The defining console of your childhood?

[Prowler]

This might seem like a "what's your favourite console" thread at first glance, but no, not really. What I'm asking you is, what is the defining console of your childhood. Like, what is the first console you think of when you think of your childhood years?

I was born in 1990, but have a considerably older brother, meaning I actually grew up playing on the NES, Mega Drive, Game Gear, original Game Boy, Sega Saturn and the SNES. So games like Mega Man 2, F-Zero Sonic 1, SMW, Street Fighter 2, Mario Paint, SMB 3 and Tetris are all defining games of my childhood... but I'd say the Nintendo 64 is the console of my childhood. It came out in 1996 when I was 5-6 years old, and my brother bringing it home with Super Mario 64 is also one of my earliest memories in life. If NES/SNES/Mega Drive games looked awesome already to my kid-self, then Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, F-Zero X, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, etc. looked out of this world to me. It felt like gaming had reached the highest point ever.

Saturn was also a 3D machine, and ofc it was a big part of my childhood as well, but the N64 was better in my eyes. Basically, I was beginning school(1st grade) when the N64 came out and was finishing either 4th or 5th grade when it was discontinued. I didn't exactly accompany/grow together with the previous consoles I mentioned above. They were already a bit "old" by the time I was having a blast playing N64 myself and watching my brother play it in 1996-1999.

Honorable mentions go to Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. I wasn't a teenager yet when both came out and were at the height of their respective popularity. Meaning, every school day I'd see a bunch of other kids playing on their GBC/As during recess. Every single kid had a Game Boy to play pokémon primarily.

As for a final honourable mention, the GameCube. It came out in 2001 and I got it as a Christmas present in 2002 when I was 12 years old.

I'd have said the PS2 as well since it came out in 1999, but I did not get one until I was 15 and missed a lot of its biggest titles. And the PS1 means absolutely nothing to me. I don't think I even knew exactly what it was back in the 90s. I was fully happy with my Saturn and N64 at the time.

What about you? What's the defining console of your childhood?

[Andrew NDB]

Sega Master System. Just because of the division it made with my friends.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Sega Master System. Just because of the division it made with my friends.

I had a similar experience with you regarding the GameCube. I was always the only one or one of the very few ones that had a GC while everyone else had a PS2. I even knew more people that had an Xbox. Defending the GameCube in front of PS2 fanboys was a rough task when I was 13-15 years old.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Oh man, this is such a great thread idea that I'm surprised no one made it before.

I have the most chilhood experiences with the Original Playstation and GameBoy Advance, but since handhelds are not considered Consoles by many, I'll go with the former.

Back then, the graphics were super breath-taking (atleast in my eyes, I was pretty behind even for the time), and since my PS1 was modded to play pirated Games (this was pretty much unavoidable in Third World Countries even in "offical" looking stores), I had a pretty vast library of games that included offical worldwide titles, Japan exclusives and even emulations of games on other systems like the original NES tmnt game.

On the PS1, I have the most memories playing Toy Story, The Lion King, Pepsi-Man, A Bug's Life, Tmnt, Rush, Spiderman, Digimon: Rumble Arena, X-Men and Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Superheroes

Originally Posted by Prowler

Defending the GameCube in front of PS2 fanboys was a rough task when I was 13-15 years old.

It sure was, especially since the PS2 was a hundred times more popularm But atleast the Gamecube proved to be far more timeless. Melee Tournaments still use actual systems instead of Emulators to this day and Smash players can't seem to get enough of the GameCube Controller.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

Oh man, this is such a great thread idea that I'm surprised no one made it before.

I have the most chilhood experiences with the Original Playstation and GameBoy Advance, but since handhelds are not considered Consoles by many, I'll go with the former.

Back then, the graphics were super breath-taking (atleast in my eyes, I was pretty behind even for the time), and since my PS1 was modded to play pirated Games (this was pretty much unavoidable in Third World Countries even in "offical" looking stores), I had a pretty vast library of games that included offical worldwide titles, Japan exclusives and even emulations of games on other systems like the original NES tmnt game.

On the PS1, I have the most memories playing Toy Story, The Lion King, Pepsi-Man, A Bug's Life, Tmnt, Rush, Spiderman, Digimon: Rumble Arena, X-Men and Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Superheroes

Not just in the "3rd world". No idea about the PS1, but in my country and many others in Europe(probably most of the continent) tons of kids/teenagers had a modded/chipped PS2 that allowed them to download literally every single possible PS2 game for free. I'm sure that's one of the factors that contributed to that console's sheer success as well.

When I was a kid, I believe either Indian or Chinese run stores sold Game Boy carts that contained dozens of games. Almost everyone had one.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Prowler

When I was a kid, I believe either Indian or Chinese run stores sold Game Boy carts that contained dozens of games. Almost everyone had one.

I remember those, weren't they called something a long the lines of "101 super games" and had a mix of NES titles and Bootlegs? And who could forget the genuine looking (but fake) Gameboy Advance cartridges that worked fine initially, but would then always crash and make horrendous screeching noises upon starting up

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

It sure was, especially since the PS2 was a hundred times more popularm But atleast the Gamecube proved to be far more timeless. Melee Tournaments still use actual systems instead of Emulators to this day and Smash players can't seem to get enough of the GameCube Controller.

Well, it was my older brother who chose/decided to buy the consoles and most games. If I had grown up without an older brother who loved Nintendo I'd probably have ended up buying the consoles most kids did in my country: the Sega Mega Drive and the Sony consoles.

Is that a fair comparison, though? Is there even a Smash like game on the PS2? The PS2 had several exclusive fighting games as well, mostly Tekken and KOF. Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive were available on other platforms as well.

Well, GameCube had less games with realistic graphics like the PS2 did, so ofc many of the top titles for the GC still look great nowadays. Wind Waker aged gracefully, for example. Also, the PS2 is a couple of years older than the GC, so I guess that explains it as well. I think the GameCube was actually the most powerful console of its generation ro was it the original Xbox=

[sdp]

Nintendo 64, I was old enough to get the most out of my games yet I was still a little kid.

[oldmanwinters]

NES (child), Sega Genesis (teen), Sega Dreamcast (college-ish)

[Sumac]

NES.

There was also Atari 2600, but it was around for very little amount of time. After that it was only NES.

[Wildcat]

Sega Genesis. Well Mega Drive outside of the US.

We got an NES in 1990 I think and had a handful of games but I was kinda too young to play well. When I got a Genesis though I was like 8-9 and it came packed with Sonic. So stuck with that.

I even had the Sega Channel. It was that gaming streaming service offered through your cable provider. It was awesome at the time. All Genesis games (full games not demos) that would alternate monthly.

Sega stopped support after the Saturn came around obviously. Then I got a PlayStation in 98.

[Spike Spiegel]

Spoiler:

[plastroncafe]

The Atari 2600 was the first console we owned. I then begged and pleaded for an NES, and won to Sega Genesis on Double Dare. #HumbleBrag

I still have all three.

[Shark_Blade]

PS2. I wish I’m playing Harry Potter again now.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I had a similar experience with you regarding the GameCube. I was always the only one or one of the very few ones that had a GC while everyone else had a PS2. I even knew more people that had an Xbox. Defending the GameCube in front of PS2 fanboys was a rough task when I was 13-15 years old.

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

It sure was, especially since the PS2 was a hundred times more popularm But atleast the Gamecube proved to be far more timeless. Melee Tournaments still use actual systems instead of Emulators to this day and Smash players can't seem to get enough of the GameCube Controller.

Look, I know you two were young during those days, but console wars are just f*cking stupid. Period.

As for me...

The NES from 4th grade to 8th grade.

The Game Boy from 6th grade through college.

The SNES from 8th grade to 12th grade.

The N64 through college. (Shut up)

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

NES and SNES

[Wesley]

Genesis/Mega Drive is the console that comes to mind. It was the first console I ever got (well, I did get a Commodore 64 as a hand me down, but it didn’t work for some reason) and loved most of the games (particularly the Sonic ones) I played. Was 9 at the time I got it in 1996. Graphics blew me away (was used to playing the Tiger electronic handheld games before that).

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

The Atari 2600 was the first console we owned. I then begged and pleaded for an NES, and won to Sega Genesis on Double Dare. #HumbleBrag

I still have all three.

Had no idea you played games at some point in your life. Which ones were your favourites?

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

Look, I know you two were young during those days, but console wars are just f*cking stupid. Period.

As for me...

The NES from 4th grade to 8th grade.

The Game Boy from 6th grade through college.

The SNES from 8th grade to 12th grade.

The N64 through college. (Shut up)

Well... that's the thing. We were kids. Ofc console wars are dumb. And tbh, I was more upset at other kids trashing Nintendo than anything. I eventually got a PS2 Slim in 2005.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Had no idea you played games at some point in your life. Which ones were your favourites?

I have a love/hate relationship with video games.

I tend towards puzzle or adventure games more than anything else, because they're the ones best suited to coming back to once you've gotten so frustrated with them that you've chucked them across the room.

Old...excuse me vintage console-wise I'd have to say that Maze Craze was hands down my favorite. Or at very least it was the one I played the most.

ET was one of the first games I ever completed.

I played a lot of Towering Inferno and Atari Circus too.

Someday, when I get my NES up and running again, I'm going to find a copy of the Darkwing Duck game that I loaned to a guy in college...and I'm going to finish that badboy.

[Andrew NDB]

The actual order of my consoles...

I recall owning a Texas Instruments, an Atari... something. Maybe a couple of Ataris, and a Coleco Instruments. All at once, simultaneously they just sort of appeared (I'm assuming my dad just already had them in the house when I became consciously sentient as a little kid). And then...

Sega Master System

Then my parents made me sell my Sega Master System to buy a...

NES

Somehow along the way I did get a...

Gameboy

Then some time passed and I think for Christmas I was given a...

SNES

That kept me for years. Eventually I was working at McDonald's in high school and able to buy a

(at this point I was just buying my own consoles entirely)

PSX
PS2
Nintendo Gamecube
PS3
X-Box 360 (then sold it 2 years later, only ever played Ghostbusters on it)
Nintendo Wii

Giant gap and then finally:

PS4

And my wife owns an X-Box One so that's sort of communal property.