Donk Posted April 2, 2012 First gaming device I bought would have been a joystick (and an interface component) for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, I was probably 7-8. The next would probably been my 386 20hmz PC I got for "school". It had a turbo button on it. Still gaming, still buying... still trying to see how deep this rabbit hole goes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustWolf Posted April 2, 2012 The Vectrex. My dad bought this from a guy at work with about 15 games. Can't remember what happened to it. I do remember being blown away when I played "Spike" for the first time and the main characters actually talked. Well, screeched out electronic noises that sounded like speech. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Salacious Snake Posted April 2, 2012 I grew up with these sumbitches: Colecovision (note the rad wheel and the Atari 2600 adapter, which broadened one's potential library significantly) Apple IIc Since I'm already talking accessories, we had some good stuff for the Apple, like the Cricket sound module (which had an awesome voice synthesis function, kiss my butt Dr. SBAITSO) and the KoalaPad drawing tablet. GRRZZZT *CLUNK* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dium Posted April 2, 2012 Gameboy. Gameboy pocket, actually. I'm a youngster. I played games on my parents PC before that; mostly educational stuff. But I can't remember very many specifics about the hardware. It was running Windows 3.0, whatever it was. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atomskyu690 Posted April 2, 2012 A usual nes as a gift for my brother's birthday . Really great memories about all my brothers & family gathering around the Tv to understand how to plug that damn thing & then watching endlessly the intro scene of Super Mario Bros 3 & dying on the first goomba. & playing contra & dying on the first damn screen over & over. :violin:Fun Times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted April 2, 2012 My earliest memory is either my Dad's Atari or playing games on this early laptop he had (he worked at Data General, it wasn't his): They called it the "Pharaoh" and it had four shades of yellow! I could play games that were not made for it but ran in four color CGA. No idea I was playing on the pioneer in laptops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted April 2, 2012 Mario Land 2 was awesome It definitely was. Metroid II though, that game blew my mind! To my seven year old self, it was terrifying. Terrifying! With all of its weird, creepy . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shammack Posted April 2, 2012 I had a Commodore 64 with a big box of pirated games that my dad had obtained somehow. For years, that was my only source of games, so I was always the kid who went to a friend's house pretty much just to play their NES. I didn't get a console of my own until the SNES. I still have the C64 (and the SNES, for that matter). I tried hooking it back up a few months ago and it still mostly worked, except that some of the sound was missing and it was incredibly difficult to get a clear picture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Posted April 2, 2012 Played a lot of NES at friends' houses as a kid but wasn't allowed to own a video game console. However, our first PC (a Tandy 1000 TX, I'm pretty sure) circumvented this rule somehow. Played a lot of Battle Chess, Number Munchers, and some Looney Tunes cartoon maker. I remember getting in a lot of trouble for installing or saving things on the hard drive (rather than on my allotted floppy disc) as we were fighting against a 20MB capacity hard drive. Sadly, it was clear its days were numbered when it choked on Space Quest IV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lu Posted April 3, 2012 Played a lot of Battle Chess Battle Chess is how I learned to play chess. I was primarily motivated by being able to see all the funny animations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a purple future Posted April 3, 2012 This! My earliest gaming memory was playing 4 player Warlord or Combat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Salacious Snake Posted April 3, 2012 Realized I left out a key component of my Apple IIc setup: Sproing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dibs Posted April 3, 2012 Sproing! Vintage hardware boner? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malphigian Posted April 3, 2012 My first computer was the Apple II, already posted. I'll post an image of my first real game, which most certainly has NOT been posted: Cassette drives, even more hilariously archaic now than they were a few years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Apshai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raff Posted April 3, 2012 I don't think we had any actual games until my Dad got a Windows 95 machine with mountains of shareware CDs including some Apogee demos. So imagine the most generic looking beige 1995 'multimedia' PC possible. (I'm 23.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Iosef Stalin Posted April 3, 2012 It definitely was.Metroid II though, that game blew my mind! To my seven year old self, it was terrifying. Terrifying! With all of its weird, creepy . Ah, I was more of a Donkey Kong kid. I never played Metroid until Metroid Prime and Fusion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted April 4, 2012 I still have mine. The only way any self-respecting kid could rightly play Commander Keen or Jazz Jackrabbit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Salacious Snake Posted April 4, 2012 I still have mine.The only way any self-respecting kid could rightly play Commander Keen or Jazz Jackrabbit. Hah, do you still have the little stick that screws into the pad? I love/hate that pad… played a lot of Doom deathmatches and similar shit with one of those before discovering the wonders of mouse and keyboard control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted April 4, 2012 Hah, do you still have the little stick that screws into the pad? Yup! I also have a weird Windows 95/98 follow-up pad Gravis produced, it was styled like an early PSX pad instead of a SNES pad. It was very nice, but it had absolutely horrendous drivers, it was impossible to get working. I don't know where i have that one, but it's probably around somewhere. I love/hate that pad… played a lot of Doom deathmatches and similar shit with one of those before discovering the wonders of mouse and keyboard control. It was really only useful for a lot of those early 2d sharewares, and for those it was great, it's a very responsive pad. Hey, hey... Alright... Here's another question for the topic. What was the first game you guys all played online, what was the setup? For me, it was playing C&C: Red Alert via dial up probably early in 97. Calling up a friend and telling them to make sure nobody in their household picked up the phone, because the next call was going to be the game trying to connect. Good times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AteBit Posted April 4, 2012 My first game system was the Gemini Video Game System (Coleco's Atari 2600 clone) Thanks to my pinball, and arcade loving mom. We had two splitters and four Gemini controllers (Joystick/Paddle combo). Games (alphabetical order) Breakout, Defender, Demon Attack, Warlords, Yars' Revenge. Highlights Achievement Get! Surviving through Stage 99 of Defender, and end up at Stage 01 again. The first game I "beat". Most fun. Playing 4 player Warlords with my parents and my sister. Most frustrating. Nobody was able to beat my mom at Breakout. Untouchable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dibs Posted April 4, 2012 For me, it was playing C&C: Red Alert via dial up probably early in 97. Calling up a friend and telling them to make sure nobody in their household picked up the phone, because the next call was going to be the game trying to connect. Good times. Unreal tourny. I didn't know why everyone was jerking around so much, and quickly went back to playing single player. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted April 4, 2012 Hah, do you still have the little stick that screws into the pad?I love/hate that pad… played a lot of Doom deathmatches and similar shit with one of those before discovering the wonders of mouse and keyboard control. I remember having that game pad as well. The stick broke very early on and did not withstand multiple super glues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greg4cr Posted April 4, 2012 This beauty was my first - The Apple II c. I played a ton of Oregon Trail and the various Carmen Sandiego's on this thing. Gotta love 5.25" floppies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bork Laser Posted April 4, 2012 An NES. A riveting and unique answer, I know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dium Posted April 4, 2012 I think those of us who got into gaming after the crash of the American console market will tend to have much less interesting answers to this question. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites