So, here I am at the age of 34 and wondering first of all just how on earth so much time has slipped by...seems time is much like money in that whatever the amount you have it can be spent poorly and usually you can't really recall on what.
I have been a gamer for most of my life now, actually I can't help but smile when thinking of this fact because of all the toys I played with video games are the only ones I can still do so...well, at least without getting strange looks from other people. I guess I could still play with my G.I. Joe collection on the stairs like I used to, or go on the back porch and play with my transformers like before, however it seems to get away with that one has to be rich enough to tip the scale of judgement from mentally unstable to eccentric.
Anyway, my first recollection of video games was with our Atari, my brother and I would sit there with joysticks...yep, square piece of plastic with one stick and one large button and it was awesome! Mind you those joysticks took a beating and when they died, they died hard. The games of choice usually were things like Pitfall, River Raid, Keystone Capers, and my own favourite was Donkey Kong Jr. The Atari was a great way to spend time with my older brother, who would take breaks from being a jerk to me and actually sit and spend some less violent or annoying time with me while we tried to beat whatever game we chose.
We had friends who had things like Intellivision and ColecoVision (wow did that controller make you think a stick and one large button was the future...sheesh), but the Atari was still the family, and friend, favourite.
Eventually my brother got a Commodore Vic 20 and the accompanying cassette game player...seriously, a small cassette deck that played video games...admittedly, for me it was as underwhelming as it sounds, but I can't completely begrudge the ugly thing as it eventually lead to us getting something I loved playing.
The Commodore 64, what a great little computer...okay, for me a great little gaming system! All of the great titles I played on that little gem were so cool, and again it brought my brother and myself some time to pair up and do something fun, instead of being ganged up on. A couple of my cousins would play with me as well, so this little beauty actually helped get the family together. I think some of my favourites were always made by Epyx, they had really fun sports games: Winter Games, Summer Games, California Games, World Games, I can still recall one of those had a cycling game that required you to move the joystick in circular motions rapidly like the wheels...went through a LOT of joysticks :) They also had great action titles like G.I. Joe, Impossible Mission, and the fun racing title Pit Stop. So, many games were played on that little system.
Eventually the Amiga 500 entered out home and was another eye opener...although I remember having to buy an adapter to use with my monitor so it would be colour and not black and white, which was odd. Again, many more games were enjoyed.
Now it wasn't just computers we owned after the Atari, I had the Nintendo Entertainment System with the zapper...holy crap was Duck Hunt fun! The little square controller seemed so foreign, but was nothing compared to how Nintendo has kept innovating over the years. I became a rather loyal Nintendo fanboy over the years that followed and owned the SNES, N64, Gamecube, and Wii (despite the fact the Wii just gathers dust, I'll probably the new system too). I was very vocal about my dislike for Sega when I was younger and despite that eventually had Sega Genesis, but that stayed rather unused for the most part.
I found the Sega Genesis just didn't have games I had fun with and in my opinion the graphics were nothing great either for the most part. I remember people saying Sonic was so great and when i played it I was so bored as I ran around through some rings and blasted to the end of a level in no time at all...sure the speed was cool, but the game just lacked something to keep me coming back. My brother eventually got the Sega CD for his Genesis...I think that's as much mention as that should get.
I eventually owned the Sega Saturn and had a blast with it, it actually had some great games like Panzer Dragoon and I also loved having a light gun again with Virtua Cop. I also bought the Sega Dreamcast on the first day of release. The Dreamcast was such a great system but that was at the point video games were starting to go from a core audience to a more mainstream audience. It all began around the time of the Saturn when Sony brought about their gaming system. Sony brought a new system to the market and used a ton of marketing to get people to pay attention. It worked. Before long people were ignoring their trusted companies like Sega and Nintendo (although I think Sega got the worst of it) and buying into the hype of the Sony advertising machine.
I eventually owned a Playstation, well after the initial hype and a bunch of titles were available, and I sold it within a month. For me I found that if Sony had put as much money and effort into their product that they did in the advertising the Playstation could have been as great as people somehow believed it was. The same went for the PS2, which I once again waited for a reasonable catalogue to build up, and then purchased one. Once again I was so unimpressed that I didn't own it a month either. Now I am sure people will argue and think I am crazy for being so hard on the first 2 Playstations, but they really were not great...and here's the kicker, I hated and still do hate the Playstation controllers. To me, and I am by no means a sizeable man, the controllers are too tiny feeling and somehow rather off-putting to use for me.
I was impressed by the Xbox when it came to market, again I waited to see what games came out before buying it, but while it wasn't perfect it was definitely a step in the right direction...as long as you didn't drop it on a someone on the way home and get arrested for murder...seriously, so bloody heavy! Although, damn near indestructible...that baby went through airport scanners over 8 times during travels...once I actually was made to check it in to normal baggage, it was battered but never broken. Nicely done. Although speaking of odd controllers, those first Xbox controllers were the extreme opposite of the Playstation ones...controllers on steroids...forgivable as they made smaller ones eventually, but still, not sure what was being thought of in that design choice.
Now not to be forgotten, I've owned the first Gameboy, a DS, and a DS Lite. To be honest I have never been big on portable gaming, probably for two reasons: 1) never really had a need to play something on a trip or whatever and 2) if I am playing something I like it to be one a sizeable screen :)
So, here I am today with a PS3, X360, and a Wii. The 360 gets the most use, and for the record until a few months ago my original 360 from the first date of release had no issues...then a few months back the red rings surface, which by the way does anyone know how Microsoft managed to admit fault, claim those systems would be repaired at no cost, but somewhere found a way to not be held responsible and make us pay for their admitted mistake just a few years down the road?
Anyway, my PS3 is an awesome Blu-ray player...and it fun for Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank and a very minimal few others that are exclusive to Playstation. This isn't because they have a terrible system either, it actually has the best potential for a change, but ironically at the time Sony made a great system, they blundered everything from advertising to pricing...too bad really. Now Microsoft did a nice job on their second outing in the 360, with exception to the red ring fiasco obviously. The controllers are very comfortable too. Nintendo on the other hand, it pains me as a long time fan to say it, but they have sucked for some time now. The Gamecube was a nice system...the Wii...well, i'm hoping Nintendo was using the Wii as a test subject for its new console...but what jackasses for making us buy a prototype for a better system and then eventually charging us again for the real deal...maybe they will offer a rebate to all of us suckered into buying a Wii (don't worry, this was sarcastic...I hold no hope for this).
There you have it, after all of these years I am still playing with toys and it has become socially acceptable too...perhaps too much so. I miss seeing more innovative gaming titles geared to people who actually play video games, oh well, much like the movie industry if it makes money, it makes reproductions in an attempt to do the same again. Thankfully there are still some great companies making great games...if only they would use their profits to buy out crappy companies and either shut them down or build them up. I can dream.
Well, there it is, gaming will continue to be a fun part of my life...I rarely watch t.v. as I prefer to do something keeping my mind more active and the fact that when I can't hang out with my friends in person I can do so online is just brilliant for me.
Thanks for reading, and have a blast gaming everyone!