What was the first game/system you ever owned?

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:09 am

I apologize if there's a thread for this already, but digging through 86 pages just wasn't going to happen.

During class today, a conversation got started about gaming. While only a few of us were there (last class meeting, and at least half the class didn't show up), even our instructor got in on this. Seemed like a topic that brought out some fond, and not so fond memories of "back in the day". It also seemed like a nice idea for a thread. So...

Now, when I say "What was your first game", I don't mean what's the first game you ever played or anything. I mean, what was the first game that was yours... not the family's, not a game that was to be shared between siblings, but yours and yours alone.

For me, the first system that was ever truly mine, was the Atari XE. While we had a 2600, it was more like something for the whole family to play, and that's usually how it was. I played Combat with my father, and my mom absolutely loved Kaboom!. My brother didn't play it much, nor did my sister, but it was still kept in the family room for everyone to play. But the Atari XE, that was an entirely different deal.

See, I was asking for a 7800, which had Xevious released for it (a big favorite of mine back then). Well, some moron told my Mom that the Atari XE could play 7800 games, so she bought the XE and Xevious as a Christmas present. Christmas rolled around, and needless to say, my little heart was broken when I learned that 7800 carts didn't even come close to fitting in the XE cartridge slot. Despite this rough beginning, I eventually took a liking to the system, and found a lot of arcade games being released for it like Battlezone and Mario Bros., and that it could play older Atari 400/800 carts like Defender and Donkey Kong. Add in new games like Thunder Fox, Star Raiders II and Ball Blazer, and I was a happy camper.

As for my first game, that kind of depends. For the 2600, I remember getting Joust, because I wanted to play it. But again, the 2600 wasn't really my system. As such, I think the first game that was truly mine, was Star Raiders II for the Atari XE. I remember my parents and I went into a store at a local mall, and we found a little section where they were selling games for stuff like the 2600, the 7800, and the XE. They had Battlezone and a few others for the XE, but Star Raiders II caught my eye. My parents asked the clerk there what the two games were like and about, and the clerk responded (I'm not making this up)...

"Well, this one's like line art, and the this one deals more with circles than lines."

That's the explanation the guy gave. Sad, huh? Scary to think some clerks never evolved beyond that point. Regardless, the outer space pictures on the back of SRII won me over, and home I went (I got Battlezone a few months later, after playing the original arcade game for the first time). So basically, that game was the first one I could truly call my own.

Now, if you want to go the "first ones I ever bought myself with money I worked for" route, I'd have to say an older style Master System (bought it off a friend who didn't want it anymore... got a few games with it too), and After Burner II for the Genesis respectively.

So what about you guys? Out of all the games you've owned and the systems you've had siting in your room, which ones were the first to honestly belong to only you?

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:22 am

mine was a dreamcast and sonic adventure. everything before that was shared territory with my older bastard of of a brother (not really).

edit: oh, and i turn 22 this year. that's quite a few years of sharing...

howmuchkeefe · Post by **howmuchkeefe** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:43 am

NES and Golf

A gift from my aunt to me and my brother. Luckily, it wasn't long before our birthdays came around.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:47 am

Sega Master System, with the built-in games.

raiden · Post by **raiden** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:11 am

Super Nintendo, with Street Fighter 2

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:16 am

NES and Ice Climber (which came with the system).

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:22 am

There were several consoles we had in the house over the years (2600, NES and a couple of obscure ones) but the first game system I bought with my own money was a Game Boy Pocket, along with Zelda: Link's Awakening and Metroid 2. I hung onto it for about a year before I got rid of it, and never really bothered with portable game systems after that until last year when I got my DS.

My first actual console owned was my Dreamcast, purchased after they dropped to $50 new. I still have it.

bwod1e · Post by **bwod1e** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:25 am

amiga - wings
then speed ball2

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:26 am

NES Action Set.

Duckhunt/SMB fucking rulez.

B-

SuperGrafx · Post by **SuperGrafx** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:34 am

NES Deluxe Set (the one with Duck Hunt and Gyromite).

Previous to that, my parents had an Atari 2600 in the house, but I was too young to really appreciate it.

Post by **nZero** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:38 am

Commodore 64 + Gridrunner and Radar Rat Race

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Fri May 05, 2006 3:57 am

Atari 2600 - Missle Command, Asteroids, etc.

sffan · Post by **sffan** » Fri May 05, 2006 4:11 am

The first console I bought for myself was a PS2. First game: Crazy Taxi. (I'm not counting hand-helds.)

When I was a kid in the '70s my family had a Fairchild console. I'm in posession of it now, along with all the cartridges we accumulated. I haven't fired it up in years though.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Fri May 05, 2006 4:14 am

The first console I bought myself is a Sony DevilStation

. I had a NES and a SNES before but I didn't buy those.

rolins · Post by **rolins** » Fri May 05, 2006 4:21 am

Nes deluxe set w/ R.O.B, Stack-Up, Gyromite, and Duck-Hunt. It was a x-mas gift from Mom+Pop. They bought on at a Sears clearance sale for $89 in 1989. The games included suck and I was disappointed that Mario Bros wasn't included. The first game I actually bought was Ninja Gaiden, never regretted that purchase.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:31 am

First console: Famicom with Gradius I and Salamander.

First console I bought: SNES HK PAL version(which looks exactly like Super Famicom, I don't know if thats the case in Europe as well.)

ArrogantBastard · Post by **ArrogantBastard** » Fri May 05, 2006 5:31 am

BIG wrote:NES Action Set.

Duckhunt/SMB fucking rulez.

B-

That's what I also had as my first system / game.

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Fri May 05, 2006 6:30 am

My first console was a Famicom w/ Ghost & Goblin, I hate the game, it's to difficult for a child. I couldn't really can't get into that game even now, to still too difficult to me.

I wanted to win, to beat the game then, I like games that I could lever up and continue when I was small. Really a contrast to now.

Only manage to get to the 4 stage after dying a thousands times in Kyukyoku Tiger.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Fri May 05, 2006 7:26 am

I actually already had 3 of these systems the day i was born. My parents had one for each bedroom in the house and these are the games i can remember that we had...

Atari 2600 -

Centipede
Phoenix
Space Invaders
Berserk
Yar's Revenge (?)
Pitfall
Fast Food
Pinball (?)
Frogger
Asteroids
Missle Command
Breakout (?) or maybe it was a Pong (?) iteration

and...

Some game where you are a guy who walks around in the desert, top scrolling, but i don't remember anything else from it.

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Fri May 05, 2006 7:46 am

BIG wrote:NES Action Set.

Duckhunt/SMB fucking rulez.

B-

NES Action Set also. Plus Sky Shark.

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:01 am

Atari 2600 with Laser Blaster and Video Pinball, I'd bug my uncle to borrow games from his collection of 50 games for something different now and then.

My dad would save me half dollar and dollar coins in a sock, I used those to purchase my first of 2 Atari 2600 consoles.

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:04 am

My first games system was a Commodore 64 with an assload of games, my first console was a Nes with Super Mario Bros.

benj · Post by **benj** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:07 am

I think my first system was the C16. My first real console was a NES with good old Mario.

Minzoku · Post by **Minzoku** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:17 am

My brother bought me a PS2 for Christmas one year, just spontaneously. It was particularly meaningful because he spends money like water, before he even has it

...well, maybe that didn't mean anything

First game I remember being "mine" was Lemmings for PC, which I bought with my at-the-time life's savings of $40. I can't recall first console game, though.

Post by **system11** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:45 am

ZX81 - also the first computer I learned to program. You learned very quickly to be as memory efficient as possible on that machine, because it only had 1K as standard, with a massive 16K ram expansion pack which was nearly as expensive as the machine itself. It used tapes, but it was normal to type games in from listings magazines.

Good days, I really miss that machine. For the unfamiliar - some screenshots can be seen here:

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/streetern/index.html

Michaelm · Post by **Michaelm** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:46 am

Philips Videopac with a whole set of games.
My favorite at the time was the one with the ship with the ring around it and one spot were your fire came from. You had to shoot down all those asteroids (atleast that's what I thought they were)
I also had flipper which was quite nice for that time.
Oh the good times

Xargon · Post by **Xargon** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:31 am

That was some kind of computer. Schneider i guess. And the first game I played with that was Commander Keen 4. Other Keens I got later and the favourite is 6. 1,2,3 they are little bit

There were some shmup too. Damn, I don't remember the name, it was... Overboard, or something like that.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:10 am

A sega megadrive with streets of rage 1 I remember the day we got a second controller

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:13 am

First console I had as a kid: Atari 2600, and Space Invaders/Missile Command.

First console that was actually MINE: PlayStation, with Gran Turismo and Tekken 3.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Fri May 05, 2006 11:24 am

After coming home from school a little while before my birthday, I stepped in the kichen and saw my parents behind a brand new Phlips MSX (vg 8020) complete with a green monchrome monitor. Turned out it was my birthday present.

This was my first computer, and after playing some homebrew shmup for several weeks (had to type in the program code in basic!!!) I finally got to a store and bought my first 2 games: City Connection and Exerion (both on tape)...
Those were the days