I started the same place nearly everyone in my age group started, the arcades. (No, my first game was not Pong. I’m sick of Pong invading every discussion. There were lots of primitive, monochrome games besides Pong. Hell, Pong wasn’t even my first Atari system game.) I patronized all kinds of places before they went out of business. My first real arcade was Pearlridge Fun Factory, which I first saw when I was about 5 or 6 years old. It’s still there and I still go there all the time. I’m bewildered that virtually nobody else on this board has even heard of arcade games, especially since very few of you are a lot younger than me.
I’ve owned, IIRC, one Atari system (the popular one which had Outlaw, Street Racer, Atari Olympic, Asteroids, Combat, etc.). I played a few Sega Master System games but never owned one. My first modern system was an NES, which my father bought for me in high school, and I ended up renting a ton of games for it in addition to at least 15 titles I owned for at least a while. I even shelled out 40 bucks for an NES Advantage (which was marked down to $5 a few years later). I reluctantly paid for a Super NES in 1994, a system I absolutely loathed less than 2 years later because it butchered arcade port after arcade port and did not have the power to properly handle them. The constnat pussyfooting around language (which I’ve never seen before or since) was also a huge turnoff. I now realize that there were some really good games for it, but I was just unfortunate to get all the lousy ones. Rented all, never owned a single cartridge.
Then there was the PSX, which was hit-or-miss all throughout. Again, some great games, but just didn’t have the power for a lot of games that were really big at the time. Didn’t regret getting one, though. This was also the first system I played imports on, mostly Beatmania, although I did get some Dance Dance Revolution games as well.
Bought a Dreamcast after that, ended up shelling out for THREE PS2s (don’t ask). Sometime before also got both Neo Geo systems, but I don’t like to talk about that.
Have not bought a PS3, Wii, or XBox 360 and have absolutely no intentions to. Ever. The lack of cheat devices or real joysticks (Joysticks! Joy! Sticks! Y’know, simple levers with the buttons arranged neatly next to them!) alone makes them completely unacceptable, and in all, I’m just not seeing the kind of gameplay that I like.
Thought Mortal Kombat had dumb, counterintuitive controls and was always overrated. Played Soul Calibur, but never had any interest without cheat codes; like Tekken, it’s just way too complex for its own good. Never cared for Dead or Alive, and the whole stacked babes/serious gameplay balancing act is just asinine.
Go to a few websites, but the only message boards I regularly post to anymore are on Bemanistyle. Really hate what happened to the GameFAQs boards. (CJayC used to do a thread every week about the users he banned! And it was funny! People actually used to get BANNED over there!!
) GameFAQs is still great for game info and reviews, though, and I continue to make contributions whenever I can find the time.
Except for Flash and similar games, no online gaming of any kind. Brr. No portable system (owned a 1st-gen Game Boy waaaay back, but that was it). Would love to talk about classic compilations, but can’t on this board.
Never played Alien Hominid, Beyond Good And Evil, the Disgaea series, Ico, Okami, Rez, or The Typing of the Dead. No Internet hookup. Don’t keep track of playing time (used to be more before I got a job). No gaming subscriptions, not even with Gamestop or Blockbuster Video. Don’t care for TV/movie licenses. Last arcade FPS I played was The House of the Dead 4; it’s okay (generally prefer cheat codes with these, however). Favorite genre is music, nearly all of it imported. Favorite franchise is Beatmania IIDX (easily); on the domestic side, either Fatal Fury, Final Fight, Dynasty Warriors, or Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune. (I like some Castlevania games, definitely not all Castlevania games.)
Really, really think arcade games should enter these discussions. They’re where it all started, and despite all the doomsday reports you’ve heard, a lot of people still go to them.
Don’t think computer games belong in the discussion; it’s a whole different beast, especially the type of games which use all of a CPU’s capabilities.
Think it’s been long enough that we can have a discussion about cheat devices without flying into a rage or holding our noses.
Make of it what you will. 