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Personal Gaming History: Mine, yours, and ours [roundtable]
 
What was your gaming past like? What was your first console? Your first game? When did you really start getting involved in the gaming community? These are just a few questions to think about while talking about our personal gaming history.

I did an audio recording going over my gaming history, set it to pictures and game music and just uploaded it today:



I was wondering just what the history of others have been like, which is why I encouraged people to make a video response to that video.

So what has your gaming history been like?

Let's reminisce...

URL to share (right click and copy)
08/07/11, 17:39  
 
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Well, I remember one of my cousins visiting and he brought his N64 with him. That was my first exposure to video games, like at the age of 5, and later that year at Christmas, I got a Nintendo 64 with Pokemon Snap and Yoshi's Story. What followed was a tradition of every following Friday we would go to Blockbuster and while the family got to rent a couple of movies, I got to rent one game.

In 2002, I got a Gamecube, and it replaced the N64. I got the console at the start of summer vacation, and I got the black console bundled with Super Smash Bros Melee. Lot's of time spent playing that game, it was fun.

Early 2004, someone broke into our house, and one of the things stolen was my Gamecube. While I could have gotten another Gamecube, I instead decided to get a Playstation 2, because I wanted to play games like Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper. Later that year, I felt a bit nostalgic for my N64, and I bought a refurbished system bundled with a game of my choice from EB Games. The game was Ocarina of Time, and it was my first time really playing it and it was great. I still have that same N64 today.

Year later I would get a Gamecube again because I was missing it, and then a year later that would be sold towards earning enough money to buy a Wii. But I missed the launch window and had a hard time trying to play games because I wanted the Wii and it was sold out. It was only two months and two days later after launch that I finally got a Wii, and I was satisfied.

2007 was when I started getting involved in the gaming community. I had Metroid Prime 3, and there was that system where you could trade token with people on your Wii friends list for bonus content. Started on Gamefaqs and Gamespot, and later moved to IGN, Giantbomb, and of course, here.

Probably lots of other things I'm omitting, but that's the gist...

Oh yeah, I bought a DS Phat 3 months before the lite came out and I didn't realize it, but I needed a handheld to keep me busy because I was heading down to Cancun for spring break.
08/07/11, 18:40   
Nice vid Paleo!

I was born in 86, and my gaming history begins back in the late 80s, where I was probably only 3 or 4 years old. I'm not exactly sure why we had an NES, but we had one (my mom has always liked getting new stuff). I have a very distinct memory of trying to play Super Mario Bros. in my mom's bedroom while she was taking a shower. I remember pooping my then footsy pajamas, and then running in to tell my mom what had happened (I may have been younger than 3 or 4 then, haha, if that's the case).

Up until around the age of 6 or 7, it was all about the NES. We would play it at our house, and my (now late) grandmother also had one. She actually played it as well, and she loved Vegas Stakes (and do you blame her? One of the best casino games ever!) We'd honestly spend hours just hanging out with her as she continued to play the slot machines and tried to break the bank in the game. My grandfather was in a band for most of his life, and he often played in Atlantic City, so a slot machine game was a perfect fit for my slot playing, chain smoking grandmother, haha.

My NES gaming time was dominated by the following games...I think these were the ones that I remember owning:

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Legend of Zelda
Zelda 2 (which I never got very far in at all)
Castlevania (where I think we could rarely get to the Grim Reaper's level)
Ghostbusters 2 (another game I never got far in)
Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers (my first real experience with a co-op game)
DuckTales
Back to the Future (yes, THAT Back to the Future)
Dragon Warrior (where I don't think I really did anything beyond starting the game and trying to figure out how to fight things in the overworld...I didn't grasp the turn based RPG then)
Dr. Mario
Tetris
Tecmo Bowl

Some of these games were ones we owned, but others I think were games we were either given by friends/family, or borrowed for extended periods of time.

I'm 80% sure that we owned a Genesis before we owned a Super Nintendo. I say that because I feel like I was exposed more to the Genesis around that time. A family friend had Sonic 1, and I remember when we eventually got a Genesis along with Sonic 2. So I guess that pegs it in late 92, when I would've been in 2nd grade (a grade I definitely remember being Sonic'd up during). Looking back, we really didn't have many Genesis games. We had Sonic 2, but never owned Sonic 1. We rented Sonic 3 a few times...and eventually rented Sonic 3 AND Sonic and Knuckles, and linked them up!

Genesis games I remember spending a lot of time with:
Sonic 2
Sonic Spinball (I still maintain that this is a pretty awesome game)
Toe Jam and Earl: Panic on Funkitron (the sidescroller...I think we rented it a few times)
Tecmo Super Bowl
NHL...I forget what year it was, but I think it was one where they had fighting in it.

I think 93 was the year we got the Super Nintendo, because I think I remember drawing Mario with a cape in 3rd grade. I definitely got Mega Man X sometime in my 3rd grade year (early 94 I think, because MMX came out in January) because my friends and I would draw Megaman X and make up our own Maverick bosses. I can basically tell my gaming history by looking back at old drawings I have, haha.

From that point on, it was all Super Nintendo up until 97. These are games that really defined my childhood, at least from the age of 8 and on:

Super Mario World (I remember being disappointed that the game was so easy at the time)
NBA All Star Challenge (maybe one of the worst basketball games ever made)
NBA Jam
Megaman X
Megaman X2 (which I never owned, but rented about 3 times)
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2 (Playing this game when sleeping over my aunt's house is still one of my fondest childhood memories. It was like..."You mean it's like Donkey Kong Country....but better????)
Tetris Attack
Secret of Mana
Illusion of Gaia (my aunt had both Mana AND Gaia, because she loved overhead games like Zelda where you went on adventures. She wasn't very good so she always Game Genied the shit out of them)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (I remember first playing this game at a friend's house, but his TV was kind of fucked up and would shake constantly...it actually kind of added to the drama of the game's stormy beginning. I remember just being in awe at a game like the original Zelda, but amped up in every way imaginable).
Super Mario All-Stars (though I still prefer the NES versions of these games)
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run

I never played certain games until the late 90s when I admittedly was a user of emulation (and a lot of games were becoming hard to find, or were ridiculously expensive). It was then that I got to play through FF6, Chrono Trigger, and Super Metroid.

Now, during all this, I DID have a Game Boy. I think I had it around the time we got the Genesis. It was a bundle that came with Super Mario Land. I liked that a good bit, but my gaming tolerance was pretty high, as I also enjoyed games like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I remember playing through Kirby's Dream Land many times. I mean, that's what you did back then. You had a certain amount of games at a time, and you just played them over and over again. I have VERY vivid memories of playing Mario Land 2 at my brother's Little League games. I remember finally beating it one day, and I think it was one of the first games I ever really beat all by myself.

Gameboy games I had over the years (I remember keeping them all in my case):
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land 2
Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (I remember being OBSESSED with it...and I wouldn't beat it until I was in middle school because I'd always get stumped in Eagle's Tower)
Megaman (my first 'classic' Megaman game)
Kirby's Pinball Land
Baseball (what a sloooow baseball game)

After that, a fairly predictable gaming history. We had a Playstation briefly but there just weren't a lot of games we were interested in. Had I waited for FF7 that would've been different I suppose, but I wasn't really into FF quite yet. I loved Crash Bandicoot 2, but it was one of those games where you kind of beat it in a day and then forgot about it.

Got an N64 in 97 with Shadows of the Empire, since Mario 64 was nowhere to be found. Soon got Mario Kart after, and that was probably my most played game on the N64. Ocarina, Goldeneye, etc, you know the drill. During the N64 period I also switched from my olive green tinted Gameboy to the Gameboy Color (skipped the Pocket). Moved to the GBA on launch day and got 3 games for trading in some other things. I got the excellent Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (my first foray into Metroidvania), Super Mario Advance, and Rayman. I wound up getting rid of Rayman at some point.

Moved to the Gamecube and wasn't interested in the PS2 for the most part. Still never liked the dual shock controller. I got to go back and play a couple games on it at some point. Metroid Prime and Super Smash Bros. Melee still get my nods for the best games in that generation.

Then moved to the Wii, and while I liked it, I also got really into playing Halo 3 with my college roommate. I was always very anti-Halo...but I guess I was one of those anti-Halo for no reason kind of people. The multiplayer in Halo 3 was stupid addicting, and I eventually got a 360 and still play Halo Reach with my friends online today. Up until recently, most of my gaming has been on the 360 this generation, minus some obvious AAA Nintendo games like Zelda, Metroid, and Mario.

I have recently built a custom PC and it's pretty beastly. I can now play PC games that are newer than 2004, haha. I have a backlog for the first time in my life now thanks to the Steam Summer Camp sale, and it sucks that I now have a BUTTLOAD of work to do. I'm going to have to really schedule myself so that I can have some gaming time during the week.

Games I have to play/finish playing through:
Borderlands (my friends are ahead of me so I keep having to play catch up! This game is not very fun on your own...it's just slow and repetitive)
Bioshock (just beat my first Big Daddy)
Fallout 3
Mass Effect
Super Meat Boy
Bit. Trip. Runner
Civilization 5 (well, while I can't 'beat it,' I'd like to spend more time with it)
Just Cause 2 (dno't really care about beating it honestly, it's just fun to fart around in. Zero Punctuation does a pretty amusing review of it)

And that's that. Now I'm off to go draw pictures of a child riding a camel. Don't ask.
08/07/11, 19:45   
I started gaming in the early 80's with games like Jungle Hunt, Combat, Enduro, Megamania, Kaboom, Yar's Revenge and Berserk on the Atari 2600. I had an Intellevision also but don't really remember gaming on it (it was too weird). 1986 was when I had my first taste of the Nintendo Entertainment System and never went back. My cousin was the only one that had one during 86 - 87, but got my own NES during Christmas of '87. The games that came with it was Wizards and Warriors, RC Pro Am, Super Mario/Duck Hunt and I believe Captain Skyhawk as well as Silent Service.

From then on I became a Nintendo fan, but moms wanted to try something different. She bought me a Sega Genesis during the SNES/GEN war back in the 90's. The game that I got with that was Altered Beast (which I beat the same day I got it........). So for a while, I continued playing my NES until a year later she bought me a(n) SNES. The game that came with it was Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country 2. I was in gaming heaven up until I the N64 was announced. My god I need to play Mario in 3d so bad back then that it was almost unbearable. Got one for Christmas a year later and was loving it.

Special note: We were poor back in those days. My mom sacrificed a lot to make me and my sister happy back then, while at the same teaching us how to be thankful and appreciative. We could only get one thing for Christmas, but we would have to go without something else. For example, I got the NES, but we lost Cable tv. I got the SNES, but we lost heat during the winter. Got the N64, but we would have to do ramen noodles and leg quarters for the whole month. She would also have to pay people back for several months after that holiday was done. An amazing woman even to this day. I love you, mom.

Anyway, I went to the military after graduating high school and got a Dreamcast, Playstation 2 and Gameboy's. Man, I just realized that that was were I first fell in love with Pokemon!! I bought Pokemon Blue because I loved how it had a turtle with cannon's coming out of it's shell on the front cover (I like turtles). The games I got with my Dreamcast was Dead or Alive 2, Marvel vs Capcom, Streetfighter alpha 3, Shenmue, some 2k sports and RE: CV (the rest were pirated games that I bought online for 5 bucks each). On the PS2, I got Oni (sucked), Zone of the Enders, SSX and Dynasty Warriors 2. Me and my friends would be up all night playing fighting games and sports on the Dreamcast. Good times.

Bought a Gamecube when I got out and played the shit out of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Got a GBA:NB (No Backlight) with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Bought a GBA:SP and to this day is one of my top 10 (if not one of my top 5) favorite gaming devices, ever. Didn't buy the GBA: Micro because it looked stupid. Bought a Nintendo DS day 1 with Feel the Magic and Super Mario 64 DS (did that come out on the first day?). Bought a Wii for 350 dollars on Ebay because I could never find one in stores. Bought a PS3 for 250 at a pawn shop (Oh, the irony). Day 1'd the 3DS with SSF4, Ghost Recon and Samurai Warriors.

There are a lot of games that I haven't mentioned and a lot of gaming history that I left out, but that's pretty much a summary of it.
08/07/11, 20:47   
@shinriley I was able to come across a GBA SP with the backlight at Gamestop for like $33 (same price as the original SP). The ghosting is pretty bad, but I'll be damned if the colors aren't bright and saturated. The perfect Four Swords Adventures device. I'm definitely never letting it go. Such a great little Gameboy. The only thing it really has going against it are the clicky buttons.
08/07/11, 21:06   
My first gaming console technically was the NES in which I got from my uncle for free plus 20 games. I was like 5. I really enjoyed it, though I wasn't really into games or anything. It just was something I played once a month or something.

I then got a SNES from my uncle as well. Again, same as the above. I didn't have Chrono Trigger or anything like that. I just had really obscure, mostly crap games and I didn't even have the "latest console" at the time. The latest console was the N64/PS1 at the time and I got an NES/SNES. So I started gaming late.

I skipped the 64 bit era completely and I wound up getting my first legit console, the Xbox. This is when I started to become a stereotypical 10 year old who only played Halo and sports games, and I had alliances to pieces of plastic and I hated Nintendo and loved Microsoft. I thought the Gamecube was for kids, and Microsoft was for the adults. This is when I started to really get into gaming. After school, I would come home, get a pop, and play Xbox by myself or with my friends. I didn't get fat, luckily. I played soccer a lot, thank god.

My gaming tastes changed around the time the 360 was getting rumored. I picked up Star Wars: KOTOR and the game was amazing though I liked shooters first still. KOTOR was absolutely one of the best games I have played. I still hated so called "kiddy" games, however.

Eventually all of my friends and my cousin started getting into the Nintendo DS, particularly Animal Crossing: Wild World. I was extremely skeptical of the DS and "kiddy" games, but I caved and I asked for a NDS for my birthday. Eventually I got one, and I was amazed at Wild World. The game looked so "kiddy" but the game was really deep. This is when I got into gaming message boards. I started posting on IGN for Animal Crossing: Wild Worlds friend codes originally. I played AC for a year and a half before I quit.

I continued to play my DS, though only a few games. I tried getting good at Mario Kart: DS but I couldn't snake. However, this is when I saw Metroid Prime: Hunters in the sleeve of Mario Kart DS. I got the game and instantly got hooked. I became a 5 star within 6 months and I became rather good at the game. I played MPH with my friends at school all day for a good 2 years before I quit.

After MPH, I really started to not like my DS anymore. I still had the "shooters first" mind set, so I really stopped liking my DS. However, this is when I saw The World Ends With You. I consider this game my breakthrough game. I played it, and I was hooked. I couldn't stop playing. This is when I discovered RPG's. I first got into action-RPG's, claiming that I "couldn't stand" turn based RPG's, but eventually I caved again and I started playing games like Chrono Trigger, FF IV, etc. all on my DS. The DS became my favorite console, ever. I also started like first party Nintendo games. Nintendo now had me as a customer.

So the seventh generation of consoles came in, and I had to choose a console. My mind quickly swayed between the 360 and the Wii. Which one? The Xbox 360, which is the sequel to my most played console, or the Wii, which had motion control that looked amazing. I really didn't know much about Nintendo's history with third party trouble, etc. since the N64 era, so I got the Wii not knowing that I would be somewhat disappointed with my decision.

The games were good, but motion control quickly got boring and third party support was weak. Not just that, but all my friends still had the "COD" only mindset where as I had changed. So as such, they had 360's/PS3's, I had a Wii. I felt left out sometimes when they would talk about amazing gaming nights and such.

Now fast forward to the present, and I don't game as much anymore. I still like gaming, but now with school and other commitments, I just don't have the energy or time to play a game. I don't know, I rather spend the time with my family who will be separating due to University in a couple of weeks, with friends, or working out. All I know is that I am going to wait extremely long for this 8th generation of gaming to start off, handheld and console and that I want to get into PC gaming and games that can be played in short bursts, like loot RPG's are online FPS's like Battlefield 3.
08/07/11, 21:27   
Edited: 08/08/11, 01:12
I'll make it short but sweet.

Started gaming on our family Texas Instruments computer. Looking back on it, we actually had a lot of games, which seems weird since my family is poor and my mom hates video games. Must have been my dad pushing for it. Favorites: A-Maze-Ing!, TI Invaders, Parsec, etc.

Never owned them, but played a lot of my cousin's Atari 2600 and IBM computers. Favorites: Pitfall, um... the boxing Kangaroo game, Sopwith, etc.

Then moved onto Nintendo. Heck yeah. This is where I started gaming hardcore. Favorites: Super Mario 1/3, The Legend of Zelda, every Mega Man game, etc.

This may shock many people, but I almost get a Genesis over an SNES. And for a sports game no less. My friends and I were huge into NHLPA '93 and I didn't know it was on SNES so I was thinking of getting a Genesis. But then I discovered it was also on SNES, and of course ended up making the right choice in the end. Favorites: The Legend of Zelda: LTTP, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart, Chrono Trigger, etc.

And... pretty much have bought every Nintendo platform since. And some Sony platforms. Have also played a fair amount of Xbox and 360 games.
08/07/11, 21:45   
Very nice stories here, people! Keep 'em coming! :D
08/08/11, 02:00   
My first console was the Colecovision which was purchased when I was 5. It was an amazing machine, had an adapter that played atari games. We only had 5 or 6 games and that was because they were expensive.. Donkey Kong, Lady Bug, Cosmic Avenger, Smurf's Adventure, etc...

My second machine was a Tandy 1000 computer, I can hardly remember how many games I played on it but the one's I spent the most time on were Beyond the Root, Castle Wolfenstein, and Paratrooper.

Third was the NES, and that is when I learned that I did not need sleep to go to school. I played every game I could get a hold of to completion, never really realizing that they were bad games until I got a little older.

Fourth was the SNES, Fifth the N64, Sixth the Gamecube, Seventh the PS2, and my latest is the Wii.

I still own and have all of them hooked up to a single TV in my father's Media Room, except the Tandy and the PS2. They are in boxes. My kids, as well as my nieces and nephews will play them occasionally, but the games are just to difficult for them.

I joined IGN about a year prior to the Gamecube's launch, and like here I am mostly a reader than an active user.
08/08/11, 02:28   
My gaming history spans about 30 years. It would take way too long to write.
08/08/11, 02:44   
I started gaming on my parent's Commodore 64. Then we got a Mac running OS9 as well as Marathon. Best DOOM clone ever.
I went through SNES, N64, PS2, XBox, Gamecube, Wii, and eventually PS3 for my console years, usually playing either FPS, platformer, or adventure games (with the occasional rhythm and racing game).
For portables, I got a Game Boy Pocket, and all I would play was Mega Man and Link's Awakening. LA is still my favorite Legend of Zelda game to date. Then my brother got a GBA, and the next year I got a GBA SP. Advance Wars ruled the day, until I got a DS. Then a DSi.
As for PC gaming, I never got a good computer that could run games until early 2008, when I got a hand-me-down computer from my brother. I bought the Orange Box and was so happy to actually run Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2. Before that, I played games on emulators, MechWarrior 4, and indie games like Cave Story. I also played a certain (now defunct) graphical MUD called Wyvern, but that was back when I was running Windows 98.
I think all those FPS games I played as a kid had an effect on me, because a lot of my favorite games are in first person. I feel a lot more immersed when I'm viewing the action from my character's eyes, rather than following behind him.

Now, I lament about how games have gone down the shitter and rely on fake nostalgia to support my arguments. It's like I'm really a hipster!
08/08/11, 02:55   
What was your gaming past like?

I grew up with video games in the house. Everyone in my immediate family played games to some degree before I was born, so they've always been a part of my life. I remember playing games on the Atari 2600, Colecovision, NES, Super NES, and some old computer systems I don't recall (aside from PC, obviously) as a kid. I grew up with Nintendo in the house, so that's what I mainly played as I grew older. For some reason I hated anything that wasn't Nintendo; I hated Sega, and I hated Sony when they entered the market too. I only had an N64 during the fifth generation, although later on we got a PS2, and I picked up some PSX games along with PS2 titles. Even after I started playing them though, I felt almost like I was a traitor for doing so, which was pretty fucking stupid of me, but that's how I felt. Early in the sixth generation though, I pretty much lost interest in video games. Aside from a handful like the Tony Hawk games and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, I sat that generation out. I was mainly into music at that point.

I became interested in games again thanks to the Wii though, which I received as a birthday present in early 2007. Thanks to games like Metal Slug Anthology and Resident Evil 4 (the first M-rated game I ever loved!), I started playing games frequently again. I've got a lot more systems since then, old and new, and am regularly playing games from every generation. I think games are awesome again, and I don't listen to as much music as I used to

What was your first console?

As I said, I grew up with a number of systems in the household, so I really have no idea.

Your first game?

I have no idea what the first game I played was. Some early ones I remember playing include the Mario games, the Zelda games, Metroid, Mega Man II, Section Z, Montezuma's Revenge, Pitfall, B.C.'s Quest For Tires, Frogger, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Popeye, some target shooting game on the computer, the demo for Captain Comic, and some other games.

When did you really start getting involved in the gaming community?

I've talked with people online about games for a long time. I started when I was about 8, when I found some Final Fantasy III (VI) forum, on I think AOL or something. I was a horrible poster though, since I was so young and stupid. Later on I discovered IGN, where I registered an outsider account in a vain attempt to be able to view more than 5 pictures. You needed insider for that though, so that account sat unused for a year. Then in March of 2003, shortly after I turned 13, I started posting at the IGN boards, and from there have progressed onto other video game-related message boards, such as this site
08/08/11, 03:29   
My gaming history is short. I actually started seriously gaming in 2004 when my brother and I saved enough money to buy a ps2. I think it was $150 at that time. Before that, I was living in Honduras and my family didn't really have the money to buy a gaming console (not that I ever asked for one) but I remember reading some magazines with game-related content, especially magazines. One of them was about Metroid Prime. Samus looked so cool. Even though I never owned a console for the first 12 years of my life, I did play sparsely on arcade cabinets found on super markets or cafés near my elementary school. I remember playing (Super?) Street Fighter II and what I'm sure was a bootleg version of Donkey Kong Country. Mortal Kombat as well.

Eventually I befriended a few kids that did have consoles. I remember playing Pokemon stadium, (or at least watching somebody play it) over at a classmate's house. I also played with the PSone at a friend's house. I think even a SNES as well.

When I got a PS2 I didn't play much games, just the FIFA game de turno with my brother. Eventually, I did get some more games, and I think the best of the bunch had to be San Andreas. I really liked that game although I don't remember how I was able to buy it since I was underage (same with God of War). I didn't really get far on the game. I think the first Nintendo console I owned was a GameCube, that I exchanged for San Andreas and another game with a neighbor a year or so later (this was around 05). I bought a few other games like Ratchet and Clank 2 (good game) and the aforementioned God of War. I think God of War was the first game I actually played to completion. I almost beat Ratchet and Clank 2 but I somehow deleted my save in the last level of the game and I guess I rage sold it to a friend since I refused to play it anymore.

The first game I got for GC was Resident Evil 4 (as a gift from my sister's boyfriend on Christmas) . Great game, although it took me a while complete. After that, I bought Player's choice Wind Waker. I had never played a Zelda game before, and I absolutely loved it. Those were the only two games I got for the purple lunchbox however, and exchanged it and Wind Waker for some PS2 games with my friend. I think most of them were the Sly Cooper trilogy. I liked those games. I gave away my copy of Resident Evil 4 (I do that sometimes) and pretty much became a PS only man until my sister decided to buy me a DS lite on June of '06 along with New Super Mario Bros.

I really liked my new DS lite. this was actually the second time I had owned a portable Nintendo console. The first being a Gameboy Advance I bought from this pawn shop. I also remember owning a Gameboy pocket (a gift from I don't remember who) but gave that away to a cousin of mine. I didn't own any games for either GBA or GBPocket so I ended up getting rid of them. I found the DS had a lot of games I liked. At one point I owned more than 30 games for it which was a huge deal for me. I sold a good amount of those recently, however.

I mentioned I was a PS man before I got the DS lite. On 2005, I had saved enough money to buy a PSP, however, I was convinced by a friend that it wasn't worth it and decided against it. In retrospect, it probably wasn't worth it. After I obtained the DS I was more invested in gaming. Read sites such as IGN and GameSpot more often, and read message boards. I discovered that the DS usually had the games I wanted.

I didn't really get into this generation until my sister bought me a Wii in 08. I bought Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $80 on Circuit City methinks. For a while those were the only two games I had. One of the reasons I wanted a Wii was for all of those old school games I missed out on. Until now I've only bought four, actually three, one was a gift (Punc-OUt for the NES) and the game I bought didn't end up liking (Kirby's Adventure). It wasn't until last year when I bought Super Metroid and DKC. So far the Wii has left a lot to be desired. Overall, I'd rank it below the PS2 and DS respectively. Speaking of which, I gave away my PS2 with games to my nephew when I went to Honduras in 2007. I haven't played a game on a PlayStation console since. Well, discounting the demos on kiosks on Best Buy or similar.

I really wanted a ps3 bad, until the whole E3 '06 fiasco. After the console dropped in price and the games started rolling I wanted one again. I almost bought one on summer of 09. I actually had a job, albeit seasonal. However, I was about to start college life and decided spending $400 on a gaming console wasn't a smart thing to do so I decided not to.

At this point I still want a PS3 but I realize I'm getting more and more responsibilities financially and don't think it'll be possible for me to purchase one, although it'd be nice. I need a new desktop for example. Besides, I've already resigned to the idea of not owning one. PC gaming is probably the best bet anyway. I bought a few games on PC, but I need to replace my rig. I haven't played many games on it but I'd like to play more.

I also owned a 360 briefly, but that console is the de facto property of my brother, somehow.
08/08/11, 04:20   
Ah, where to begin?

I might as well start back at the beginning. I believe that the first game I ever played was Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, although I couldn't verify this either way...it's certainly the first notable game that I remember playing, and it must have been around 89/90 when I was 3-4 years old.

My gaming history is pretty depressing to start off...most of the games I ever really played early on, weren't my own. Friends, cousins, etc. had the NES and that's where I played Mario, Tecmo Bowl, among other games. My mom was always of the "video games rot your brain" attitude, and wouldn't let us get a console, no matter how much we begged for a NES and later on, a Genesis.

Alas, I mostly missed out on the 8- and 16-bit era. I had friends who owned a SNES and even more friends who had the Genesis, so I got in my time playing Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Sonic & Knuckles, NBA Jam, and so on. But at home, we were only allowed games that would play on our home computer, and only "educational" games...blah. Although that eventually evolved into playing games like Myst, and when we got a better PC, we started getting games that were on the Genesis and SNES and played them on our PC (all of the Street Fighter and classic Mega Man games, among others). I was never a PC gamer at heart, I always preferred playing console games and eventually we bought a controller adapter for our PC, and started upgrading RAM and whatnot to play newer games. My brother and I, gosh this must have been 15-years ago now, saved up $160 just to upgrade from 8 MB RAM to 16 MB to play the new Madden!

I think this is when my Mom started to get fed up with us, and we were old enough and smart enough at that point to realize that the whole "PC games only" was a front to save money.

The N64 was the first system to really captivate me. One of my brother's friends got Goldeneye, and that really changed everything. I had never had so much fun before or since the first time playing 4-player Goldeneye until the wee hours of the morning. We also LOVED the multiplayer in WCW/nWo World Tour and Mario Kart 64. The N64 was a blast, and was the site of most of my greatest multiplayer moments. But I was never, ever, a big believer in the single-player experience of any video game. Video games were always fun, but they were never anything more than that. It all changed with Ocarina of Time, which had just come out at the end of 1998 and I played for a hour or so at a friend's house...I needed it. Since our parents would never buy us a console, my brother and I saved up enough money to buy an N64 ourselves (a Christmas gift to ourselves, lol!). Ocarina of Time became my favorite game ever, and the N64, my favorite system. Ocarina of Time, the first time I set foot on Hyrule Field to be specific, was probably the moment when I was no longer a casual gamer and gaming became my pastime.

Over the next few years, Smash Bros. was the dominant game, as well as the rest of the THQ/AKI wrestling games on the N64. I can't even begin to count how many hours we sunk into those games, but they were always there waiting after school.

2001, and the GameCube, was when I started really becoming active in the online community, and really became a Nintendo fanboy. I was a sophomore in High School then, and ever since the days of "Dolphin", I was super-psyched about the next Nintendo system. I joined IGN in November '01 to follow all of the latest GameCube news, and I became hooked to the message boards (signed up for Insider a few months later when the boards were no longer free). Games started breaking into the mainstream around this time, and having to hear at school how awesome the Xbox was and how kiddy the GameCube was, kinda was the tipping point to when I started following Nintendo religiously.

I really loved the GameCube. I think I owned about 10 games total for the N64, but I probably bought close to 35 games overall during the GameCube era. A Christmas 2001 present (from my Mom, of all people!), our first games were Melee, Madden, SSX Tricky and Tony Hawk. Much like during the N64 days, Melee got tons of play. But the most significant moment probably occurred during the first half of 2002, where there was a pretty severe drought. On a whim, I picked up REmake. I wasn't really into scary games at the time, and I had no idea whether or not I'd like it. But I was running out of games to play, and with Eternal Darkness and Mario Sunshine still a few months away, I gave it a shot. I absolutely LOVED the game, and RE became one of my favorite game series, along with Mario, Metroid and Zelda. I ended up getting the whole series on 'Cube.

The highwater marks: Mario Sunshine, a vastly underrated game, which I spent probably 2-3 weeks playing non-stop. I was so addicted to it. Fun, challenging...I really loved it.

Eternal Darkness: One of the first games I really enjoyed, where the story was my favorite aspect of it.

Metroid Prime 1 & 2: Two of the best games I've ever played. The first was more impactful, although I actually found the second one to be the better game (but like the two Galaxy games, it's like separating a 9.999 from a 9.998).

Resident Evil 4: I don't believe I was ever more hyped for a game before, or since. I knew from the first screenshot of RE 3.5, though the new "revamped" RE4, that it would be a special game. It absolutely delivered. I believe this is the best game of the last generation.

Killer 7: One of the last Cube games I bought (I think the very last was Timesplitters 3), this was another game I had no idea if I'd like or not, but I don't regret purchasing it for a second. One of the most twisted, messed up games I've ever played, it was simply brilliant. I had never played anything like it before, and I'm not sure I ever will again.

This has run on really long, and I'm only like halfway through the story, so I'll finish this up later...
08/08/11, 23:11   
- Pac-Man sheets and pillowcases

- two Christmases with no Nintendo under the tree

- Mario! Mario! Mario! (and Kid Icarus)

- Won enough money in the lottery to buy a SEGA Genesis. Not kidding.

- Sonic! Sonic! Sonic! (and Toe Jam and Earl)

- What the heck are all these CD based systems? I'm sticking with PC and/or not gaming at all.

- Crickets

- Hey, a used Dreamcast for 20 bucks? Sure. Crazy Taxi is worth that.

- Smash Bros Melee. I never knew I cared so much about Star Fox and Kirby.

- Sailing my ship around in Wind Waker.

- Hey internet! I just came here to say, "Mario! Mario! Mario! (and Kid Icarus)"

- Boogerman
08/08/11, 23:25   
Yeesh, my gaming history goes back to the early '80s. I guess I can sum it up as:

* Arcades (Donkey Kong, Galaga, Pac-Man, etc)

* Buddy from across the street had an Atari (Dig-Dug, Pole Position, Chop Lifter, etc)

* Another buddy got his NES on Christmas back in 1986. I tried it and fell in love with Super Mario Bros.

* Begged my parents for an NES for Christmas in 1987. "Santa" ended up bringing me an NES that holiday. Score!

* A good 7 years of NES gaming took place. (Mario, Mega Man, Castlevania, etc.)

* 1989 came, and Nintendo introduced the Gameboy. My parents refused to get it for me (they thought I play too many video games as it was) I saved up $100 and was finally able to buy my first video game system sometime in 1990.

* GAMEBOY GAMEBOY GAMEBOY GAMEBOY GAMEBOY GAMEBOY

* 1991 Came around, and in a miraculous turn of events, I ended up getting an SNES for Christmas

* Street Fighter II, Super Mario World, Buster Busts Loose, Turtles in Time, Donkey Kong Country, Chrono Trigger. SNES ruled.

* 1996 came around. I hadn't dove into the world of Playstation (apparently, Sony was right. I was NOT E) So I got an N64 for Christmas that year. Super Mario 64, WaveRace 64 and Killer Instinct Gold were amazing at the time.

* 1997 happened, and Square dropped Final Fantasy VII on to the world. I got a Playstation that following Christmas. I also ended up getting a lot of the 3rd party games I had come to expect and enjoy on Nintendo systems, that for whatever reason, were NOT on Nintendo's latest system. (anyone know why the N64 never got a Street Fighter game, or a proper Mega Man? Castlevania 64 was more fun than most care to admit, but it's not exactly Symphony of the Night, y'know? No Contra 64, either. What gives?)

* Sometime in 1998 I found a SEGA Saturn for like, $40. I bought it, along with an adaptor that let me play import games. I walked out of that store with NiGHTS: Into Dreams, Tomb Raider, X-Men vs Street Fighter, and Castlevania: Dracula X - Nocturne in the Moonlight (aka Japanese version of Symphony of the Night)

* Around this time, I also found a SEGA Genesis (version 3, it was small, lol!) and I bought that for cheap along with Castlevania Bloodlines.

* By this time, I'd become somewhat of a SEGA fan, and in the holiday season of 1999, I got a Dreamcast for Christmas. Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure and Marvel vs Capcom were my first games. I still love the Dreamcast dearly.

* 2000 came and went. I skipped getting a PS2 (too expensive!) and continued gaming on my Dreamcast (Shenmue!) and N64 (Majora's Mask!), with spurts of Playstation thrown in for good measure. (Chrono Cross, Street Fighter Alpha 3)

* 2001. The Gameboy Advance gets added to my collection of systems. Most of my time is spent with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. The GBA was freakin' sweet.

* Later 2001. I decided I wanted a PS2. What with Final Fantasy X, Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid 2, I couldn't help myself. I traded in my Gameboy, Gameboy Color, NES, SNES, Genesis, N64 and all the systems' respective games and controllers. The PS2 was mine, with all the games I wanted, a memory card and two controllers.

* Even later 2001. I went out in search of a Gamecube. I didn't pre-order, so it was difficult to track one down. I was so pumped for this system. Smash Bros. Melee, WaveRace Blue Storm, Rogue Leader, plus exclusive Resident Evil and Link's in Soulcalibur II?!? Dude. I was so convinced the Gamecube was gonna steamroll the PS2 and Xbox. I didn't find one in a store until early 2002. But I was so happy to get it. It was the first console I bought on my own. With money. No trade-ins. Cash.

* I bought an Xbox sometime last generation, and owned it for about 6 or 8 months before I decided it wasn't worth it. There were literally a handful of games on the system that interested me and most of my time was taken up by the 'Cube and PS2. And GBA. I didn't need a third console. Or, technically a fourth, since I still played Dreamcast.

* Gamecube became my "main" console last gen. So many great games.

* During college, I was working at EB Games, and I bought myself a DS. I think we all know the end of THAT story, lol.

* In 2005, the Xbox 360 was released, and I passed on it. The original Xbox didn't entice me, so I didn't even bother with this one.

* 2006 introduced the PS3, and of course, the Wii. I passed on both. I had too large of a backlog on my current systems, and I couldn't justify shelling out $600 for a PS3. And the one game I was truly interested in on Wii was Twilight Princess, which also came out on Gamecube (in better form, IMHO!).

* 2007, May. I was out of town for like, a single day. When I returned the next night, I came home to see that my wife had went out and bought a Wii for me. Huh. A free console? Being married rules. (okay, so it wasn't really "free" since her money is my money, but whatevs!)

* Later 2007. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles comes out, and I ask for a PSP for Christmas. I get it, and my portable gaming obsession simply grows. PSP gets a bad rep, but that system is awesome, IMO.

* 2008, Christmas. My mother calls me from the cashier counter at Gamestop and asks me point-blank which I'd rather have for Christmas: a PS3 or a 360. I chose the PS3, since it was more expensive (so I wouldn't have to pay my own money, ha!) and historically, Playstation was a safer bet for me.

* 2009, March. My birthday. Despite me not even asking for it, my wife ends up getting me a 360 as a gift. Huh.

* I end up playing far more 360 than my PS3. The Wii gets regularly used. Mostly thanks to Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, and of course Nintendo's own games.

* 2011: I buy a 3DS on launch day. Super Street Fighter 4, Pilotwing Resort, Ridge Racer 3D. Awesome.

And... that brings us up to speed. Not too terribly exciting. I should mention I dabbled in some PC gaming during some of those years, but I honestly can't remember when. PC gaming was terrible IMO, and I've avoided it ever since. I may be missing out on some great games, but eh. My backlog is ridiculous as-is, I don't need to add yet ANOTHER platform to my list!
08/09/11, 02:37   
Pretty much back when it all started. Waaay back in the mid-late 70's.

Had a Coleco Telestar, which played, I think 3 black/white pong type games. I remember my dad whining about how he heard the image could get burned into the tv screen. So, my brother and I was only allowed to play it on a small 13" b/w tv set. A year or so later we owned an atari system that played around 7 different colored games, like breakout and some pinball games.

The Atari 2600 was bought for us as a Xmas gift around 1979/1980, not sure of the exact year. I think we received around 12-15 games for it, like asteroids, pitfall, haunted house, ect

Around this time arcades started popping up. I remember playing asteriods and missile command at different retail locations before the arcade craze happened. When PacMan hit the scene, this is when I became an arcade videogame addict. In the early-mid 80's I spent alot of time at arcades. Skipped alot of school in the afternoons to blow whatever money I had on videogames and pinball machines, esp. Haunted House pinball.

Somewhere in the early 80's I upgrades to an Atari 5200. Man, the graphics were really sweet. Even though the controllers kindof sucked, I was able to open them up and work on them and I had no problems with them thereafter. I probably ended up w/ around 30 games for the 5200, which was not too bad considering there was less than 100 games released for the system.

To fuel my videogame needs I ended up with a Commodore 64 and eventually an Amiga. I owned 100's of games between both systems. I was really bummed that the Wii didn't receive to many C64 games that were considered really good for that system.

I never actually owned a NES until 1989. I only ended up with like 5 games for it, with Super Mario Bros 3 being the last game I acquired for it. When the SNES came out, I bought it right away and that is when I really became a hardcore Nintendo fan. Every system since the SNES I have bought on launch day. Without going into all the games, lets just say I have bought at least 30 games for each Nintendo system that has launched.

I never was into the Nintendo handhelds. I did own a DS but only owned the Mario 64 game for the DS, which I only played very little of, cause I thought the controls sucked for it. I did end up playing the hell out of Mario Kart DS and when all was said and done my wins/losses was in the 1000s, thus making it the #1 reason for having the DS. I also owned the Metroid Pinball game for the DS, brainage and one of the Castlevania games, though I barely put anytime into these. I ended up selling my 2 fatty DS's, the silver launch and red Mario Kart one, cause I needed the money at the time and I still had a hard time liking the handheld scene.

Other than Nintendo consoles, I did own a PS1 and bought my son a PS2 for his bday. I didnt play any games for the PS2, and only a few for the PS1, which includes RE1, RE2, FF7, FF8 and FF9. I must say, the RE games and FF games are amongst my all time favorites. I wish I would have had time for games on the PS2. We owned quite a bit and there are many I would love to play. I doubt that the little time I have available I will ever get around to these games, unless I hit the lottery. Same thing for the Xbox 360. I did own it but only played games I downloaded from Xbox live, which was around 12-15. My son owned the orig XBox, but I never played on it at all. I would love to buy another 360, but the time thing again is what stops me. I don't have enough time for my Wii or 3DS, so again, unless I hit the lottery, I will have to remain strictly a Nintendo console/handheld fan.

I did buy a 3DS on launch day and currently own 3 retail games, Rayman, Streetfighter IV and OoT, plus I have downloaded 5 games, Excitebike 3D, Marioland, Zelda: Link's Awakening, DK 94, & Dragon's Lair.

On a side note, I personally think Dragon's Lair on the DS download service is the best version I have ever played, closest to the arcade experience. I do own the DVD trilogy of DL, Space Ace and DL2, but they do not include the beeps when making the correct moves, and to me this really fucks up the original arcade experience. I don't think they even make the rasberry sound when choosing wrong. I think I have read where the Wii version of all 3 games is the closest to the actual arcade experience on a big screen. For some reason these 3 games, and also a laserdisk game called Cliffhanger hold a very special place in my heart. Even though Cliffhanger has never made it to the home scene, I would buy it in a heartbeat if it did.
08/09/11, 05:23   
Edited: 08/09/11, 05:30
@gamewizard65@gamewizard65 I still regret never playing Metroid Prime Pinball. I LOVE gaming themed pinball games like that. I've put hundreds of hours into Kirby's Pinball Land and Sonic Spinball.
08/09/11, 05:46   
@PogueSquadron

Yea, I will admit it was a pretty neat pinball game. One day I will probably rebuy it and play it on the 3DS. It had several different modes instead of just your regular old pinball mode. I remember there was 3 different tables, maybe more and the one mode would include all the tables. It was pretty neat. I remember when my son and I was at the Xbox 360 launch(I think), we both had our DSs and played Metroid Pinball. I think while also waiting for the Wii to launch we played Metroid pinball as well.

I know I have seen it used at my Gamestops for a decent price.
08/09/11, 06:19   
Hmm. I believe the first video game I ever played was Alex Kidd in Miracle World- You know, the one built right into the Sega Master System. Fond memories of that game. The console itself belonged to my friend.

Myself, I only had an old 286 PC. Many an hour was whiled away in the early 90's playing things like old Sierra Adventure games, Commander Keen, and other random titles copied onto 5.25" floppy disks by friends. Stargoose! Ninja Turtles! Those were old school days my friends.

During that time of PC only ownership, via friends and cousins, I experienced the Sega Mega Drive and the SNES. Even an old Atari 2600 for a while. Favourites included Quackshot, Golden Axe, and Mortal Kombat on the Mega Drive, and Double Dragon on the Atari.
As for the SNES, strangely enough, my cousins who owned the SNES didn't own some of the titles that are now regarded as must-have classics. A Link to the Past? Nope. Super Metroid? Hell no. Super Mario World, surely. Uh-uh.
They did have Starwing though. And Yoshi's Island. Street Fighter II of course. And the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. Needless to say I always looked forward to Christmas with my cousins .

When the N64 came out, we were still a PC-only family (having since upgraded to a Pentium I). Consoles just weren't things my parents thought we kids needed. So my usual gaming time was dominated by the likes of Quake and Red Alert. But when Christmas 1997 rolled around not one, but TWO sets of cousins scored the N64 twin controller bundle. Giving us instant access to 4 controllers, GoldenEye007 and Mario Kart 64. Pure. Gaming. Bliss.

By 1998 I was in high school and starting to earn a little bit of cash from various odd jobs. So when the Pokemon craze hit, I was able to go halves with my brother to purchase a Gameboy Pocket and Pokemon Blue. This was my first Nintendo console. And after yet another epic N64 multiplayer filled Christmas with my cousins, in early 1999 I managed to convince my parents to lend us the money to purchase an N64 for ourselves. Lylat Wars, Banjo-Kazooie, our very own copy of Goldeneye...needless to say I didn't spend as much time on my PC anymore :-P.

My brother asked for and received Smash Bros for Christmas in 1999, so that became welcome addition to our annual multiplayer battles. The odd thing was, in order for him to receive Smash Bros, I had to dissuade him from his original Christmas request. A little game his friends had told him about. Ocarina of Time.

Yes that's right. The title that would eventually go onto become my favorite game of ALL TIME, I very nearly didn't experience at all. Why? Because seeing my cousins spend two hours wandering around the bottom of the Deku Tree on their copy of the game had convinced me it was BORING.
Luckily, as fate would have it, the next year I stumbled across a copy of OoT in a second hand store for $25, sitting next to a copy of Mario 64 for $15. Remembering that my brother had wanted the game and realising what a steal the price was (1/3 the price of a new game at that point), I convinced my Dad to shell out for both titles. I thought it'd be Mario that occupied my time...but I didn't reckon with the siren song of the Ocarina.

I believe that was the game that turned me into a lifelong Nintendo fan. Soon I was buying Nintendo magazines at the newsagent, lapping up each tidbit of info on Upcoming Nintendo offerings. Majora's Mask. The GBA. The Gamecube. I devoured it all eagerly.

Until finally, random internet wanderings led me to a mysterious webpage appearing to consist merely of a black screen and a Metroid gif. Closer inspection uncovered a username/password field and the email address of an entity known only as...'Zero'....
08/09/11, 16:29   
Edited: 08/09/11, 16:30
I'll try to keep it brief.

SNES Era

I was born in 1987, being the eldest child in our family the first system I really dove in to was the SNES for my sixth birthday. I remember playing most of the classics: Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past, Super Mario RPG, etc. I quickly developed a fondness for games as my preferred entertainment medium.

At some point I also had a Sega Genesis (though this was much later in the console's life). Even then I felt like it was just a shadow of the SNES. It had decent enough games but it really didn't compare to the SNES.

N64 Era

I received a Nintendo 64 in 1996 for Christmas and I absolutely loved it. Mario 64, Shadows of the Empire, Ocarina of time, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Banjo Kazooie, Star Fox 64, WWF No Mercy etc. It felt like it had game after game. People now talk about how the system had a serious lack of games and it absolutely didn't feel that way as a kid. The system lasted from 1996 to 2001 and in that time I went from being 9 to 14 as such a lot of multiplayer was played on it

During this time Pokemon was first becoming insanely popular. I was very in to the TV show and the trading cards so eventually I owned a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Yellow. This was my first portable system and besides Pokemon I don't think I played much else of note for it.

At some point in 1998 I traded in a few N64 games to buy a PS1. I suppose this marks the first system I paid for (or at least partially subsidized) video game hardware for myself. I can't remember what game initially attracted me but once I got there the system was all about Final Fantasy for me. I played 7, 8 and 9 and thought they were all amazing. Once I found out the PS2 was coming I was very interested...

GCN era

The first system I owned was a PS2 which I got for Christmas 2000. I rented a few games, played my PS1 games on it and used it to watch DVDs. Really for being one of the most successful systems of all time I didn't like it nearly as much as the general populace. My eyes were on the next Nintendo system.

Enter the Gamecube. Christmas 2001. I absolutely loved this system. I played all the big Nintendo games over the years for it and continued playing the local multiplayer on these games throughout the lifespan of the console. Soul Calibur 2, Smash Bros, Mario Kart Double Dash all great fun with friends from High school.

When Metroid Prime launched I saw that you could connect it to the GBA Metroid for exclusive functionality and that connectivity was going to be a big deal going forward so I decided to buy in to that. I only ever owned the original GBA and probably would have played it more if the lack of a backlight wasn't such a big issue.

In the summer of 2004 I was really following E3 and I remember being blown by the Twilight Princess reveal trailer. I had thoroughly enjoyed Wind Waker but welcomed back a more OoT style Zelda. It was also at this E3 I saw Halo 2 being demoed by Microsoft. There had been a number of Xbox games I had taken note of so I made the decision to trade in my PS2 and get an Xbox and a copy of Halo. Halo and Halo 2 local deathmatches and online play quickly became part of our group's rotation of games we played whenever we got together. There were other Xbox games I enjoyed such as Fable, KOTOR and Jade Empire but the system existed for me because of the Halo games.

I picked up a DS when it launched as well and have enjoyed it. Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, NSMB were all very enjoyable. Once the DS Lite came out I traded in the old model and upgraded. Probably the slickest designed handheld I have ever used.

Wii era

Once I graduated High School in 2005 I was en route to university for Mechanical Engineering. For the first semester I had decided to leave my systems at home with the exception of the DS. This marked a sort of absence from gaming as the consoles were starting to wind down and I had other things on the horizon. I saw the 360 launch and was underwhelmed with what it looked to be. Nintendo had promised a revolution and I firmly believed that was the system to wait for. In second year I felt comfortable enough to start gaming again. As I became used to the work load I began to play more games. This resulted in me bringing my GCN to school and playing Super Smash Bros Melee in lecture halls. Smash Bros Melee in to the late night with college friends on a colossal screen is a gaming experience I don't think will ever be topped. So at the end of 2006 the Wii was finally going to come out and with it the long delayed Twilight Princess. I bought both at launch and absolutely loved them.

Xbox 360 era

In the summer of 2007 I was beginning to take note of the once dismissed 360. It had picked up some steam and now had a very promising future. I decided to jump in for a few reasons: first, Halo 3 was on the horizon. It had been announced and the multiplayer beta was live. Second, a friend of mine who was unable to buy the Wii had been telling me how much fun he was having with Gears of War. Finally, a bunch of games that would not be coming to the Wii including BioShock, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed. Wii60 really seemed to be the winning combo for the generation.

Once I got the 360 though it surged ahead of the Wii in two notable instances. First, the release of BioShock and Metroid Prime 3 coincided very closely. And while Prime 3 was a very good game BioShock just absolutely trounced it in terms of production values, setting, and atmosphere. At this point there was no doubt in my mind that the superior tech was what was going to drive this generation over the motion controls as I had initially expected. The second instance was once Super Smash Bros Brawl came out and was played alongside Halo 3. Seeing how both of these games were sequels to the Melee/Halo CE combo my friends and I loved back in the day had evolved showed a clear winner. Melee to Brawl vs. Halo CE to Halo 3 showed to me that Nintendo really was not going to pursue online gaming in nearly as meaningful a way as Microsoft was going to. Thus for the first time ever, the Nintendo console of the generation became the supplementary console of a generation instead of the primary. I went on to play more and more games online and off on my 360 compared to my Wii.

My most recent gaming purchase was the 3DS. I'm enjoying it aside from a few issues but that's fairly typical.

Well, so much for it being short.
08/10/11, 10:23   
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