Can you even remember? Was it at an arcade or a friends house? Was it on an ancient PC? If you can't remember the game then what was the system?
I remember playing games at a very young age so there's no way in hell I'm going to remember the first game I played, but the first gaming system I ever touched was the Atari 2600 that came out 6 years before I was born.
It was an unusual system in that it had a lot of different controllers. I had a set that looked like this one with the traditional controller and the ones with the wheel and we had another one with a number bad and yet another one that was used solely for a baseball game!
The games I played on it are nigh unplayable to me today as it was the Coleco that actually got me really into gaming.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I saw a similar post somewhere else and that got me thinking about it. I can't know for sure, obviously , but the earliest game I can remember playing was Kung Fu for the 2600. A friend of the family took one along on a vacation when I was REALLY young. The truth is that I can't remember specifically playing it or if it is my first memory watching a game.
ReplyDeletePardon the longish and rather dorky post, but this is actually a favorite topic of discussion for me.
ReplyDeleteThe first game I actually remember holding a controller for was Joust on the Atari 5200. I know the purests will say that the 2600 was better - but they are liars. However, the controller did look like a damn phone and broke SO easily. It was a good thing that most of the games only needed the Start button and the joystick. I don't even think I owned a game that used the keypad.
I actually still own my 5600 which still works! I love going retro with it every now and again. About 6 years ago, I purchased 2 new joysticks (with gold-plated connectors no less) as both of my originals had rotted with age.
My games that still work (in order of awesomeness):
Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo (essentially Donkey Kong), Dig-Dug, Super Breakout, Popeye, Galaxian, Pitfall!, Q*bert, Centipede, Space Invaders, Mario Bros., Ms. Pac-Man, Asteroids, Pole Position, Space Invaders.
But it would be several years before I ever felt the pride and satisfaction from actually beating a game (without help from older brothers) - and that game would be Nintendo's Godzilla!
I grew up in the entertainment of watching my older brother play Super Mario World and Link to the Past. I'd like to say those were my first games i remember playing but they were indeed to difficult or at least i thought. But the earliest game that i can recall playing regularly is Super Mario Kart. (guess i'm relatively young)
ReplyDeleteI think a better memory for me is not my first game but my first system- N64. I got it as Christmas gift and even though it was a good year from when it came out it was certainly new for me and that is what really launched my gaming hobby as i spent the rest of my Christmas break pouring hours of play into Ocarina of Time.
*Sorry if this makes some of you feel old.
Mine is definitely Galaga in an arcade box. When I was younger, our family would always take vacations to a small little fishing lake in the middle of Minnesota. They had a little lodge there with a bar, snacks, pool table and a few arcade games. Among them, was Pole Position (which I didn't like) and Galaga. I was pretty terrible, but that game ate my vacation spending allowance of 5 bucks up pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteMy first game I owned was a Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch. I actually still have it, although its long since stopped working. I have it framed in a little shadow box.
My first game I remember beating (without a game genie) was Super Mario World. I distinctly remember when I first got to Bowser. Hands sweating, heart pacing, feeling the responsibility to rescue the princess, whom I finally saw for the first time. That was also the first game that I beat to completion - finding every level, every secret, and every possible path.
I rocked it out that Christmas... Mom was so upset I bought you that.
ReplyDeleteI know. You played through the whole Deku Tree on the file i had just started.
ReplyDeleteMan, all these new people posting! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this counts as a "video" game but I had a handheld (I've talked about this) football game with red blinking dots. I sucked at it but kept playing it until I could beat. I probably put it down for a time and came back to it eventually. That is what I count as my first gaming experience.
But the first true game I remember was a helicopter rescue game (green graphics on a black screen) where you landed to rescue people and fly them back to a drop off zone. I don't think you could shoot anyone. Can't quite remember but it may have been this game or similar to this game. Anyways, it was fun stuff. I would later go on to play Marathon (needs a remake, Bungie!!!!!!!!!), Falcon, Vette and then move into the SNES during high school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choplifter
I remember a Christmas many years ago when I awoke in my Winnie the Pooh sleeper to a Atari 2600. I don't think I asked for it but it was great, Dad may have gotten it more for himself. Pacman came with it I believe and we got a pretty lame M*A*S*H game where you used a helicopter to pick up injured people and then had a operation style operating room where you removed the bullets. Not too long after I got a Empire Strikes Back game that was huge as well as River Raid which still rates as a favorite. I liked the 2600 but really got into gaming when I finally got my NES.
ReplyDelete