What was your first video gaming console?

[Kinokokao]

How is it that you broke into the gaming world? Let's compare and discuss!

We had an Atari first. I remember playing Space Invaders and Mountain Climber, which was my favorite. We had other games. The Atari worked until I accidentally spilled chocolate milk on it, and thus ruining it forever.

After Atar, I had (in order) a NES, Game Boy, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameBoy color, GameCube, Playstation 2, 360*, DS, Wii

*The 360 is my fiance's, but I had access to it before I bought my DS.

Of all the consoles I've ever owned, I think the DS might be my favorite. After that... perhaps the SNES? Then again, the Wii is pretty badass since I can play old favorites on it. I just really wish Ogre Battle: PoLC and Earthbound were on the VC, since they're the games I most often drag out my 64 and SNES (respectively) to play. (I have Ogre Battle: MotBQ ported for the Ps1)

PS: I didn't include them for space, but include hand-helds with their current generation.

[Twat]

We had an Atari, though I only watched that. The first time I simply HAD to try the whole gaming thing was Kirby's Adventure on the NES. Since that very moment I understood Masahiro Sakurai was a God among mortals! These days my gaming system of choice is the DS by a long shot. After that, Nintendo 64. Best multiplayer games ever!

[ZetaBladeX13]

When I was born, my Dad already had both a Sega Genesis (1st generation) and an NES.

First games I owned:

* Genesis/MegaDrive:
[spoiler] - Golden Axe

- Golden Axe II (my dad returned it because he beat it "too easily" >_>)

- Altered Beast

- Streets of Rage (my first exposure to Yuzo Koshiro's works <3)

- Alien Storm

- BattleToads/Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team

- Vectorman

- Castle of Illusion

- Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

- Sonic the Hedgehog

- Sonic the Hedgehog 2

- Rocket Knight Adventures (my grandfather unknowingly bought me a good game XD)

- (some X-Men game starring Wolverine)

- Lightening Force/Thunder Force IV (got one christmas, have it on tape)

- Aladdin (got it same time as TFIV, also on tape)

- Puyo Puyo (apparently bought from Babbages in Nashua, similar to Funcoland/Gamestop)
^ Japanese Import

- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (found at KB-Toys a few years back, lol'd at it's resemblance to Puyo Puyo XD)

- Some Madden game

- NHL '95 (or was it 92?)

- Road Rash (from when EA didn't suck)

- RoboCod II[/spoiler]
* NES:
[spoiler] - Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (combo cartridge w/light gun)

- Megaman 4

- Contra

- World Cup Soccer (A full contact soccer game w/River City Ransom characters)

- Bucky O'Hare (bought from my local video store at least ten years ago)

- Some R/C racing game (not too bad, either)

- Some Skateboarding/Surfing game (never really got how it worked...)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project[/spoiler]

[Maxine MagicFox]

Before I vote, I just want to be clear on what we are voting for:

The consoles that were in our house when we grew up and what we "might" have played on a little even if to be "just like mom and dad" (or even learn ABC's).

Or

The consoles that actually got us into gaming as a real pasttime?

I ask because, we had Atari and like I said, I dabbled a little on it but had no clue or concept of what it was I playing. There was even a game that mom used to teach me my ABCs. But even when we got the NES and the SNES my interest was only so-so and I felt it was just fun to play on something that mom and dad had so much fun playing on.

But, it wasn't until I got my beloved Gameboy that I fell in love with gaming. Tetris... one day playing it, just goofing on, I actually began to understand the concept of the game. And I got REALLY good with Dr. Mario. Then progressed to more Mario games (beat both the original Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2). Then when I played Link's Awakening, I began backing up and dragged out the old SNES to play more Zelda games. And so it's went...

Favorite system? It's a toss up between my PS2 and my DS. SNES takes third, though.

[Riseatrance]

Portable? GameBoy.

Home Console? NES.

[Kinokokao]

Maxine: You'll either vote for 1st Generation (Atari) or 3rd generation (GameBoy. Whichever era you think really "Introduced" you into gaming.

[ZetaBladeX13]

Question:

Last time I checked, Sega had no home console before the Genesis/MegaDrive, so why is it under both generation 1 and 2?

[Kinokokao]

The first poll option combines generations one and two. I included the Sega Master System, released 1986, with the NES according to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console

Whereas the Sega "Genesis" released in the US in 1989 to compete with the SNES, so it's in the second poll option which is actually the 3rd generation.

[ZetaBladeX13]

Truth be told, I always forget about the master system, making you the 5th person to remind me of it's existence XD

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Kinokokao]

The GameBoy is 8 bit gaming, yes? NES-style graphics and games?

But I would consider the SNES-era hand-held to be the GameBoy Color, perhaps even the GameBoy Advanced (although you can make an argument that the GBA should be in 5th generation), where as the DS and Wii are clearly of the same generation.

I guess its if we're we consider technology over chronology.

In the case of the GameBoy, however, I'd definitely put in the 3rd generation.

Wikipedia, interestely enough, has this to say:

In the later part of the third generation (argued by some as part of the 4th generation), Nintendo also introduced the Game Boy, which almost single-handedly solidified, and then proceeded to dominate, the previously scattered handheld market for 15 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_(third_generation)

ETA:

I would consider the Game & Watch to be within the first poll option, 2nd generation, whereas you may think of the Microvison (1979) as the 1st generation hand-held game system, since it was the first to use interchangeable cartridges.

[Onigiri]

[Kimiko]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Kinokokao]