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How did you get into videogames?

Ravage

Member
I actually started out with the SNES (it was given to us by my cousin). I faintly remember playing FF6 but didn't care too much about it.

The day my dad bought us a PS1 is when i really got into gaming. Those were probably the happiest days of my life - the crazy multiplayer sessions with my friends after school, 3-day FFVIII marathon, etc.

Thanks dad ;)
 

Menitta

Member
I played Mario World at my cousin's house, and then my friend had a gameboy. Jumped in at the GBA with Mario 3.

My parents were initially against it because they knew games were awesome and didn't want me to get addicted. That train has sailed. What a magical Christmas.
 

Mugy

Member
My mom bought me a Club Nintendo magazine and from there i just went keep buying consoles and playing games.
 

hotcyder

Member
My pop was always big into electronics and technology - like even at a young age I remember an NES being in the house, and then a few years later we got an N64 - and that's where stuff really took off.

I think I genuinely got into it around the launch of the GBA and the Gamecube - started reading magazines about it and absorbing as much as I could about it.
 
Started when I was a kid, my dad bought my brother a NES and when I was like 5 I started playing it and Mario brothers.
Then in like 94 we bought a Super Nintendo with Mario world.
 

meppi

Member
My mom bought me a Club Nintendo magazine and from there i just went keep buying consoles and playing games.

Oh sweet!

Was it one of these or was it the German version by any chance?
I had the Dutch edition of this magazine back in the day and it was my very first video game magazine. Used to look forward to these so much.

DXFfqQ0.jpg
 
I had an Atari2600 bought by my uncles, but that was not what made me a fan.

A young uncle (he had the age to be my older cousin) is the one that made me a huge fan. He had at first the NES with games like SMB2 and other games that his friends lend him. But the best time was when he bought the SuperNES one of the summers I was there, with SMW and Street Fighter II. I live far from there, but we usually went there every simmer to see the mother part of my family, and I stayed in my grandparents house, in his room with him, so everyday of the summer I watched him , and also played, a lot of Nintendo games, until late night. I played smw, street fighter 2, f-zero, illusion of time...
He also had a original gameboy with one of those 32 in 1 cartridges lol.

Thats when basically my fan for videogames really started. I did the same as my uncle did for me with my small cousins, and now they are videogame fans also.
 

loudbill

Member
My family were all gamers, so i grew up around it. I used to love watching them play the n64, games such as Goldeneye, Ocarina of Time and Mario 64. I was mildly scared of some games, like how in the singleplayer in Goldeneye the enemies randomly spawn and hunt you down at points. So i just stuck to yoshi's story for a while lol.
 

Spman2099

Member
My father owned a video store and decided he wanted to get into video games. So, one day he brought home a box of Nintendo games (there were probably about thirty or forty of them) and set up one of the Nintendos (he was going to be renting out) on the downstairs TV and another on the upstairs TV. It was going to take him about a week to clear out the space for them and input them into the system, so he figured we may as well have fun with them until then.

My brothers and I binged on NES games that entire week. There wasn't a moment in the day where one of those TVs was available (though we were occasionally kicked off of the upstairs one when dad wanted to watch sports).

It is my most treasured childhood memory.
 

Apathy

Member
First time I saw a video game was one of my uncles playing an Atari. It was like a fireman game or something. Another uncle one day randomly on a whim bought me a nes and that's where it really took off. I was 4 or 5.
 

mnemonicj

Member
When I was around 3 ~ 4, a local mom-n-pop had some DIY NES cabinets. My brother and I were hooked; we were also lucky enough that our dad & grandmother made sure we always had a current gen system since the NES era.
 
My cousins had a copy of Red Alert once, that they played whilst we were there. I fell in love with the game and got a copy as soon as I could. Between that and my best friend being a PC gamer (and introducing me to The Sims, amongst other games) I wound up getting hooked.

Christmas 1997, I had turned 5 in November and my father wanted to get me more than a traditional toy, so he looked into the latest, coolest electronic devices.

Turns out he picked the PlayStation, and a random game that had kid friendly art, with no advice whatsoever.

That was Crash Bandicoot 2 (oh boy 6 days to go until the remake. Almost 20 years later for me). Well played, dad!

So that day I unwrapped two gifts, a big box thing with a PlayThingy, and a FUCKING AWESOME TINTIN PLUSHIE. Omg Tintin omg so cool.

They told me that as soon as they plugged it in and started fooling around with the controller, moving Crash, I stopped playing with Tintin and my eyes couldn't leave the TV. They also said that during those first few weeks I'd often play standing up and every time Crash jumped, so did I.


Safe to say that I was mesmerized. With other games like Hercules or Lucky Luke later on, I'd relive my favorite animated movies and comics, so again, sweet choices for a kid, dad!

A friend also had a PS1, we shared games and played multiplayer, the rest is history.

Hell before the PS2 was released I'd already played on an uncle's Atari 2600 and cousin's NES without a clue about what retro gaming meant, it was just a big blur of games to me, no generation distinction. Helped me be very curious about it all.

Hahaha awww this is awesome!
 

Budi

Member
My dad bought me NES and few games when I was 5-6, Ice Climbers, Excite Bike and maybe Pinball. I really can't remember if I got SMB at the same time, it was probably bit later. I also don't really know why I got it, don't remember if I asked for one or if he had just seen an ad somewhere. Then we bought C64 from my neigbor bit later too. I had played Game & Watch games before those though.
 
There was like a rec centre when i lived on the Isle of Wight that had a NES and a Master System, and my mom bought a NES shortly after, the rest is history.
 
Everyone but my mom and sister played some sort of video game. My 2 older brothers had the SNES by the time I picked up a controller and my Dad had a ton of sim PC games and stuff and Starcraft and Diablo a little later on.
 
My mom bought a Commodore 64 off a neighbor who was getting rid of it back when I was around 5. Since home PCs were still kind of a novelty, my mom thought it would be a good teaching tool (word processor, learning games, etc.).

I mostly just used it to play Spy Hunter and Bard's Tale, but did learn BASIC.
 

Platy

Member
Friend next door had an Atari with the hide and seek game and we played for ages.
Then my mom's best friend's son got a NES with Mario 3 and I annoyed the shit of my mom to buy me one.
 
One of my very first memories was playing the Oddyssey when I was 2 in our attic with my brother. Atari 2600 was when video games were a constant in my life. I was 5 then.

I've been involved in this hobby since its very inception, way before it was popular or accepted. I consider myself quite fortunate for that.
 

Big_Al

Unconfirmed Member
I was 3 years old and I used to sit on my dads knee whilst he was at his PC tinkering and letting me hit the keyboard. We used to play a game called Rescue On Fractalus where you had to land and rescue spacemen on a planet. Anyway it was from a first person perspective in the ship and when you spotted someone you'd land and they'd run towards the ship. If they were someone to be rescued you'd hear them coming in but if they were an alien they'd jump on your screen and it would scare the ever living shit out of me. So much so I ran away to build a lego 'gun' and just popped my head round the door. :p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZ-chrOgGg

So that more or less got me interested and I spent a lot of years playing games on PC with my dad and then consoles etc.
 

linkboy

Member
Back in the 80's, my dad came home from work with an Atari 2600 and this fantastic game


In September of 87 or 88 (can't remember the exact year) we got an NES with Super Mario Bros and the rest is history.
 
My dad came home one day with a Colecovision and Mousetrap, Empire Strikes back and two space shooters that I can't remember the names of. I was like 5, didn't even ask for it. Been hooked ever since....
 

Wiped89

Member
I remember playing a Super Mario World on a SNES at a friend's house when I was about 6 or 7, but I wasn't really into it.

My sister and her boyfriend came home with a PS1 one day, when I was about 8 or 9, with a copy of Gran Turismo and a PlayStation Magazine with a demo disc, and on that demo disc was Wipeout 3.

The rest is history.

Gran Turismo put me through university (I was such a pro player that PSM3 magazine got me to write paid articles for them) and Wipeout gave me my handle (Wiped89).
 

Shifty

Member
I got a Sega Master System for my birthday with Sonic 1 & 2, and that was that.

Those white cartridge boxes were legendary.
 
Like alot of people, I have an older brother. He's been gaming since the late 80's, and some of my first memories are watching him play Streets of Rage 2 on the Genesis. Since then, he's put me onto every major console out there.
 

CEJames

Member
My brother pulled me into his room and said try this.

I took the controller and started mashing some buttons.

Looked on the screen and saw that I was killing dozens of troops with a single slash.

3 hours later....

I realized I was playing Dynasty Warriors and never looked back since lol
 
Don't remember the exact time, but my first console was an Atari 2600 Jr which my father bought when I was 6 or 7. Before that I knew about gaming because of my neighborhood and cousin though.
Loved Atari 2600, but NES made me a real gamer a year later.
 

bjork

Member
According to Wikipedia, the 2600 came out on September 11, 1977.

I came out 3 days before that, so games have just always kind of been there, and more engaging than just watching something.
 
My dad bought a Playstation when I was around 3-4 years old and it came with Crash Bandicoot 1. So he let me play that while he played sports games.
 

_Ryo_

Member
I bought an inter-dimensional device that allows travel between realms and aptly got into video games that way, strangely I have not found a way to escape yet. Which is okay with me.
 
My dad bought a PS1 when I was 6. Pretty sure it was then, because I remember the first game I played with him was Tekken 3. Back then, it was more his console than mine; he would play Resident Evil 2 and Gran Turismo
 
There wasn't really a "hallelujah!" moment since gaming's always been a part of my life. My father bought a wood-paneled Intellivision for himself before I even had the motor functions to play a game, and I got plenty of use outta that in my formative years. I was addicted to arcades as a kid (Showbiz Pizza! Aladdin's Castle!). I made my own little text-based games on my TRS-80. I guess it was getting an NES in 1988 that really cemented that for me. Even though it was technically a Christmas gift for the family, it more or less just wound up being mine. That's really when gaming elevated from Thing I Liked to Full-On Obsession.
 

mark1982

Member
Started off in the arcades with my brother with games like Gauntlet and Spy Hunter during that era. Then got an Atari 2600, then finally a NES for Christmas with ROB the Robot deluxe pack with Gyromite and Duck Hunt. And the rest is history.
 

Mobius01

Member
Walked passed my parents` room and noticed a game being showcased on a TV show. It blew my mind at how insanely fast and smooth it was. After that I was hooked for life.

It was Sonic The Hedgehog 2 running on the Megadrive.
 

Coda

Member
I first played the NES at my Uncle's house when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. We played games like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and Double Dragon II and I was enamored with the idea of playing a visual game on a TV.

A little bit later on, I used to stay with my grandparent's after school and my grandfather's brother owned video rental store called Video Waves. He eventually passed down an NES to my grandfather and from then on I was a gamer I'd say.
 

Budi

Member
My dad bought a PS1 when I was 6. Pretty sure it was then, because I remember the first game I played with him was Tekken 3. Back then, it was more his console than mine; he would play Resident Evil 2 and Gran Turismo

Huh, I always took you for someone bit older than that =) Didn't realize you only started gaming with PS1.

ITT: Dads and uncles rock!
 

RdN

Member
My mom had an Atari 2600 and would always play games with me and my brother. River Raid, Enduro the basketball one.

Then some years later we got a Master System as a Christmas gift.. Played that thing every day, my parents took us to blockbuster to rent games for the weekend.

Then, for a few years I've drifted away from gaming. Didn't have a console until a friend talked me into buying an Xbox to play on Xbox Live. That was back in'03.

Playing online, on broadband, talking to people completely renewed my interest in games. I made life long friends on Live, some that have come to frequent my house.

Ever since, I've been playing. Obviously, now that I'm older and have a family and a lot of day go day activities, I don't play as much.
 
By the time I was born we already had a NES and Intellivision in the house. By the time I was old enough to play games my parents had a SNES too. I remember playing a lot of Galaga, Mario 3, Dr. Mario, Super Mario World and Mega Man X. Also, a lot of Super Mario Kart with my Dad.
 

[NaK]

Member
My interest started ut pretty slow with a NES that my parents bought for christmas.
The whole family used to gather around the TV and play Super Mario and Duck Hunt.
It was pretty fun, and we later swapped it for a SNES and had even more fun with Yoshi's Island, The Djungle Book and Donkey Kong.
But it was always a family thing, and we never played more than an hour or two at a time.

My real interest came much later, when I was around 12-13.
A friend of mine had a chipped Playstation and his brother brought home a bunch of pirated import games.
Two of them happened to be Metal Gear Solid, and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.

It was absolutely mindblowing.
I never imagined that the gaming medium could be so addictive and exciting.
We started to meet up after school and spent all afternoon, evenings and weekends at his place, just playing and eating junk food.

I later convinced my parents to buy a Playstation and have been an avid gamer since.
 
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