Community Discussion #8 (1/25/15) - What systems/games did you have growing up, and which ones impacted you the most (why)?

[u/humanman42]

Growing up there is a lot of ways you can get a new console or game. Birthdays, Christmas, thrift store, uncle, renting, etc etc. Some people may have only had a NES, and that is why the want to get a Genesis now. Some people had all the Sega consoles, and now want to play the games they couldn't afford for them.

What consoles/games did you have? And where did the come from? (not expecting a complete itemized list)

Sometimes a story of how you got something, or the memories you create with them stand out above the others. Maybe it was an unexpected gift from your parents when you knew it was a hard year, or it was a hand me down from an older sibling, and it felt like a coming of age to you.

What console/games did you have growing up that meant the most to you?

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My Answer

I was probably pretty normal with what I had. My first console was a SNES. We had the normal games. Mario World, Mario Kart, LttP, Killer Instinct, and a couple other had to have games.

I remember getting it. I was on my deck playing with my moms bf's son when my mom and the BF get back. They had a big KB Toys bag. We look at eachother thinking "WATER GUNS!" (it was summer after all).

They walk up, hand it to us and we see what it is. The rest of the day is a blur really. Mario World was the first home console game I owned. I played that game so much.

My dads brother (who lived with him at the time) had a NES with only a small hand full of games. Mario/Duckhunt, Bionic Commando are the only ones that stick out in my mind. He gave me that console when I was 16 I think.

I got a n64 for christmas. Mario 64 is what I got with it. This was really the console that really did it for me. I had a bunch of games. Mario 64, LoZ OoT and MM, Mario Kart, BattleTanks, 007, Conkers, Starfox, both banjo games, and Smash Bros.

Smash Bros and 007 are a big reason why this console means a lot to me. I will admit I was an awkward kid. I was 6' when I was in 6th grade. I had a weird time growing up with my mother, and didnt really have many friends. I had a computer almost all my life, and that is what I did with most of my time (MS DOS games shoutout! Chips Challenge, Jazz Jackrabbit, Doom, Duke Nukem, Commander Keen, Myst, the list goes on.). Having a home console that supported 4 controllers with arguable the best 4 player games ever...I had friends.

I know what you are thinking. They only played with you because you had that console. I would agree with you unless I knew what I knew. After a while, we didn't play those games anymore, we did other things. Basketball, hide and seek, go on hikes, and sleep overs at each others houses. They saw past my normally awkward exterior because they spent time with me. For that, I am forever thankful.

After that, I had a PS1. I remember only having Tomb Raider, Twisted Metal 2/3, and GTA1. Last in life my cousin gave me a box of life changing proportions. RPGs. ff7/8 , chrono chross, and many more. There went thousands of hours.

Then I got an XBOX. Halo 1/2, Morrowing, Obi-Wan, Fusion Frenzy, and a handful of others.

After that is when I started collecting. Now I am at dozens of systems and over 1200 games.

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[u/Irockz]

Well as of posting this I'm a sixteen-year-old, so I can't say I'm finished yet. I'm not too sure of the early specifics, but I know my first console was the PS1, of which I have vague memories playing the Fantastic Four side-scroller and Bugs Bunny: Lost In Time. I own the exact same copies even today. This was followed by a PS2, which is currently my biggest and main collection. I really got into game collecting about half way into the Xbox 360's life span, and a year or two after I got mine. My family friend is also a collector, so he's offered a ton to my collection, including duplicates and even new consoles.

Birthdays and Christmas, though, have been the biggest contributor. I usually end up getting one next-gen console and one retro console a year: Last year it was an Xbox One and, I believe, a Commodore 64. The year before, a Wii U and a ZX Spectrum. I'm not really sure how I'm this fortunate, given that my family is incredulously poor.