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When I was a kid, I chose a VHS player over a NES...
- Thread starter FernandoRocker
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I got a SNES for my 5th Birthday. I remember almost everything about the moment. Tearing off the package, my first guesses about what it was, and then the realization.
We also have an old VHS tape that was recorded with a handcam of the whole moment which I saw many years later. That would have been in 1996.
We also have an old VHS tape that was recorded with a handcam of the whole moment which I saw many years later. That would have been in 1996.
I'm 10 years older but I remember that when we got our first VCR in the early 80's (for the equivalent of over €1000 ignoring inflation) it was a HUGE deal for our family. It was a much more desirable purchase than any games console at that time.
Edit: So many cool memories associated with it. I watched the first two Star Wars movies on it for the first time and I'll never forget watching Jaws with my friend over lunch. We had fish sticks and when we noticed the irony we laughed our butts off.
Edit: So many cool memories associated with it. I watched the first two Star Wars movies on it for the first time and I'll never forget watching Jaws with my friend over lunch. We had fish sticks and when we noticed the irony we laughed our butts off.
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Probably better in the long run since there was a lot more movies you could rent over games. My first console was the ps1 :)
I'm just going to dogpile here and say that VCR as a shorthand for VHS players is also an Americanism. I heard "video player" for most of my childhood (in Australia). VCR became more widespread later on due to linguistic imperialism, but it's still a very US-sounding term to me.
OP
OP
If I recall correctly, the first movie we rented (that I remember) was The Neverending Story. I clearly remember reading the movie description in the box at the video rental store.
I don't really know if that was the very first one we rented, but it was one of the first ones.
I don't really know if that was the very first one we rented, but it was one of the first ones.
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You were a good kid.
First console was the Genesis. My brother got a NES. I did not appreciate at the time how hard my Dad worked to give us those things.
You sacrificed your momentary pleasure because you saw how much your mom was awed by the VHS player. Most kids don't have a tenth of that empathy.
Good son ;__;
Good son ;__;
First console: NES, 1987ish
First console paid for myself: NES, my parents wouldn't buy it for us, so my brother and I saved up for close to a year to buy it. $100 with Super Mario/Duck hunt cartridge. We were 7 and 5 years old.
My dad was actually a Betamax guy for a long time.
First console paid for myself: NES, my parents wouldn't buy it for us, so my brother and I saved up for close to a year to buy it. $100 with Super Mario/Duck hunt cartridge. We were 7 and 5 years old.
My dad was actually a Betamax guy for a long time.
Back in '97 my dad took me to a store to pick up my very first video game system.
He showed me two consoles. One was much more expensive, and had a weird controller. The cheaper one had this awesome dragon on the box side:
So I pushed for this one, with my visibly disappointed father conceding in the end. "But dad this one has a 3D dragon!" "But the 3D one is supposed to be the other..."
He showed me two consoles. One was much more expensive, and had a weird controller. The cheaper one had this awesome dragon on the box side:
So I pushed for this one, with my visibly disappointed father conceding in the end. "But dad this one has a 3D dragon!" "But the 3D one is supposed to be the other..."
And this is the story how the Super Mario RPG render of Bowser made me choose this box:
Instead of this one:
Bonus: that SNES came with Super Mario World. I've yet to play Super Mario RPG.
Instead of this one:
Bonus: that SNES came with Super Mario World. I've yet to play Super Mario RPG.
I have different firsts, depending on the definition. I have recollections of having an Atari 2600 (I remember playing Pitfall), but I don't remember what happened to it (if it broke or it was donated). I also think we might've had a C64. Not 100% sure about that. Where I do want to start, as we still have it, is NES. However, the NES and SNES were, effectively my older brother's (the SNES was, for sure, as I remember him getting it on Christmas). They're both mine now, as I'm the only of my siblings who stuck with games in a meaningful way. As for my first console, that was the N64. It was the first console gifted solely to me. The final first for me is PS4. It was the first console I was able to pre-order and pay totally out of pocket, as there was little to no holiday/birthday/graduation money involved (though, to be fair, I was able to get it at a decent discount, as my Sister-in-Law worked at Target at the time and I was able to take advantage of her employee discount and Red Card discount).
That's an adorable story, OP. You should tell your mum if you haven't already.
My earliest experiences were playing Sonic 1 in the mall while my mum shopped for clothes, and playing Super Mario World at a friend's house.
But my first own console was the Game Boy. I remember getting it for Christmas at granny's house, and being enthralled by Tetris and Super Mario Land.
I hope I can give my kids a similar magical experience with games. They create a ton of good memories, but I would like them to understand that owning/playing games is a privilege, not something to be taken for granted. Waiting for when the time is right.
Reading this gave me a little bit of sadness.
My earliest experiences were playing Sonic 1 in the mall while my mum shopped for clothes, and playing Super Mario World at a friend's house.
But my first own console was the Game Boy. I remember getting it for Christmas at granny's house, and being enthralled by Tetris and Super Mario Land.
I hope I can give my kids a similar magical experience with games. They create a ton of good memories, but I would like them to understand that owning/playing games is a privilege, not something to be taken for granted. Waiting for when the time is right.
That's such a nice story :) a VCR is still a great childhood memory for me at least.
My first console was a Game Boy Color, with GameCube being my first home console. I bought the original fat Nintendo DS around launch with my own money (which since has regrettably been sold 😭). It came with a case and the demo for Metroid Prime Hunters.
My first console was a Game Boy Color, with GameCube being my first home console. I bought the original fat Nintendo DS around launch with my own money (which since has regrettably been sold 😭). It came with a case and the demo for Metroid Prime Hunters.
Good on you, OP. That's a very selfless story and I'm not sure if I would have done the same as a kid.
I had an NES waiting for me when I was born (91). The first console I bought with my own money... depends on how you define "my own money," I guess. My parents got me a Dreamcast for Christmas '99 on the condition that I gave up my monthly allowance for the year leading up to it, so I technically saved it up, though it wasn't really my money in the first place. I did, on the other hand, use the money I got as gifts for my church confirmation to buy a slim PS2 (my younger brother got a fat one for Christmas a few years prior, but I wanted my own).
First paycheck from a job went to buying a stand-alone Blu-Ray player in 2010, that was pretty neat.
I had an NES waiting for me when I was born (91). The first console I bought with my own money... depends on how you define "my own money," I guess. My parents got me a Dreamcast for Christmas '99 on the condition that I gave up my monthly allowance for the year leading up to it, so I technically saved it up, though it wasn't really my money in the first place. I did, on the other hand, use the money I got as gifts for my church confirmation to buy a slim PS2 (my younger brother got a fat one for Christmas a few years prior, but I wanted my own).
First paycheck from a job went to buying a stand-alone Blu-Ray player in 2010, that was pretty neat.
A VCR was a legit choice. In the early 90's, my uncle would put on like Chucky, the Friday the 13th installments and shit he'd record from PPV or HBO (Carnosaur, Guyver, Leprechaun etc) and it just blew my mind.
My first system was a Gameboy though. Kirby's Dreamland and Tetris.
My first system was a Gameboy though. Kirby's Dreamland and Tetris.
OP you are an awesome dude.
Sometimes a lot of us forget how good we have it. I never had to make a choice like that and I can only wish that if I did I would handle it as well as you did.
That said 89 was late for the NES. The Genesis was right around the corner and you came out fine by starting with an all time great console in the SNES. I would like and say that the NES would not have melted your brain in 1985/6 when it first came out (I won't lie to you), but your story is still better and more meaningful than seeing Super Mario for the first time.
Sometimes a lot of us forget how good we have it. I never had to make a choice like that and I can only wish that if I did I would handle it as well as you did.
That said 89 was late for the NES. The Genesis was right around the corner and you came out fine by starting with an all time great console in the SNES. I would like and say that the NES would not have melted your brain in 1985/6 when it first came out (I won't lie to you), but your story is still better and more meaningful than seeing Super Mario for the first time.
Your story nearly brought me to tears OP.
Jesus, it would make like an award-winning short film or documentary. Or a Christmas commercial. Such a selfless decision to make at such a young age.
I'll also add, you made the right choice. NES was cool back then, but in retrospect, seeing all those movies would have been way better.
Jesus, it would make like an award-winning short film or documentary. Or a Christmas commercial. Such a selfless decision to make at such a young age.
I'll also add, you made the right choice. NES was cool back then, but in retrospect, seeing all those movies would have been way better.
VHS with a Blockbuster was pretty much heaven on weekends. Kinda hard to be mad with the outcome.
There are old people on this forum (like myself) that can remember when you had to type in the code for the game yourself. Floppies and cassettes for data was a luxury!
Speaking of VCRs I remember when my friend got a badass Panasonic VCR in the late 80s that had automatic tracking and a remote control. That blew our minds.
You're a good kid OP.
My dad bought my first system. He and my uncle played duck hunt all the time!
My first solo console was gameboy. A baller elementary school friend gave it to me as a gift.
Even better than Blockbuster were the small independent stores.
I rented so many games and movies back then and it was always cheaper than Blockbusters bullshit prices for a week.
They also has those cowboy style saloon doors and as a 11 year old I was convinced heaven was on the other side...
Just read the story....very good on you, OP.
I was the kid who had pretty much every video game console growing up, so I don't know what it was like to grow up like you did.
Though the sneaky thing was is that I didn't grow up wealthy, I just had parents who, for some reason, didn't look down on video games as a waste of time. I was still pushed very hard to ensure that I didn't spend all my time gaming (I had parents who DID NOT allow me to neglect school), though. I was lucky to have parents who saw that gaming was a good hobby to have, since they offer a lot more than, say, playing with toys (which almost always got boring after one week for me).
Also, my dad played my gaming consoles almost as much as I did, LOL.
I was the kid who had pretty much every video game console growing up, so I don't know what it was like to grow up like you did.
Though the sneaky thing was is that I didn't grow up wealthy, I just had parents who, for some reason, didn't look down on video games as a waste of time. I was still pushed very hard to ensure that I didn't spend all my time gaming (I had parents who DID NOT allow me to neglect school), though. I was lucky to have parents who saw that gaming was a good hobby to have, since they offer a lot more than, say, playing with toys (which almost always got boring after one week for me).
Also, my dad played my gaming consoles almost as much as I did, LOL.
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Having a VCR was the coolest shit ever whenever you'd have those free HBO trials they'd do every now and then. When those would start, my family would run out and buy a few packs of black VHS tapes and start recording non-stop, haha. In fact, I have a copy of SpaceBalls recorded from HBO just like that still.
Got I loved VHS as a kid. So many ninja turtles and ghostbusters rewinds just to listen to the theme songs. Born in 82 here.
First console was a NES with Mario duck hunt.
First console was a NES with Mario duck hunt.
My first console was the nes. I remember my dad bringing it home with mario and bucky o hare.
I had a similar situation happen to me when I realized we were poor growing up. It was my birthday and my mom took me to walmart to pick out a game. While i was looking a game caught my eye that i had never seen before. It was Lunar on ps1. The price was pretty high so I chose star wars episode 1 on the ps1 instead since it was cheap.
I actually still have a VCR. I like buying old tapes at thrift stores and going through them. It's like a time capsule. To see what people recorded.
Dude floppy disks stuck around until the early to mid 2000's. They didn't go away until USB thumb drives became sufficiently cheap. Anyone in there mid 20's or older will be familiar with floppies at least in there 3 1/2 inch variety. I do agree that fewer posters are familiar with 5 1/4 inch and 8 inch floppies, though there are enough 40 years on this board that they won't number too few.
Hey 80s/90s kids... Remember Muppet Moments at the end of Disney movies?! So good.
Also as a kid/teen, I had a massive collection of classic WB, Fleischer and other animation on VHS tape. To this day I still love Fleischer cartoons. A lot of the shorts are hard or impossible to find now because they were suuuuper racist. I used to buy them because you could get a tape with 4 9-minute shorts for $2, which was very affordable for a kid.
Also as a kid/teen, I had a massive collection of classic WB, Fleischer and other animation on VHS tape. To this day I still love Fleischer cartoons. A lot of the shorts are hard or impossible to find now because they were suuuuper racist. I used to buy them because you could get a tape with 4 9-minute shorts for $2, which was very affordable for a kid.
I had plenty of those, too. They were fine for the early '80s but I don't know how some places (mostly PAL regions) could stand the load times of late '80s games on tape.
Before I was born my parents had a nes, sega genesis, and a Gameboy which to the day they tell me my birthday music is from Tetris as they played that while waiting(1990). Later that same year they bought the snes. So years later my first handheld was a Gameboy pocket and my first ever console was a N64. The first system I ever purchased was the Xbox 360 on launch day (which eventually got the Red ring of death and so did 3 others).
Also who doesn't know what a floppy disk is? My Mac when I was a kid could use both floppy disks and CDs. Installing Doom 2 on floppy disks was so much fun.
Also who doesn't know what a floppy disk is? My Mac when I was a kid could use both floppy disks and CDs. Installing Doom 2 on floppy disks was so much fun.
I remember when the NES was first being advertised during Saturday morning cartoons. I was mesmerized. In 1985, it truly felt like the arcade could be replicated in your living room. I wanted it so bad, and kept on asking for it for my birthday and Xmas. Alas, my family couldn't afford it, and every Christmas I'd look for a box that was around the same size as the NES box, and pray that this was the year. Unfortunately, I never did get it as a gift. I got a paper route, and delivered papers until I could afford it in February 1989. By that time, the NES was really starting to lag behind arcade tech, and I remember not even being that sure I wanted it anymore, but out of sheer stubbornness, I bought it anyway. It was the right decision.
My first console was an Atari 800XL that loaded games from cassette tapes. Technically not a console but a computer, but I used it exclusive for gaming so I consider it my first. I still remember having to wait sometimes up to 10 minutes for a game to load, but back then it was sure worth it.
Then I played a NES and I was like "Holy crap! No loading!"
Then I played a NES and I was like "Holy crap! No loading!"
I was playing my atari 8-bit just the other day. Have you seen this:
This runs on an Atari 800XL
Yeah. Some of us even loaded games with cassettes as well.
Damn juniors (rages at cloud)
Our fist console was an Atari 2600 my dad bought from our neighbor "for you kids". He played it more than us, and was better than us at multiple games, like Football, American Football, Joust, Krazy Climber... We also had E.T. the E.T., and we even manage to finish it!
Also, 3 1/2 and 5 1/4 floppy disk crowd here. Never used the tapes because that was way too fancy then too old in my old home town. Our first computer was a 486 with 8MB (I think) RAM and whoooping 128 MB HD, then later, my first USB drive was 128 MB!
Also, 3 1/2 and 5 1/4 floppy disk crowd here. Never used the tapes because that was way too fancy then too old in my old home town. Our first computer was a 486 with 8MB (I think) RAM and whoooping 128 MB HD, then later, my first USB drive was 128 MB!
VHS could play a wide variety of porn children's shows, so you made the correct choice as a child
That's sweet story, you're such a good kid!
My first gaming related product is Gameboy Color that my grandpa bought back from Hong Kong as a gift. It's the main reason I have gaming as my hobby. He passed away 10 years ago and the Gameboy isn't working anymore but I still keep it! Ah, I miss him.
My first gaming related product is Gameboy Color that my grandpa bought back from Hong Kong as a gift. It's the main reason I have gaming as my hobby. He passed away 10 years ago and the Gameboy isn't working anymore but I still keep it! Ah, I miss him.
You did something so considerate for your hard-working mum, at such a young age. Take a bow, OP. Take a bow.