Your Console Journey
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:40 am
Moggy's recent thread about a hypothetical return to the console market of a former manufacturer got me thinking of my own console history. Much nostalgia followed
I thought it'd be cool for us all to share our personal console journey up to today, including our thoughts on each system along the way. I'll go first!
Atari 2600 - I'm hesitant to include this, it was a hand-me-down by some family friends that figured it would be enough to keep some young kids quiet. Had a cartridge with about 200 games on it, each one worse than the last We must have only borrowed it (or got bored very quickly) because it disappeared pretty sharpish.
Sega MegaDrive 2 - My first love. This bad boy is the real start (the Genesis, you could say) of my journey into the world of videogames. I would have been about 8 when I got this so it’s pure nostalgia fuel. My sister and I would take it in turns playing Aladdin and Jurassic Park, and of course the Streets of Rage games. Christ I loved this thing
Sony Playstation - This absolutely dominated a big chunk of my childhood, so many classics and I still play on it from time to time. The original controllers were a bit wank but other than that it was the perfect console. Many a happy memory getting whalloped by my dad at FIFA 97, he rarely showed mercy . The startup sound is legit my favourite noise in gaming ever
Sony Playstation 2 - My dad got me a hacked PS2 from Malaysia and a CD-folder with about 200 games in it, so it’s fair to say I spent A LOT of time on this console. Despite that, I don’t really have that much nostalgia for it, I guess that time period was getting further away from my proper “childhood” era. It was a great console though and I spent a lot of time with it.
Nintendo Gamecube - My first Nintendo console. Got this on a whim one year and I didn’t give it the chance it probably deserved. It just couldn't compete with my PS2. Twin Snakes was great on it though and it’s a fantastic looking little thing.
Sony Playstation 3 - This one can be summed up by 2 games - Skyrim and FIFA. I must have put 500 hours into these games, I barely remember playing anything else (although it was also home to RDR and GTA5 ). This console did help me get through uni though, so it has its place in my heart
Microsoft Xbox 360 - Bought this due to the fear of missing out. I saw people who were loving Gears of War, Halo and Fable and I wanted a piece, but like the Gamecube I just didn't give it enough of a chance. I was too entrenched in the PS3 and I hated the fact the controllers needed batteries. I also personally felt that the games were a let-down too. It soon became a dust magnet.
Nintendo Wii – Actually had to add this in just before posting this, I forgot I’d even owned one . Got this for Christmas I think and only had Wii Sports and Mario Kart: Double Dash, it got shelved quicker than any of my other consoles. Motion controls just aren’t my cup of tea.
Sony Playstation 4 – Probably the best all-rounder of all of the consoles I’ve owned, I can’t believe it’s been almost 4 years since I got mine. It really does everything you could want in a console (except for the backwards compatibility, I guess) and the controllers are a dream. I do wonder how I’ll feel about it 15 years from now, I think it’ll go down as a genuine classic.
Nintendo Switch – Ummed and ahhed about including this as I think I’ve played it in docked mode a grand total of twice, but I can’t have just one Nintendo console in my list. It’s a fantastic little thing with some instant classics on it and I’m looking forward to it being a fixture of my gaming life for the next few years. Games are too pricey though, which is definitely going to limit the amount of content I get to experience on it.
I’ve also now got a little retro collection going which includes some of the consoles I missed out on (SNES, N64, Dreamcast…no Saturn yet!) but I’ve not included them as they’re not really a part of my console history.
I'm sure some of you will have a similar story to me, but I know that lots of you (older posters) will have some obscure console in there that no one else has played or owned. Don’t be shy, share your journey!
I thought it'd be cool for us all to share our personal console journey up to today, including our thoughts on each system along the way. I'll go first!
Atari 2600 - I'm hesitant to include this, it was a hand-me-down by some family friends that figured it would be enough to keep some young kids quiet. Had a cartridge with about 200 games on it, each one worse than the last We must have only borrowed it (or got bored very quickly) because it disappeared pretty sharpish.
Sega MegaDrive 2 - My first love. This bad boy is the real start (the Genesis, you could say) of my journey into the world of videogames. I would have been about 8 when I got this so it’s pure nostalgia fuel. My sister and I would take it in turns playing Aladdin and Jurassic Park, and of course the Streets of Rage games. Christ I loved this thing
Sony Playstation - This absolutely dominated a big chunk of my childhood, so many classics and I still play on it from time to time. The original controllers were a bit wank but other than that it was the perfect console. Many a happy memory getting whalloped by my dad at FIFA 97, he rarely showed mercy . The startup sound is legit my favourite noise in gaming ever
Sony Playstation 2 - My dad got me a hacked PS2 from Malaysia and a CD-folder with about 200 games in it, so it’s fair to say I spent A LOT of time on this console. Despite that, I don’t really have that much nostalgia for it, I guess that time period was getting further away from my proper “childhood” era. It was a great console though and I spent a lot of time with it.
Nintendo Gamecube - My first Nintendo console. Got this on a whim one year and I didn’t give it the chance it probably deserved. It just couldn't compete with my PS2. Twin Snakes was great on it though and it’s a fantastic looking little thing.
Sony Playstation 3 - This one can be summed up by 2 games - Skyrim and FIFA. I must have put 500 hours into these games, I barely remember playing anything else (although it was also home to RDR and GTA5 ). This console did help me get through uni though, so it has its place in my heart
Microsoft Xbox 360 - Bought this due to the fear of missing out. I saw people who were loving Gears of War, Halo and Fable and I wanted a piece, but like the Gamecube I just didn't give it enough of a chance. I was too entrenched in the PS3 and I hated the fact the controllers needed batteries. I also personally felt that the games were a let-down too. It soon became a dust magnet.
Nintendo Wii – Actually had to add this in just before posting this, I forgot I’d even owned one . Got this for Christmas I think and only had Wii Sports and Mario Kart: Double Dash, it got shelved quicker than any of my other consoles. Motion controls just aren’t my cup of tea.
Sony Playstation 4 – Probably the best all-rounder of all of the consoles I’ve owned, I can’t believe it’s been almost 4 years since I got mine. It really does everything you could want in a console (except for the backwards compatibility, I guess) and the controllers are a dream. I do wonder how I’ll feel about it 15 years from now, I think it’ll go down as a genuine classic.
Nintendo Switch – Ummed and ahhed about including this as I think I’ve played it in docked mode a grand total of twice, but I can’t have just one Nintendo console in my list. It’s a fantastic little thing with some instant classics on it and I’m looking forward to it being a fixture of my gaming life for the next few years. Games are too pricey though, which is definitely going to limit the amount of content I get to experience on it.
I’ve also now got a little retro collection going which includes some of the consoles I missed out on (SNES, N64, Dreamcast…no Saturn yet!) but I’ve not included them as they’re not really a part of my console history.
I'm sure some of you will have a similar story to me, but I know that lots of you (older posters) will have some obscure console in there that no one else has played or owned. Don’t be shy, share your journey!