Favorite Gaming Memory/Purchase as an Adult

[bretthorror]

Ok, Ok, so you bought Air Raid. And not just the real one, but the rare PVC pipe version to go alongside it! I guess that'd be pretty epic, but I'm kind of thinking a little more down to earth in this thread. What is your favorite "finally got it!" or "this game was awesome" or "I'd never thought I'd play this again!" moment as an adult in gaming. I chose as an adult because otherwise we're all gonna talk about our Ataris and NES systems we got 30 years ago at Christmas, right?

 

I suppose I have three memories that stick out. Keep in mind, these don't need to be the most high profile buy you ever did, just something that no matter what outdoes the rest.

 

1) Getting a Sega Master System... finally. Had asked for one for Christmas when I was really young and my older cousin understandably told my parents to get me a NES instead because SMS was on its way out at the time. Having only played my cousin's SMS, it was naturally what I wanted. Finally when I was 19 I was able to get into the eBay thing and get the SMS I had tracked down my whole life. I always was asking around trying to buy one, but only one person I knew said he had one - if he did or not, I dunno. He was gonna sell it to me, but he couldn't find the cord in grade 7. It was awesome to finally see that unit in the flesh 15 years after I'd last played one. I was happy with my NES that Christmas, but I was mega pissed when my cousin traded his SMS for his cousin's NES for a while and they decided to never trade back. Now, I was outta luck to ever play that baby again.

 

2) I built a Visual Pinball cabinet that does the emulator thing too. Really special because I thought I'd never be able to build it. Pretty much simple as that. Sure, my dad did all the handy stuff, but either way, until I actually put my mind to it, I thought building it would have to be overly complicated and found out it could be easily done. That probably should be #1 by rights, but...

 

1) I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I'd get a Vectrex. They're impossible to find and everyone wants one. The main drawback was I live in Canada, so American auctions were a big no-no. Not only were the prices high to begin with (plus exchange rate, which was much cheaper back then), but shipping would have had to have been $70 for a decent lot. Probably more. To make matters worse, it'd be cheapest sent UPS and UPS was incredibly incompetent here at the time. With some luck a Vectrex came for sale on Ebay from a Canadian seller. Not only was he a Canadian seller, he said if a Canadian bought the listing, he'd ship it for free and on parcels, tracking and insurance is included on big packages. So I ended up getting a Vectrex with 8 CIB games for $162.50, I believe. In Canadian money, it was $180. I was ecstatic and I was so appreciative for the seller and to have been in the right place at the right time to get it. That and the exchange rate happened to be very even at the time. Imagine nowadays? Getting that lot at today's prices, shipped to Canada with my dollar being in the total shits right now, plus having to pay duty and tax on top of all that, PLUS factoring in the damn thing would likely have to survive a few thousand extra miles in transit... never would I have gotten one. So yeah, Vectrex takes #1 in my mind because I thought it'd be the only retro console I couldn't justify paying the price for and thus the only one I wouldn't get to ever try.

 

Honorable mention would be the Fist of the North Star (not that I am into that) pachislo slot machine I got locally. I always wanted a slot machine and I live in a small place, it's not like this stuff just falls into your hands.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

For me it was a game that I always wanted. I'm a big fan of the Bonk Series for the Turbo Grafx 16. I had the first two at the time. Bonk's Adventure and Bonk's Revenge. Not having the third one which is obviously expensive. And I was probably never ever going to even get it due to the high dollar amount. And I didn't want to spend at least $200 or so on a game despite checking often on ebay. But in late 2010 I was 29 at the time. I happened to see a Bonk 3 loose hu card being sold for $100. The auction was just posted and I immediately purchased it minutes after it was listed. I am happy to own it in my collection.

 

Second was last Summer in 2014. I went to a nearby retro gaming store just looking and browsing around. And I only had an Atari 2600 Light Sixer, 4 switch woody, and Vader at the time. But low and behold in a glass case there was a Heavy Sixer being sold for $50!! I immediatley purchased it then took it home and gave it a great cleaning and works flawless. And it was a week before my birthday that I got the Heavy 6. It made my day and especially to find it in the wild. So these are my two memorable purchases as an adult.

 

[MotoRacer]

Not sure I have any particular one in mind, but my obsession with dev kits has been something the kid in me goes bonkers for. I love playing on hardware that was used when people who were making the games I idolize today. I've owned ones that play retail games, and ones that don't. I've owned prototype controllers. I've owned debug units. I've owned demo download stations. And everything in between. For whatever reason, I have pretty damned good luck coming across ones for good prices. I'm not sure why. I tend to get hosed on everything else :/.

 

I'd say the best one was the Intelligent Systems Nitro Capture unit. It was bought as a potential junk device, as the guy didn't know how to work it. Brought it home, googled how to use the dip switches, and a bit of cleaning of the GBA slot and the thing has been trouble free since. I have two JVC broadcast monitors stacked on top of each other, broadcasting the image of each DS screen. I'm more of a console gamer, but I love the DS's library, so it's really enabled me to dive into a previously undiscovered library, and it's been a joy.

[BassGuitari]

"Finally got it!" Moments:

The time I got Stadium Mud Buggies for Intellivision...technically for free. A local game shop was doing a buy five, get one free thing on "Atari" (a.k.a. anything older than Nintendo); I picked out 12 Intellivision cartridges (many of which were slightly on the rare side, such as Pole Position, Commando, and Diner), and Stadium Mud Buggies was one of them. Oh, and the ten I had to pay for were, like, a dollar each. Even more incredibly, this was only a couple of years ago.

The time I got my TRS-80 Model I...also for free. The original TRS-80 was a system I'd wanted for years but never thought I'd own, so I couldn't believe it when a collector friend got me the hookup on one. He was talking to a mutual acquaintance who worked at a small university a couple hours away; there was a coffee shop on the campus, in what must have been a converted old house or storage building or something. The main level was the coffee shop, and upstairs were all these little rooms, like tiny bedrooms, used for storage. One of the rooms had a veritable treasure trove of old (I mean ancient) computers; some IBM RT systems, some TRS-80 Model IIs (!) and disk expansions (!!), I think a PDP "mini" computer from the mid '70s (a.k.a. it's still about the size of a small refrigerator) and a terminal (Heathkit, I think), a couple of Apple IIe systems, some assorted 286s, and of course, the TRS-80 Model I. The university was going to clear it all out and recycle it, so the guy (another prominent collector whom I've come to know a little bit since) asked my friend if we wanted to come down and rescue any of it. So we go down (I still remember actually feeling pretty sick that morning; I brought along a garbage bag for the drive, just in case. It cleared up by the time we got there, thankfully), and we go to this lost treasure trove of computers that was hidden above an unassuming coffee shop, practically untouched in 25 years...and we can just take whatever we want. It's the kind of thing that, as a collector, you only dream about.

(In case you're wondering, in addition to the TRS-80, I took one of the IBM RTs, an Apple II and monitor, a Radio Shack Line Printer II [for the Model II]; IIRC my friend took another Apple, the terminal, and some other small stuff. We would have taken more, but we filled up the car as it was. And as I understand it, the PDP went to another fellow vintage computer enthusiast in the nearby Chicago area, so it all went to good hands!)

Edited December 14, 2015 by BassGuitari

[CatPix]

Most of my amazing purchase were when I was adult, because it's when I could spend my money the way I want.

 

Notable moments :

- A Magnavox Odyssey, the real thing, in box, with the shipping cardboard box. I didn't got it for cheap, but for an average price. but still. WOWSER! The first video game console ever. Okay, I'm a collectard.

 

- A Bally Astrocade. Working. For a decent price. It's awesome, it's epic, and I can safely assume that there is about less than 20 of those machines in Europe.

 

- A Vectrex, for cheap (loose, one pad, no overlay). This one was amusing. I emailed the guy with this text (approximatively, as it was in French first, and I don't have a copy anymore I think)

" Hello!

 

I just saw your Vectrex, and the price is very fair. I assume that by the time you read my message, you already received two hundred of other messages to buy it. So I will only say that I'm ready to buy this Vectrex for the price (80Euros) you sell it for. I can pay by Paypal right on, or by cheque. Shipping is for me of course. Best regards"

And his answer :

"Thanks for your message.

So far, as you expected, I received many messages, but all from people that tried to lower the price to ridiculously low amount. So as you're the only one that seem honest enough and know what a fair deal is, it's yours."

 

And one epic moment is when I ordered a Nordmende Teleplay (licenced European Channel F variant) from a German seller.

Such a slacker. I got it from ebay.

After a whole month and a half of silence, I contact him. No answer. I opened a eBay/paypal complain, and I finally got an answer "ah sorry. I received it back one month ago, I wrote the adress wrong" REALLY MAN? But I received it, and it's awesome. And from another seller, a pristine pack of 10 games for it.

They are all working, in pristine shape and complete as far as boxes and manual goes.

And it came in a Saba Videoplay (more common licenced version) shipping box! The seller didn't even mentioned it, but it's cool as hell!

 

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

Favorite Classic gaming memory/purchases as an adult:

• Rediscovering Atari Age after a long absence from collecting classic games and buying/playing my first my first Homebrew ever, on ColecoVision back in 2013.
• My second one is finally getting my Vectrex last November.. I swore for years I'd never get one, but glad I finally went for it,. One of the best purchases I ever made.
• Flashcarts!

Edited December 15, 2015 by SiLic0ne t0aD85

[bretthorror]

Most of my amazing purchase were when I was adult, because it's when I could spend my money the way I want.

 

Notable moments :

- A Magnavox Odyssey, the real thing, in box, with the shipping cardboard box. I didn't got it for cheap, but for an average price. but still. WOWSER! The first video game console ever. Okay, I'm a collectard.

 

- A Bally Astrocade. Working. For a decent price. It's awesome, it's epic, and I can safely assume that there is about less than 20 of those machines in Europe.

 

- A Vectrex, for cheap (loose, one pad, no overlay). This one was amusing. I emailed the guy with this text (approximatively, as it was in French first, and I don't have a copy anymore I think)

" Hello!

 

I just saw your Vectrex, and the price is very fair. I assume that by the time you read my message, you already received two hundred of other messages to buy it. So I will only say that I'm ready to buy this Vectrex for the price (80Euros) you sell it for. I can pay by Paypal right on, or by cheque. Shipping is for me of course. Best regards"

And his answer :

"Thanks for your message.

So far, as you expected, I received many messages, but all from people that tried to lower the price to ridiculously low amount. So as you're the only one that seem honest enough and know what a fair deal is, it's yours."

 

And one epic moment is when I ordered a Nordmende Teleplay (licenced European Channel F variant) from a German seller.

Such a slacker. I got it from ebay.

After a whole month and a half of silence, I contact him. No answer. I opened a eBay/paypal complain, and I finally got an answer "ah sorry. I received it back one month ago, I wrote the adress wrong" REALLY MAN? But I received it, and it's awesome. And from another seller, a pristine pack of 10 games for it.

They are all working, in pristine shape and complete as far as boxes and manual goes.

And it came in a Saba Videoplay (more common licenced version) shipping box! The seller didn't even mentioned it, but it's cool as hell!

 

 

Ugh... my story with this one is I was at a second hand store and they had a "Leisurevision", the Canadian equivalent for 80 bucks with like 8 boxed games. I said I'll buy it if it works. The dumbass kid who was working there almost knocked a flat screen off the wall (no shit) trying to hook it up to test it. I wish now I'd have just bought it and saw if it worked for myself.

 

 

 

Favorite Classic gaming memory/purchases as an adult:

• Rediscovering Atari Age after a long absence from collecting classic games and buying/playing my first my first Homebrew ever, on ColecoVision back in 2013.
• My second one is finally getting my Vectrex last November.. I swore for years I'd never get one, but glad I finally went for it,. One of the best purchases I ever made.
• Flashcarts!

 

 

Another Vectrex guy, I like it! Seriously, though, I'm glad I'm not the only one because I can't even describe why that shit's special to me. It just really is. Eight years later, I can't shake it. It's not a super rare item, no one really cares that you have a Vectrex, but to me it means more than Air Raid or a NWC cart. Because the Vec is awesome and the latter are dog shit.

[Schizophretard]

In no particular order:

 

Helping R.T. The Random Terrain finish Seaweed Assault by play testing it for months while bugging the shit out of him about every little feature and detail. Then buying it. That was fun.

 

Buying a Harmony Cart. I always wanted one as a kid and just had to wait for someone to invent it.

 

Getting an Atari 2600 lot for relatively cheap that included two prototypes. The hunt is a little more fun when you feel like you are the only one that knows what you are looking at from the seller not putting it in the description and no one really bidding on it.

 

Helping to find and scan label variations for videogamevariations.com

 

Getting almost the entire Atari 7800 collection CIB from my mom on Christmas.

 

The time on here when the owner of the only known copy of Red Sea Crossing stubbornly waited 5 years or so to finally sell which coincidentally was at the same time the second copy was discovered and put up for sale. Witnessing that occur was epic.

 

Not too long after my uncle died I got an Atari 2600 from his aunt that was the one he played in his early 20's. I thought it was kind of cool getting a collection with their names, scores, and stuff written in the manuals. Another thing I thought was cool about it is I never met his aunt before ,it was my wife that discovered this Atari on Facebook because she was looking for Atari stuff as a present, and it wasn't until she showed interest in it that she found out that it was from relatives.

 

I could keep on going because I have a lot of good memories and purchases as an adult but I think that is enough for now. It is really hard to pick a favorite because gaining the internet as an adult added a lot of potential for much more purchases and memories.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

For me there's no question whatsoever, it was this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ever since I was a little kid I've loved arcade games, and some of my fondest childhood gaming memories are of playing a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail cabinet at a local bar every Saturday night with a fistfull of quarters that my dad gave me to play with. I'd spend hours feeding that machine, and any other arcade machine I could find, quarter after quarter each week. And when I went home at the end of the night I'd spend just as much time playing ports of arcade games on my older brother's ColecoVision with an Atari 2600 expansion module. Centipede was my favorite game, and though I never saw a machine of it locally I always wished I could play the real arcade version somemday.

 

When my wife and I's two year wedding anniversary came around last September and she asked me if there was anything really special that I'd like for it I knew right away what I wanted, but I didn't think we could really afford it since we're both on fixed incomes. My "dream machine" was a bartop sized recreation of a Centipede arcade cabinet, with a vertical LCD monitor, iCade 60-in-1 board installed, backlit marquee, authentic looking bezel art, and joystick + trackball controls. What followed was several months of us shopping around online, contacting various websites that specialized in making scratch-built bartop arcade machines. We must have contacted nearly a dozen different sites, and all of them quoted us prices of anywhere from $800 to $1,200 before shipping costs; which was way out of our price range. All but one that is.

 

When I contacted http://doxcade.com and told them what I was looking for, the price I was quoted was an astonishingly affordable $440 + $35 shipping to Minnesota. That was much more in line with our budget! $800+ was out of the question, but with a little careful budgeting (and a few eBay sales of items from our tabletop gaming library) we were able to get the $475 together and pay for the commission within a few weeks of getting the price quote.

 

Approximately one month later the machine showed up on our doorstep, and it was just fantastic! Literally everything I've ever wanted and dreamed about in an arcade machine, and ever since it arrived my wife and I have both spent hours every week playing classic arcade games together.

 

There's no question what my favorite gaming purchase as an adult has been, my custom Centipede multicade wins hands down!

Edited December 15, 2015 by Jin

[Austin]

 

 

 

Actually, it's not my absolute favorite, but it's pretty damn close.

[Dashopepper]

I don't know if I'll ever match my excitement of finding this Starfox at a flea market. I was smiling for weeks.

 

I also had a pretty good Craigslist purchase of a guys entire collection. It was this gift that has kept on giving as I am still discovering things 3 years after.

 

Here's a list -

 

14 Atari 2600s (4 are heavy 6'rs) ~300 loose games, 40 boxed

boxed Atari 7800, 5200, Jr (~25 boxed 7800 games, bunch of loose 7800+5200)

1 Atari XEGS (32 games)

1 Bally Videocade (20 games, 2 prototypes)

2 Colevisions (~75 games)

1 Neo Geo Aes (6 games)

6 different intellivisoins (Reg, Super Pro, III, Sears version, Sylvania, II) (~75 boxed games, bunch loose)

2 boxed Odyssey 2, the Voice (48 games)

1 Fairchild (5 games)

1 Arcadia 2001 (9 games)

3 boxed NES Action sets, 1 Power Set (141 loose nes games, 6 boxed)

2 Sega Master Systems, Orange tip Phaser (75 games, 1/2 boxed)

2 Sega Gen. non tmss, CD model 1

1 Panasonic 3DO (26 games, 7 are vivid interactive adult games)

1 Sega Saturn, 2 Gamecubes

~20 other various pong systems.

Tons of other stuff, 2 new atari track balls, 2 new intellivioce, 4 new nes satalites, pc games, odd controllers. Power Glove

 

Edited December 15, 2015 by Dashopepper

[Opry99er]

Tough question, but a good one.

 

The one that is most present on my mind is my my recent purchase of an INTV SVA model.

 

 

 

 

 

Got this nice lot for $40.

 

My son and I have been having a blast playing these games... He is actually getting quite good at bowling.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BwW_H-55cY

[Ransom]

My favorite gaming purchases this millennium are all AA-related.

 

I bought a CIB Vectrex, a gorgeous platinum //e, and a MIB Intellivision from AA members for very reasonable prices a few years ago. The Vectrex was a gift for my wife, who thinks it's the coolest thing ever. The //e is great fun to program, as always...and looks fantastic sitting there with matching accessories and all the hardbound manuals Apple put out for it (purchased separately). The Inty is fantastic to use and miles better than the ones I've had before (tho I do still sometimes wish for an equally mint Super Video Arcade).

 

And then there's the SGM and all the homebrew CV games I've bought from members...

 

Not to mention all the great games I've bought from the AA store, like Lady Bug, Tempest, Adventure II, Juno First, and so many more for the VCS, 5200, 7800, and A8.

 

But back before AA existed, I guess my favorite memory was when I managed to get an almost-complete set of XL-era peripherals (at garage sales, flea markets, and surplus equipment warehouses) to use with my heavily-modded 1200XL. That setup became my daily driver system, which I used to dial into a local ISP so I could use my shell account to read newsgroups, send/receive email, and occasionally browse the newfangled "World Wide Web."

 

Oh, one minor gaming memory that I still kick myself over: At a surplus equipment warehouse in silicon valley circa 1990, they had a couple of pallets of 5200 Trak-Balls, sealed and NIB, for $5 apiece. I wish I'd bought a bunch. Those are the best controllers ever.

[jhd]

I bought a second-hand original PlayStation with a modest pile of games for $50 back in 2004. This was very significant to me because it was the first game system that I had purchased since getting a 2600 in about 1990. It was exciting to actually be able to buy new games -- the PSX was exiting the market, but tons of games were still available at retail. Over the following several months, I scoured every store in the city (and places far beyond) that sold games to build my collection.

 

In Spring 2008, I upgraded to a PS 2, and the collecting process started all over again!

 

Honourable mention goes to the very first Famiclone console that I bought -- I had wanted one for quite some time before I found a reasonable Canadian seller. (I now have like 4 or 5 of them...)

[Nebulon]

A friend of mine who I worked on music with for 15 years decided to move out to the coast with his wife.

 

Before he left, he gave me his Vectrex and 12 boxed games.

 

The Vectrex now sits as a showpiece in my front room/kitchen. My 75-year-old dad (who usually doesn't play video games) plays it whenever he visits.

 

You see, Vectrex is so good it even compels non-video game people to play it.

[leods]

Buying SSFIV in a bargain bin for 5 bucks a couple years ago. Got me back into fighting games, which in time made me buy an arcade stick, and that got me into arcade games in General, and then I started playing Scrolling shooters agan. In just a couple years I went trom "Morrowind is one of the best games ever" to "all Bethesda games are just damned Walking Simulators and a waste of time."

 

With my new mindset I even got into Atari 2600 games that I never ever played before, and really oldschool gaming that never interested me in the first place. (Asteroids, frogger ..)

 

And it all startet with that SSFIV disk I bought just because it was so damn cheap. The arcade stick was expensive though. And now I have over 10 of them.

 

Couple buys that were cool:

 

I actually got a Dead or Alive Real arcade pro S.A. shipped for under 40 euros complete in box in pretty much like new condition.

 

I downloaded Cave Story off the Internet for free, because it's Freeware, and played it on my Computer. And it's a darned great game. Best gaming deal ever.

 

It has 0 collectors Glamour, but some of the old Indie Royales I got, and also some of the Humble Bundles (like the SNK one running right now) are actually an incredible deal I'll be glad to have gotten for years to come.

 

I still have to say that buying Dar Souls and Monster Hunter were eye opening experiences of what games can be, and could be, but just won't be. Even the newer games in the same series haven't been as good and will probably just get worse. Maybe other games will come...

 

And I think the SLS Sega Saturn Controller was a lucky buy. I never saw another for sale after that.

[Schizophretard]

I have another one. I once went Christmas shopping with my mother. I was having trouble finding anything I was interested in. Then I came across a store and found a Heavy Sixer with the original CX-10 Joysticks, some paddles, driving controllers, video touch pad, some controller extension cables, a few other things like switch boxes,etc., and 55 CIB Atari games. All for $189.99. It also looked to be in good shape. The carts looked new, the boxes were in alright condition because none of them were flattened, and it appeared to have signs of it being someone's original collection with things like the same stores on price tags, gate folded boxes with half of the launch titles, and other small details that gave me the impression of an original collection instead of one put together from other collections. I thought that would be a good choice. Anyway, this memory of finding such a good Heavy Sixer collection in the wild is a memory of last night.

[Andromeda Stardust]

For me there's no question whatsoever, it was this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently: Having the privlege of building the Porta Pi bartop arcade, my first MAME cab:

 

 

 

Kits available from Retrobuiltgames:

http://www.retrobuiltgames.com/diy-kits-shop/porta-pi-arcade-wood-kit-hd/

 

 

 

But perhaps my greatest memory of gaming purchases was finding a Tengen Tetris in the wild at Game-X-Change back in 2004. It isn't the rarest of games, but I had read up online regarding it's colorful history and at the time it was my personal holy grail. I was thumbing through the NES carts paying close attention to any of the black Tengen carts I saw. Out pulled Tengen Tetris complete with crude shrink wrap and a $40 price tag. My jaw dropped. I asked the clerk, "You have this game?" holding it up in the air. "Yes, we have that game," he replied with a grin. I paid a whopping $40 for it, an insane price at that time for an NES game. I didn't have the funds as I only had a twenty on me but my mom chipped in, somehow realizing the importance of what this game meant to me. Thanks mom. I pulled the shrink wrap off the loose cart as I walked out the store and literally kissed the potentially infectious label. Regardless, I've gotten more than my $40 of usage out of that game cart over the years. Still one of my favorite games, way cooler than the licensed variant...

[retrorussell]

I think my happiest purchase was FINAL FANTASY VII, right when it came out. Because I scored a free t-shirt with the purchase of the game!

[BassGuitari]

I think my happiest purchase was FINAL FANTASY VII, right when it came out. Because I scored a free t-shirt with the purchase of the game!

I miss that feeling of going to a GameStop or Software Etc. or whatever, and actually being excited by the new stuff that was coming out. Resident Evil 2 was a big one for me. And then firing it up for the first time. I haven't experienced that in over 10 years.

 

The closest I get to that feeling now when I go to a retro shop and find Atari or Coleco or Commodore games I don't have yet. But even that's more of a "Oh sweet!" than a "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGTHISISAMAZING."

[retrorussell]

I was also thrilled recently at the PRGE to pick up a Neo Geo original AES. I'll try to plug it into my bedroom tv with the help of a RCA switch box.

 

Also at the same PRGE (same table, too!) I got a handheld EPOCH-MAN. I remember getting that for Xmas about 34 years ago. Great handheld; had a stopwatch/clock/date/and a Pac-Man game (brutally easy but still fun).

[BassGuitari]

I was also thrilled recently at the PRGE to pick up a Neo Geo original AES. I'll try to plug it into my bedroom tv with the help of a RCA switch box.

 

Also at the same PRGE (same table, too!) I got a handheld EPOCH-MAN. I remember getting that for Xmas about 34 years ago. Great handheld; had a stopwatch/clock/date/and a Pac-Man game (brutally easy but still fun).

Epoch made cool handhelds and tabletops. I don't actively collect handhelds (though I still have a ton of them; not sure where they came from!), but I decided a few months ago that I *had* to have an Epoch Galaxy II. That thing just oozes retro cool, and is probably actually one of the most fun games in the LCD/VFD category that I've played*. I was stunned to learn it has multiple stages, a bonus round, and even an ending!

 

(*Full disclosure: I had Tiger Street Fighter II BITD and LOVED it. )

[Torr]

Well I have two.

 

1. Getting a Dreamcast. First system I bought myself when it was new while in college. MANY friends came over and had a blast with it. It blew away their N64s and Playstations.

 

2. Finally getting a Sega CD. I like it. It is great. It was a little too pricey back in the day (especially here in Canada), but having it now, I really wish I had it back then. It would have been the same mindblower to my friends as the Dreamcast was when I got it.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Torr

[HoshiChiri]

Notable moments, in no particular order:

 

-Getting an Xbox 360 from my fiancé for Christmas. He decided to be a dick about it. Why just give the system all normal-like when you can open the box, take everything out and replace it with a couple rocks? Oh, but don't worry, I did get the system right away- it was buried, along with its components, it a 4x3x3 foot cardboard box. It took an hour to get everything out- except the power cord. He saved that for my birthday present a week later. (I should point out, at the time, I was saving for a PS3 and had no intention of owning an Xbox. It sat on the floor for a week while I rearranged to make room for it.)

 

-Me and my sister were going to drive out one morning to a farther Game Crazy location during one of the 'classic plastic' sales were retro titles were 3 for $15. She overslept, then had to run errands, then blew a tire. She asked if I even still wanted to go- I did. It was almost dinner before we got there. My pick of 3? Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Vagrant Story... and Suikoden 2. I didn't put it on the counter because I was afraid if I let go of it, they wouldn't give it back- I just held it out for them to scan.

 

-When the local Game Crazy was closing down, my work changed my schedule so on closing day I had to come in for an opening shift. I talked to my manager and explained that I wanted to go to the closing sale at this videogame store, and as such would I go back to the late shift I'd originally had. Not only did he say yes, he gave me a shopping list!

 

-Getting complete-in-box copies of every game I down for disc-based systems. Doesn't sound like a great achievement, but when you need cases and manuals for stuff like Vay and Lunar on Sega CD, Tomba, Suikoden 2... it gets hard to find! I didn't note when I first started this project, but it's been something like 7 years to finally get everything cased up.

[chuckwalla]

It was 22 years ago (last week actually) since I bought a Sega Genesis Model 1 system with Sonic the Hedgehog (see picture) at the Electronics Boutique for $129.95 as a Holiday gift to myself and to see if I could get back into video gaming after a long hiatus.

Asking the store clerk to get me a system off the high shelf was so exhilarating I felt like a kid again and I was 23 years old (even more so than buying a car - if that sounds weird!).

 

It was the first system I bought myself (with my own money) and it was also the first new system (not used like the Atari 2600, or new VIC-20 & C64 my parents bought for me as a teenager).

 

Anyway, I played Sonic and a few other Genesis games like crazy that night and haven't really stopped since.

 

That purchase was the stimulus to start collecting other systems - most notably older systems like the Atari 2600 that I played as a teenager and the ColecoVision, which others had and I didn't in the day, but really wanted to experience owning and playing myself.

 

It's been so fun to get involved in this hobby - and expensive and at times frustrating, but never regretted it.

 

Keep on gaming!