-to-last PS2 on Launch Day, Oct 2000. My latest are a Yobo, bought last yr, & a ColecoVision a few months ago.

[alxbly]

I grew up playing lots of different systems.The oldest I remember was a Pong machine, and there was also Atari systems, VIC20 and Commodore 64, NES, Megadrive and others. I never considered gaming to be a hobby until 3D games started appearing; Doom was the one that got me hooked. As to what console is the one I treasure the most, it has to be the Nintendo 64. Games like Goldeneye, Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 just blew me away. Those were the defining moments of gaming for me.

[Hardcore]

Rolling in from '76 here. Bicentennials, give me a holla!

Seriously, the 2600 was one of the first systems I played, but I'd say the 5200 was my console. My mother and I would wear out the controllers, then use tin foil to help with the keypad contacts and fire buttons.

[Chaz From Phantasy Star 2]

That's nobody's business but my own.........

[skylark]

Born in 73. Intellivision was the first, but I spent most time on the PC. Xbox was the first console I bought.

[RJ]

BTW Hwj_Chim: I'd LOVE to play that Jack Nicholson golf game! Does he threaten people w/ his 5-iron if he shoots poorly?

[Nognir]

I'm born in 1982 and my first console was also the Atari 2600. But my favourite system is still the Commodore 64 (although its no console)
There was a german RPG called Die Dunkle Dimension which I used to love to play. It was game inspired of Ultima IV and has nearly the same gameplay although it has its own story and monsters and such.

Also I played games like Pirates a lot along with the AD&D RPGs from SSI. It was really a great time back then..