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How did you get into videogames?
- Thread starter cordy
- Start date
TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared
Member
My brother had an N64 I played, but it was pokemon. So much pokemon.
More_Badass
Member
Ha, yup, only 25
And yeah, dads rock. We used to play a ton of Bloody Roar, Twisted Metal, and Vigilante 8. Nowadays control schemes are way too complicated for him, can't do the whole "simultaneous analog sticks for movement and camera + shoulder buttons"
RPGCrazied
Member
Not sure. It started with Atari. I'm guessing cartoons and watching those video game commercials helped.
Shadax the wizard
Member
When I was 4 my bigger brother had an atari, I was instantly hooked.
Equanimity
Member
My dad got me a Sega Mega Drive with Sonic when I was either 5 or 6. I didn't know anything about games back then.
Bless my uncle, he bought me Aladdin and The Flintstones.
Bless my uncle, he bought me Aladdin and The Flintstones.
Dee Dah Dave
Member
I played a few arcades on holiday and the occasional game on computers at older cousins etc. Then one Christmas my sister and I got a surprise Commodore 64 and that was it. Going strong now for 30 years, though I'm not as keen as I used to be.
My father won a NES clone on a contest at his job (it was a console named Phantom System, made by Dynavision).
It came with ghostbusters and super mario bros. I was 3 or 4 years old I guess... And I used to watch my mother and him playing the shit out of it and I wanted to play so badly!
When I began playing it, I just loved it! And I still do love playing videogames.
It came with ghostbusters and super mario bros. I was 3 or 4 years old I guess... And I used to watch my mother and him playing the shit out of it and I wanted to play so badly!
When I began playing it, I just loved it! And I still do love playing videogames.
splattered
Member
Step father had an ancient console when I was maybe 5? But he never played it so I didn't really understand what it was. Later as a young child I won a super mario/duck hunt bundle NES system as a Halloween raffle prize. All down hill from there 
Lakershead22
Member
All I remember is having an NES when I was younger. So I am guessing that is how I got into it.
D
Deleted member 752119
Unconfirmed Member
My dad bought an Atari 5200 when I was very young. Played some on that, but games were limited as the button on the controller stopped working.
Got hooked on Super Mario Bros on NES at a friend's house a few years later and we eventually got one and the rest was history. Played a lot of NES games, and then SNES (which was middle school and part of high school for me) is when I really super got into gaming.
Got hooked on Super Mario Bros on NES at a friend's house a few years later and we eventually got one and the rest was history. Played a lot of NES games, and then SNES (which was middle school and part of high school for me) is when I really super got into gaming.
Cyrus_Saren
Member
My older half sister had an SNES but refused to let me play so I used to just watch. Eventually, I started sneaking into her room when she was at school and play Super Mario World.
With my bricklike gray gameboy and Tetris/Links Awakening when i was 7. A little more than a year later Pokemon Red came along and i was a lost cause. At home i sometimes played Age of Empires 1 and a bit later Tomb Raider 1 on the windows 95 pc my mother had.
The moment i first played Warcraft 3 was another moment in my gaming life that made it my favourite hobby til today.
The moment i first played Warcraft 3 was another moment in my gaming life that made it my favourite hobby til today.
Yeah it's bit of a shame really. My mom loved Tetris, Side Pocket and Bubble Bobble on NES. She still plays Facebook games on her laptop but I'd love to introduce her back to more "traditional" gaming too. NES Classic would been otherwise great but it only had Bubble Bobble from the games she would play, having it discontinued doesnt' help either though.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
drawn as a toddler like a moth to a flame
The Albatross
Member
My older sisters wanted Nintendo for Christmas in like 1990 (maybe 89?), and my parents got it for us. I was 4 or 5 whenever we got it and wouldn't have known much about videogames. I wasn't independently into videogames for a few more years, when I asked for a Genesis for Christmas whatever year that was.
My dad also had this handheld, two color "basketball" game that was terrible and never made sense to me but I always tried to figure it out. It used red blocks to indicate players and there was a painted on basketball hoop on the display... I think you had a pass and shoot button, but it didn't make any sense.
Here it is:
I remember trying to figure this out as a youth but to no avail.
My dad also had this handheld, two color "basketball" game that was terrible and never made sense to me but I always tried to figure it out. It used red blocks to indicate players and there was a painted on basketball hoop on the display... I think you had a pass and shoot button, but it didn't make any sense.
Here it is:
I remember trying to figure this out as a youth but to no avail.
Rats Off To Ya
Banned
I'm the youngest of three children so video games were in the house before I was even born. They've always been there for me.
shawnbuddy
Member
It was either being allowed to play the arcade games in the department stores my family visited or my dad getting an Atari 2600.
My parents and older brother were already into video games before I was even born. When I was young -before a lot of bad things happened and made life complicated- video games were the main family activity. I can't say the exact moment I started playing properly myself, but I can remember having a controller in my hands as a two year old.
My mom and my older brother were really into RPGs so they taught me to read and to understand numbers way before kindergarten so I could play too. In my brother's case this included getting me into real world games like D&D and Magic the Gathering before most kids could form coherent sentences. Basically what I am getting at is gaming made up the formative years of my life. I tried to do the same for my younger brothers even though life wasn't as simple.
I can remember that the first game I completed was either Breath of Fire 2 or Shining Force 2. In the case of BoF2 I had been playing with my mom and ended up beating the last boss while she was making dinner, I didn't know it was the end but it made her a little sad. Shining Force 2 my mom and dad had to help me with quite a few of the battles, especially the final one which has a pretty big difficulty spike.
My mom and my older brother were really into RPGs so they taught me to read and to understand numbers way before kindergarten so I could play too. In my brother's case this included getting me into real world games like D&D and Magic the Gathering before most kids could form coherent sentences. Basically what I am getting at is gaming made up the formative years of my life. I tried to do the same for my younger brothers even though life wasn't as simple.
I can remember that the first game I completed was either Breath of Fire 2 or Shining Force 2. In the case of BoF2 I had been playing with my mom and ended up beating the last boss while she was making dinner, I didn't know it was the end but it made her a little sad
. Shining Force 2 my mom and dad had to help me with quite a few of the battles, especially the final one which has a pretty big difficulty spike.I got a JVC X'eye (Sega Genesis+CD in one) and an original Gameboy when I was 4 years old. The rest is history.
As an only child, my parents and I would always eat dinner together and then my mom would go read for the rest of the night, my dad would either work, play guitar, or go to a gig, and I would be left to my own devices to entertain myself when the neighbors weren't around. I spent most of my alone time playing games, reading, and playing music.
Oddly enough nothing has changed 20+ years later. I still read a lot, game a lot, and play music a lot
As an only child, my parents and I would always eat dinner together and then my mom would go read for the rest of the night, my dad would either work, play guitar, or go to a gig, and I would be left to my own devices to entertain myself when the neighbors weren't around. I spent most of my alone time playing games, reading, and playing music.
Oddly enough nothing has changed 20+ years later. I still read a lot, game a lot, and play music a lot
Gai Murakumo
Member
I was about three when our family got a NES with the Mario/Duck Hunt combo. My first game I ever played and have loved videogames since.
DoubleTake
Member
Around 4 or 5. Close neighbors next door had a Super Nintendo that we would always play. One of the earliest games I remember playing was Ninja Turtles Tournament fighters. Probably why I like Fighting Games so much today tbh. I was next door pretty much everyday.
Then they got MGS1 and the Playstation. After I watched them play that for a couple hours(wouldnt let me play since I was too young) I went home and begged my parents for a PS1. Ended up getting an N64, Smash and Donkey Kong 64 instead. I wasnt complaining too much though lol
Then they got MGS1 and the Playstation. After I watched them play that for a couple hours(wouldnt let me play since I was too young) I went home and begged my parents for a PS1. Ended up getting an N64, Smash and Donkey Kong 64 instead. I wasnt complaining too much though lol
I can't recall too much if this was how I got into them, but this is my earliest memory. My cousin was playing his Gameboy and let me have a try of the racing game he was playing and I ended up messing around with it for most of that day.
Still don't have a clue what game it was though.
Still don't have a clue what game it was though.
When I was 3 or 4 maybe? I can remember being with my dad at his/my grandmas house before my parents were married, and watching him play Goldeneye. He even beat the campaign!
When I could understand how to hold the controller, it just took off from there to the PS1 & WWF Smackdown, and so on.
When I could understand how to hold the controller, it just took off from there to the PS1 & WWF Smackdown, and so on.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly for me. They've just kinda always been around. My family had an NES when I was incredibly young to the point I barely remember anything about owning one and then we got a SNES around the time the N64 was already out. It goes on and on after that. I just always loved video games and thought they were the coolest things ever lol!
However I CAN pinpoint and say I was about 11 or 12 when I started getting interested in the industry and the devs and other stuff that went into making video games.
However I CAN pinpoint and say I was about 11 or 12 when I started getting interested in the industry and the devs and other stuff that went into making video games.
xenorevlis
Member
When we moved to California from the East Coast, we stayed with some extended family at first. I wandered into the yard with my prized possession - an army man that you could turn on and he would crawl forward with a gun in-hand - to play in the grass and dirt. However, the sound of this little army dude was driving the next-door neighbor's dog nuts, and he was angrily peering at my little battlefield through a hole in the fence. Eventually, he busted through and I freaked out, abandoning the army guy.
Later, after the commotion died down about the broken fence, the remains of my toy were returned to me. He was torn to shreds, and I was devastated. However, to cheer me up, my family sat my sister and I down in a room at our new home - in front of a CRT TV. With a Nintendo Entertainment System.
They booted up Super Mario Bros, and while my sister was a bit too young to understand what was happening on screen, my mind was blown ( I was about 5). I was in control of a cartoon character. That started it all for me.
Later, after the commotion died down about the broken fence, the remains of my toy were returned to me. He was torn to shreds, and I was devastated. However, to cheer me up, my family sat my sister and I down in a room at our new home - in front of a CRT TV. With a Nintendo Entertainment System.
They booted up Super Mario Bros, and while my sister was a bit too young to understand what was happening on screen, my mind was blown ( I was about 5). I was in control of a cartoon character. That started it all for me.
My parents had a booth at a Flea market when I was young. Guy down the isle was demoing 50 games on an NES and I played it whenever he let me and if no one else was around.
From there I went on to get a genesis later and with each gen managed to get one console...even if it was fairly later than I'd like. (PS1 in 2000, Xbox in 2005).
From there I went on to get a genesis later and with each gen managed to get one console...even if it was fairly later than I'd like. (PS1 in 2000, Xbox in 2005).
Zack Zavage
Member
No need to get into videogames. The moment I saw my first videogame, it practically got into me. I absorbed it. It was the only thing I wanted for a very long time.
It was from a guest that visited us. He's had a GameBoy with Metal Gear with him. The only reason I know what game it was, is due to the box hiding mechanic. Many years would pass until I was able to identify that game, since I didn't even know how to spell Metal Gear back then. I was five.
It was from a guest that visited us. He's had a GameBoy with Metal Gear with him. The only reason I know what game it was, is due to the box hiding mechanic. Many years would pass until I was able to identify that game, since I didn't even know how to spell Metal Gear back then. I was five.
Berserking Guts
Member
My grandma and grandpa got me a NES with Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt combo when I was little.
LincolnSixEcho
Member
My family used to live with my aunt's family whenI was five. My cousin had an Atari 7600 and then later a Master System.
My sister had a mini pac-man game, looked alike a little table to arcade box. Then she got an NES which I ended up playing more than her.
What pushed me over the edge was free Dragon Warrior with Nintendo Power. It was my first game just for me, but I didn't finish it until years later.
Megaman 2 was my most played NES game for sure.
What pushed me over the edge was free Dragon Warrior with Nintendo Power. It was my first game just for me, but I didn't finish it until years later.
Megaman 2 was my most played NES game for sure.
woopWOOP
Member
Saw my cousin's NES when I was 4 or 5 or so. Had a bunch of Mario and Mega Man games and that first TMNT game.
According to my parents I was completely hypnotised by it
Parents gave my brother and me both a "Family-NES" not long after.
Been hooked since.
Altho we only bought like 4 games for the NES ourselves, our neighbours at that time had a "370-in-1" bootleg cartridge which still had about 60 original Japan-only games on it. I enjoyed a great variety of games because of them
According to my parents I was completely hypnotised by it
Parents gave my brother and me both a "Family-NES" not long after.
Been hooked since.
Altho we only bought like 4 games for the NES ourselves, our neighbours at that time had a "370-in-1" bootleg cartridge which still had about 60 original Japan-only games on it. I enjoyed a great variety of games because of them
SchrodingerC
Member
Watching my brother play games on the SNES and eventually getting my own gameboy(both an original and color).