Remember When You Became A Gamer? What Was Your First Game?

And I don’t mean what was the very first thing you ever played, I mean what was the first game you played that after you played that game, you knew you loved video games and you would be a gamer for the rest of your life.

It’s funny but sometimes your first is not really that good, for me, for example I first played on Atari 2600 and I was playing joust, that bird game, and it was a pretty cool game but I was so small, I really wasn’t hooked. I could careless if I got to play it again tomorrow.

It didn’t really move me and I wasn’t that into it. But the day I actually became a gamer was one Christmas I asked my mom if we could get a Nintendo Entertainment System.

And she looked at me like are you crazy, you know how much those things cost. It’s really expensive. I was so sad, I couldn’t even think for the next few days.

Then when Christmas came I looked under the tree and every box there was so small there was no way in hell we got one. By we I mean me and my two brothers. One of the gifts was clearly clothes because it was all soft and moved back and forth when I picked it up. I was as sad as any kid who just found out Christmas wasn’t actually as special as I had thought.

I mean what was the point in being good all year, just so Santa wouldn’t keep his promise on Christmas.

So that night when my mom called us to unwrap our gifts (gifts we had already knew what they were because we peaked by sticking little holes in the wrapping) I was as sad as you can be on Christmas without looking like a really disappointed little spoiled kid. I tried to save face and kissed my mom and thanked her for the presents, even though I was thinking wow, I can’t believe this right now, Santa did me dirty. What did I ever do to him.

(of course I didn’t understand money and how you had to actually work for it, there was no tree in our backyard, even though my mom would talk about it all the time, when she looked at the prices of things, she would say, “you seem to think there's a tree in the back yard that prints money)

And just then as I was going up the stairs because I told my mom I just want to go back to bed if that’s ok, she laughed because I looked so sad, and she said, “ok, that’s fine, but don’t you want to open this last gift before you go” - I said, “what last gift, we opened everything?”

My mom was the best, she already knew we would peaked so she hide this one at the top of the closet, and all I can tell you is if you ever have kids make sure you do this one.

She said, yeah Santa forgot to put names on this one but he said it’s ok because it’s for all of you. I looked at the box and it matched the dimensions of the one we saw at the store, and at that moment, I couldn’t even take it anymore if it wasn’t a Nintendo I was going to die right there in the living room from pure disappointment. So I let my brother take it from my mom, I was just in too much shock to move. But then excitement just took over me and I ran to the package and started ripping the wrapping with my brother.

Oh my god, my first Super Nintendo. I was too excited for words, it’s the moment I became a real gamer. We played Mario for hours, day after day after school, that was it for me, I was hooked.I became a true gamer, and every day after that day was amazing, I fell in-love with gaming and just couldn’t wait to play more games on my Nintendo. Over the years I went from a Nintendo Entertainment System to a SNES, to a Nintendo 64.

But what about you when did you become a gamer, and what game was it? Do you even remember?

-I love this video, makes me think back to when I was a kid (yes I was once that excited too) ..LoL-

[Nineball2112]

I"m so old, I couldn't tell you. It was before console gaming when all we had were arcades at the malls.

It was probably Asteriods or Centipede that probably hooked me.

My first console was an Atari 2600, so it was probably Air-Sea Battle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

And you know what? I was the happiest kid in the world because I could game at home!! Without being limited to how many quarters I could get.

I didn't care about graphics or resolution or anything other than I could play a video game at any time I wanted for as long as I wanted. Those were the days... LOL

[Crazyglues]

Love that story player, yeah i liked 2600 but I was a little kid at that time so it didn't really stick.

you said, "I didn't care about graphics or resolution or anything other than I could play a video game" - yeah... those were the days...LoL

Thanks for the feedback brought back some good memories, forgot all about Asteroids and Centipede.

[Ezz2013]

i think my first game was Superman on Atari 2600

[nidhogg]

Monkey Hero on the PS1.. not only was it my first console game, it was also the time that I became a Sony fan. Never had a Nintendo or Xbox console. Sony all the way. Thanks Monkey Hero!

[NewMonday]

was also playing Atari as a kid, but the procces was gradual as I discover more experiences

- the start was basically achievement based experience with 2D games in the days of Atari-->MSX-->Amiga
- discovered story based experiences with Lucas Arts PC debenture games
- got into competitive gaming with SF2
- got into RPGs with Chrono Trigger on SNES
- got into FPS games with Goldeneye on N64
- got into online MP with Bad Company 2 on PS3

[bouzebbal]

cool thread..
my first console was Atari 2600 as well. My first game must have been Mario on it.
I had an Atari with many games stored in it.. Never had to buy any extra game.
Pitfall was also a great adventure game, kind of Uncharted ancestor.

[Alexander1Nevermind]

Atari 2600 was my 1st console. The game I remember the most was Pitfall. I was 10 or 11 then. I enjoyed arcade classics like Par-Man and Donkey Kong

[pixelsword]

My first game was peek-a-boo with my parents; where did they go, man?

I think that's why I love games like Gears of War and Uncharted, because of the cove system I was introduced to as a baby.

[Gazondaily]

I don't remember my first game (damn I'm old) but it was this kid jumping on giant leaves (or what looked like leaves) to cross a river.

I remember playing it at my cousins (or trying to play, everyone was hogging the controller) and my parents had to drag me away as I was kicking and screaming.

Then my own console was the megadrive (was playing on my cousin's stuff until then) and got a 3 in 1 game, Mortal Kombat, Aliens and Sunset Riders.

I remember a really hot chick who was our neighbour and had just moved in near us and who I had a crush on. On the day I actually got my megadrive she started talking to me wanting to hang out...typical. I brushed her off to play the console without a second thought.

No regrets to this day.

....I think

[BlackTar187]

My first video game was card readers

Still have great memories.

[iceman06]

PONG!!! Yep, that was my first!!! There were no real graphics. Just a couple rectangles hitting a square. You know what? It kept me busy until I finally got an Intellivision.

[mechlord]

I was 6 and there was this joint near school and i used to peek inside whenever i passed by. the game that mesmerized me the most was contra, on nes. I got hooked just by watching others play and trying to make sense of it all with a 6 years old brain.

So yeah, i was hooked before i even knew how to shoot diagonally and collect power ups :)

[Elwenil]

Mine was Star Castle in the local arcade. ;D

[memots]

Atari was my most played console. That hockey game got us hooked, Pitfall,
Zaxxon on the colecovision ... Good old days :)

[caseh]

Another for Atari 2600 here, my brothers to be exact but I still remember being quite hooked the Mario Bros. game. Led to me loving games like Bubble Bobble, Snow Bros. and Rodland as I was growing up. :)

[madpuppy]

DugDug and gyruss, in the arcade so I know where you are coming from Nineball2112.

[thorstein]

Console: Atari 2600 Adventure. Asteroids was great and I loved it, but Adventure was the game that brought me back again and again. It fired my imagination.

Arcade: Speed Rumbler because it revealed that there was more to games than just shooting or driving. Here was a game that allowed you to get out of your vehicle, shoot enemies and enter another vehicle and continue on the journey.

RPG: Ultima IV for the Commodore 64. Just being able to traverse that wonderful world, the music, entering a town was a rewarding experience, traveling, learning, fighting, awesome.

[RJ92009]

1991 super Nintendo just came out I was 5 my mom took back my bat man cave that my grandma got me for a super nes I was so mad back in the day plus my mom did not know how to hook it up so it sat there a week but I still remember my first day gaming like it was yesterday . My baby seater hooked the whole think up and showed me the love of my gaming life back then zelda on the nes she even gave me her old nintendo when she hooked my super up showed me how to play mario we stayed up all night with tons of soda and candy been hooked every since.

[mixelon]

The earliest game I remember having played was http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... on the BBC micro.. Basically a knock-off Donkey Kong. :D (i must've been 4 or 5?)

There never was a game or even system I played that made me realise I'd be a gamer for the rest of my life really, as I always had them around the house since i was a toddler, and it was just normal in our household, so I didn't give it much thought, even though it influenced all sorts of things from my taste in music, art, and so on. I guess that's a privileged upbringing from a gaming perspective even though I never had consoles until the PS1 - had a whole host of home computers about instead, which gives you a bit of creative freedom too.

My first computer that was mine and not the family's was an Amiga. Still love that machine. Turrican 2 is one of my all time favourite games.

[mabreu]

Back in the early 80's, Arcade games were my first. Although, I played very little. It was just to hang out with friends at the mall. Then my father got the Commodore 64 some time later and I officially became a gamer.

[oasdada]

There were some old games but the one that i remmember is kangaroo on atari and thats weird cuz i was born in 1989 lol.. started playing games when i was 3 or 4.. the one that i remmember most clearly is dangerous dave

[DragonKnight]

Absolute first game I ever played was Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt for the NES when I was 4 years old. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember first seeing SMB on a commercial for Frosted Flakes with Tony the Tiger and mimicking playing it as my parents simply grinned at how cute they thought it was (I can remember being embarrassed by that as well, lol). Shortly thereafter they bought a Nintendo Entertainment System and thus began my life long gaming passion. Those were the good ol' days.

[aLucidMind]

The first game I played was WWF Warzone on the N64, but I didn't become a gamer for a while later. I got an XBox 360 and my first game was Oblivion, followed by the first Mass Effect which are what initially got me as interested in gaming as I am now.

[SilentNegotiator]

I couldn't tell you the FIRST game I played, but I remember the first game that got me into gaming; Super Mario 64 at the age of 5 or so. The open-ended world, the collectathon, the creative puzzles and use of diverse moves and abilities....

I'm so glad that I had played a game like that as one of my firsts.

[WizzroSupreme]

I remember playing Super Mario Bros. on my sisters' NES for the first time as my first game ever, but I remember Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door as the first game I ever fell in love with.

[isarai]

First game i ever played was battletoads, I was 4 and it was kicking my ass. I played a few others after that but it wasn't till months later after hunkering down and got lost in an excruciatingly punishing and insanely long 13hr session (you couldn't save on most nes games so it was beat it in one sitting or start over) that i beat it and discovered satisfaction on a whole new level made even better by the fact that it was the first game i've ever beaten. That's when i knew there was something that just resonated with me in this medium

[BlackTar187]

Wait are you saying you beat Battletoads at age 4?

[isarai]

Yes but it wasn't the prettiest process, lots of mini melt down moments and quite a few tears of frustration, but i was determined

[mixelon]

I don't know many parents who'd let a *4* year old have a 13 hr battletoads session, haha.

[isarai]

Well i did it while staying the weekend at a relatives so they didn't know

[BlackTar187]

are you a savant? Sorry i would love to believe that you beat one of the hardest games of all time at age 4 but i can't.

[isarai]

Like i said it wasn't pretty, easily one of the most frustrating moments of my life. Many parts were beaten by inching my way through, others by memorizing them after several attempts. I probably had to restart the game like 5 times, hints why it took 13hrs. Not like i mastered the game, i just clawed my way through it

[barakus7]

Totally agree with BlackTar187. No way did you beat that game at age 4. If you did, it was with a game genie. I had that game and played the holy hell out of it. Tons of hours, hundreds of play throughs, no dice. And my friends never let me borrow games until they beat them, because I was a beast and would beat them in less than a day. I have also played thousands of games and beat nearly all of them, and still that mother effin' game haunts me.

(First game was Pong on Magnavox. Had to use screw driver to hook it up to the tv and I was as fascinated by the controller as I was by the concept you could make stuff move on the Tv in real time)

[Heyxyz]

While I don't remember the the first game I played (it was probably on Atari or a knockoff Atari), I do remember when I first became a gamer. I became a gamer when I first got a PS2 in 2009. It happened later in life because my parents wouldn't let me play games when I was a kid. They used to make up all of these statistics on how gamers where stupider than everyone else, and how I'd become stupid if I played games lol. Yeah those were the days. My gaming journey continued in 2012 when I got a PS3, and went even further in 2013 when I got a PS4.

[Lukejrl]

Yea my parents worried about that too. I have ADD, and I love gaming, but it kinda went into a little unhealthy. When I was out with friends after a while I would wish I was back home gaming. I think with kids the important thing to make sure that they know that gaming may be a preferred hobby but there so much else out there to enjoy. And kids with undiagnosed ADD or other problems may really enjoy the escape gaming brings, so balance is key for me and my kids. But have been a gamer since I played Mike Tyson punch out when I was 2.

[s45gr32]

For me personally it was donkey Kong country for the super Nintendo that made me a gamer. It was the snes game library that I played more than any other gaming library both the original console and again via PC gaming emulation. Hell I played donkey Kong country a lot both the cartridge and emulation.

[annoyedgamer]

Age of Empires from there the rest is history.

[Metallox]

Same. Age of Empires II has to be one of the very first games I ever played. However, Mario Party 7 and Pikmin 2 are the ones that brought me to gaming.

[kingdom18]

The earliest games that I can remember that really got me hooked were Jak and Daxter : The Precursor Legacy, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Sly 1 & 2 (I can actually remember my father bringing home the sequel on the night of my birthday for me, I didn't even know there was a sequel, I was so happy) and Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. I loved those games so much when I was younger, still replay them every now and then.

[Variant]

FINAL FANTASY VIII!

I didn't understand the junction system for a few play-throughs, but I was a kid; I somehow finished the game more than once. After I understood it, I realized I could play the game--and the rest--in more than one way...I did, however, develop a preference for RPGs.

[rezzah]

Grand Turismo on the PS1.

[Crazyglues]

Nice, I don't even think I started playing Grand Turismo until PS2, but once I did I loved it, and I've bought every GT since then...

[howiewowwee]

PONG

[Shineon]

Tomb Raider II very immersing game. I think I was 9 at the time. I really enjoyed exploring the levels on that game.It was a big step up from Mario and sonic.

[frwololo]

Monkey Island on PC

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Nightstalker on Intellivision. Man what a stress test. And they recently announced they're doing a remake funded through kickstarter. Couldn't be happier.

[2pacalypsenow]

Decent(aka Frespace) was my first Video game i remeber playing

[Lukejrl]

Seeing some these comments makes me feel old. Some of you people do not have the roots in gaming that us older ones do. it is not a bad thing but I am not yet thirty and with some people saying pikmin 2 or ps2 games made them gamers has an odd ring to it.

I hope that some of you who haven't been playing games as long as some of us go back and play the nes or snes heritage. or even further. sometimes seeing the past can make you appreciate the present a lot more.

That being said my first game that made me a gamer was Mike Tysons punch out. I played it in my grandparents basement with my uncles when I was 2. I made my part s get me and my new brother a nes very Quickly.

[Valenka]

I think the first video game I've ever played was GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64 when I was around maybe four or five years old. It was also the same day I became a massive James Bond fan that managed to escalate more and more as I got older.

[MasterofMagnetism]

First game I ever played was Paperboy on the NES. I remember playing it with my uncles when I was about 3 or 4 years old. The game that got me hooked on video games was Street Fighter 2.

[RSKnight]

I started like many with the Atari 2600, but the first game that hooked me and I knew I will be playing games forever was Ninja Gaiden 2 for the NES. I played it so much that I started timing my self and was able to finish it in less than 30 minutes. I was addicted to that game. Then when I got a Super NES I was addicted to Street Fighter II. Now this days I rarely play a game twice. I don't know if that's good or bad. Good because there are so many games to play, or bad because I no longer find one that hooks me like in the early days.

[TWB]

Probably the first time I ever realized there were gaming machines.

I never questioned it or thought "wow, I'll do this for the rest of my life", thats just how I have always reacted to things.

First game that I owned on my own machine: Crash 3 Warped. 2 other games (which are some of my favorites now) after that: Spyro 2 Gateway to Glimmer and Tombi 2.

[Blacklash93]

Sonic The Hedgehog 2. I didn't get my own system until I was older, and I got to play this on my grandparents' Genesis when my family visited them.

The last levels of that game felt like banging my head against a brick wall (and enjoying it!), and I didn't properly finish it until years later.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

For me it was Pong Arcade . I was around 6 or 7 years at that time . I remember playing the sit down table top arcade version of Pong when my mother took my family to Disney World in Florida in the mid-70's .

But the game that really started my deep passion for video games was the DEFENDER arcade cabinet in 1980 , hence the meaning of the first part of my N4G name " DefenderOf Doom2" . It took me around 40 to 50 dollars to master Defender . But when i was able to play Defender for an hour on 1 quarter , wow , it was such a rush ! Thank goodness i had a paper route to support by new addiction for video games back then.

[BillytheBarbarian]

Sega master system's Double Dragon. The music and presentation of it just grabbed me. Then Phantasy Star just threw another fireball down my throat. That's when I couldn't sleep without dreaming about new games and soon new 16 bit consoles.

I played video games since Odyssey2 and I was into KC munchkin and War of Nerves. A lot of weird interesting games were on there. But SEGA made me a gamer for life.

[PoSTedUP]

toe jam & earl attack on funkatron.

[IamTylerDurden1]

My mom bought me Toe jam & earl attack on planet funkatron and it came with a fruit rollup inside the game case as a treat? Crazy 90's stuff.

[Crazyglues]

OMG! I remember that game, I loved toe jam & earl it was amazing, it was one of the first games I played with my brother were he could go his own way, and I could go check out something else.

And the screen would just split, that was like the best game ever... Loved it.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Uncharted 3

[IamTylerDurden1]

No, jk it was..hmmmmmmmmmm. Can't remember the first but early games were Duckhunt, Mickey Mouse on NES, Giromite, excite bike. My favorite system was Sega Gen and Sonic, MK, Toe jam & earl. Remember sega cd and sewer sharks? Remember the Dracula game on sega cd?

[Crazyglues]

Yes I do remember that Dracula game... LoL

-And I remember Duckhunt too, using that gun that came with the system to shoot was awesome, that was an amazing game... Lot of fun times.

[AshHD]

International Superstar Soccer Pro on the PlayStation & Ninja Gaiden on the SEGA Game Gear. Can't quite remember which came first if I'm honest.

I mentioned ISS in a recent Pro Evolution Soccer blog that I posted. The impact of that game was two-fold. For one thing, it helped foster my love of soccer as a sport. For another, it helped ignite my love for videogames as a whole.

Near enough two decades later, and here I am, typing this comment on N4G, perhaps in part to ISS and the everlasting impression that it made on me.

[Bass_fisherman]

And ever since PES 05 the game was never the same...

[AshHD]

I loved PES 6, it's my favourite football game of all time in fact, narrowly edging out ISS. I can understand your reservations though. Pro Evo never made a strong transition from sixth gen to seventh.

With that said, I am really enjoying this years PES offering. It's the first Pro Evo title I've bought since 2009, and at the risk of being left disappointed, I dare say that it's the start of something big. If Konami's recent activity is any indicator though, PES' future is definitely clouded.

[dancerOfDeath]

Could have been any number of MSDOS games, used to play them with my dad as far back as my earliest memories.

Though, really, the real answer to this question couldn't be easier for me: Super Mario Bros 3. That game will forever be the greatest game in my eyes, and set the foundation for a lifetime wasted in front of the TV. I can still crush it in no time to this day, and play it regularly on my WiiU. Would probably give Duck Hunt honorable mention. Used to wake up at 3am, or be woken by my sister, and the two of us would play for hours and hours until the ducks moved like bullets.

Ahhhh, NES.

Games like Paperboy, Super Mario Land on SNES were awesome too. Pokemon Red is a relatively early contender, I think I was 10 or 11 at the time but its burned into my skull. Loved Body Blows and Death Rally on PC. Childhood whimsy started to fade after games like Battlefield 1942, CounterStrike Source, Mechassault.

Halo CE probably one of if not my most played game ever. Used to mod the hell out of that game, singleplayer, multiplayer, the works. Endless hours on XBconnect.

[Bass_fisherman]

The game that really got me into videogames as a whole was Tomb Raider 1 bck in 96 on the saturn the magic of that is still there its still the only TR game i completed,

[xX-StolenSoul-Xx]

The first video game I ever played was
on the NES. I was entralled by the gameplay and the guns.

Shortly after my first gaming love super mario bros came into my life. As a child (4-5ish) I played through it many times and actually discovered many secrets within the game that always had me going back for more.

[xX-StolenSoul-Xx]

The first video game I ever played was
on the NES. I was entralled by the gameplay and the guns.

Shortly after my first gaming love super mario bros came into my life. As a child (4-5ish) I played through it many times and actually discovered many secrets within the game that always had me going back for more.

[Orpheo]

Been gaming since the NES, been a gamer since the PSX.

The first game I remember playing was "Duck Hunt" on the NES, but I didn't become a gamer till "Final Fantasy VII" on the PSX.

Having never played an RPG before, I remember HATING FFVII at first due to its menu-driven combat interface. After pushing through the first few sequences the story grabbed me and pulled me along throughout the entire adventure. It was then that gaming became more than just a hobby for me, it became a passion.

[barb_wire]

I'm old. I remember seeing and playing Pong, countless 'light-gun' games in arcades.. Played 'Space Invaders' when it was released in the arcade, same goes for Asteroids, Frogger, Donkey Kong & Pac-Man to name a few.

First console though was the Atari 2600 back in 1980 just went on from there, pretty much owned everything and played so many games.

Still playing.. currently have PS2, PSP, PS3, Vita, PS4, 360, Wii, iPad, phone and PC. Hope to be playing for many more years yet.

[gamer1138]

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive 1!

[creeping judas]

Atari Pong 1978. Yes I am dating myself with that revelation!

[megalonagyix]

I think it was Quake 3

[GuruStarr78]

My first console was back in 1983. My dad bought a system from Radio Shack that, when hooked up to the TV played six different games. From what I remember it had Pong and a Tank game, the rest I dont recall, But I do remember being hooked.

Then I got a hand - me - down Atari 2600 with a bunch of games from my cousin, eventually in '86 or '87 I got an NES and it was "on like Donkey Kong".... Literally...LOL

[uth11]

For me it was when I first saw Pac Man. I was hooked!

[Crazyglues]

Yes Pacman was an instant classic for me, I remember wasting a ton of quarters playing the arcade game...

Now I have Pacman Championship on my iPhone... LoL (and I still love playing it)

[uth11]

I'm not that big of a pac man fan anymore. I'll occasionally play.

But at the time when I saw it.. it was all I could think about!

[AAWELLS09]

I've played games since Atari but was pretty young then and it didn't really grab me enough to call myself a gamer. It wasn't until I played The Elder Scrolls Oblivion that gaming became a permanent part of my life.

[Forum_Pirate]

There wasn't one. It wasn't some magic moment, it was a time waster when I didn't have access to anything else, then a hobby I made time for and now somewhere between hobby and passion.

[mamotte]

Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, I was like 10-11 years old... ah, good times...

[Tzuno]

My first game was on a black and white display handheld with a diver that was trying to recover a treasure from under the sea and at the same time he needed to avoid a octopus, very limited game in late 80' :) after that came Atari 2600, but i could tell you the game that defined me as a gamer "Secret of Mana"

[OhMyGandhi]

The first game I ever played was probably Duck Hunt. the game that GOT me into gaming I think was Sonic. I don't really know why, I think its the massive levels, colorful visuals, tight and responsive controls and incredible soundtrack that sold me.

[SilverClock]

Pokemon Red...I remember playing it on my neighbor's Gameboy Color because we couldn't afford one. Then one Christmas my aunt bought me a Gameboy Color and the game and I was set to become the Pokemon Master. Caught myself a Mewtwo and was sitting on top of the world.
Then my cousin was taking a dump and beside him was my GBC. He was curious and started playing the game.
Thing is, he hit New Game.
Not Continue.
My Mewtwo lived on though, in the transfer data that was within the saved teams of Pokemon Stadium. I could never recover him, but we beat Pokemon Stadium together.

[coolbeans]

You know...I honestly can't remember my first video game as I'm typing this out. I remember certain moments of playing around with early N64 games when that was the first console I owned. Before that, it seemed like arcade games at various venues were a primary source for me.

While I honestly don't care for the flimsy categorization of the word "gamer," I guess I would've been considered one during that N64 gift because then it was off to the races in trying out new games, reading up on Nintendo Power magazines in the school library, and everything else about gaming I took in that led me from real-life discussions to eventually online discussions like Gamespot and here.