Every week CDFreaks looks back and remembers the time when technology wasn’t as advanced as today. This week we take a look at consoles.
Everybody remembers their first console… Some didn’t enjoy the right technology and were not lucky enough to enjoy games in their childhood. My first console was Nintendo’s Super NES, with games like Mario and Street Fighter being my favourites. I still remember the grey box and the grey cassettes that you had to push into the console. After a while everything started to work and with the Playstation (PSX) under way I knew that a new generation was waiting for us. Now that we can enjoy the best in both imaging and sound, I personally start to miss those slow, low-graphic games. Back then we were happy with a hooky action figure that kicks ass. Now we want everything to look like a movie.
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Dou you remember Duck Hunt on the NES? Play it here.
Sometimes the Nintendo didn’t work and you had to take out the cassette and blow off the dust. After you re-inserted the game it started loading immediately. The huge power button on the left of my NES blocked a few times, so I decided to get myself a PSX. After a few years I noticed that every console had the same problems, every game reaches a point where you’ve to clean the discs or cassettes. Sometimes you had to take a few minutes to clean, when this became a daily job developers came with a new console.
Another console that I will never forget is the Atari. As a very young kid I saw my father playing on it. He balanced one controller in two hands and made a little jump after every button press. Back then I remember that a gaming console was part of a living room and not something you would keep in your bedroom. Friends and family sat around the TV while they enjoyed watching the gaming and witnessed some ‘record breaking’.
In 2008 you see that many want to play alone. Probably only the Wii and Playstation EyeToy really are games to play in a group. Some here probably used older consoles than me, maybe something to share? Do you miss those old, slow and sometimes ugly consoles?
33 Comments
Ping Pong! Can't remeber what the system was called, but it was basically two white bars on the screen and a square block.
It was called "Pong". I remember seeing it on the back cover of the Sears Christmas Catalog back in approx. 1976. It sold for $99.99.
This message was edited at: 25-04-2008 12:00
This message was edited at: 25-04-2008 12:00
Mine was the ColecoVision, Commodore 64 & Atari 2600, all bought within a 6 month period. We had them all setup in the DEN, so everyone (1 brother & 4 fair weather friends) could take turns playing, even my parents.
>Can't remeber what the system was called, but it was basically two white bars on the screen and a square block.< same goes for me
For me it was the Atari 800XL. Games for it came on cartridges, cassette tapes and 5.25" floppy disks. The cartridges were my favourite feature of consoles in the early days. They may have been expensive, but they loaded up instantly upon turning on the console and were very robust unlike tapes that wore out and floppy disks use to get bad sectors. I do remember waiting 10 to 20 minutes for tape based games to load, which sometimes failed midway depending on how worn the tapes were. On the other hand, they were easy to backup since they could be easily copied using a double-cassette recorder. 
I was heavily interested in platform games from the start all the way up until games went 3D. My Atari favourites were Miner 2049ER, Bounty Bob and Boulder Dash. I also liked other early platform games such as Mario (Gameboy and SNES), Wario (Gameboy), Jetpack (PC) and Keen (PC). Unfortunately I have no interest in modern 3D games, so as a result it has been years since I last regularly played any games.
For my parents, it was a Ping Pong console in the 70's.
I was heavily interested in platform games from the start all the way up until games went 3D. My Atari favourites were Miner 2049ER, Bounty Bob and Boulder Dash. I also liked other early platform games such as Mario (Gameboy and SNES), Wario (Gameboy), Jetpack (PC) and Keen (PC). Unfortunately I have no interest in modern 3D games, so as a result it has been years since I last regularly played any games.
For my parents, it was a Ping Pong console in the 70's.
Oh remember having a NES and a NEC PC-Engine. After that Gameboy, SNES ,PS and PS2 followed...
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 25 Apr 08 17:37
I am one of the older parents, I remember buying a Atari . Not the 2600,but the 880. This Was an All inclusive console that came out about 18 months before the 2600,it came preloaded with 8 games.Each game had about 5 options to set the players choice by flipping one toggle switche either up or down. IT was a box that you couldn't load any games into.There were 2 big buttons on the side of the console that were used two play the games like a pinball machine.There also also attached buy 2 cords the same paddle wheel controller that was on the ATri 2600. Of these preloaded games was pong,pinball,break- out The main reason I was one of the First to buy one was that it was in color not black and white.This promted me to buy My first color tv
Oh me also had a "Ping Pong" like game "console", hehe. that was fun to play with it. Of course though the C64 was not a console, but it will always be the winner for me. BBS, mailswapping, cracking and so many good pals... those were the good old times. 
I am not really interested in modern console/PC games... Last ones I played were Castle of Wolfenstein and Panzer General series...
I am not really interested in modern console/PC games... Last ones I played were Castle of Wolfenstein and Panzer General series... 
Lets see, some of my first were the Atari 2600, Pong, Colecovision, Intellivision, Atari 7200, Atari 800, and the Commodore 64. I remember back in the day when the C64 was the cutting edge, lol. Anyone remember those little games that looked like mini arcade machines? I had Donkey Kong and Pac man and on Pac man I remember rolling over the score several times because it couldn't go over 99,999. Ahh the good ole days. Remember Pac mania? The Pac man song and other stuff? Pac man was the stuff back in the day.
Anyone remember those little games that looked like mini arcade machines? I had Donkey Kong and Pac man and on Pac man I remember rolling over the score several times because it couldn't go over 99,999. Ahh the good ole days. Remember Pac mania? The Pac man song and other stuff? Pac man was the stuff back in the day. 
My first one was the 8-bit NES. I got it in like 94 or so (Easter Europe...) and had quite a bit of fun with some crazy cartridges that packed dozens of games (including the classics like Super Mario, Popeye, Contra, of course - but some of the most interesting ones were obscure ones that I don't know to be classics). When we got our first (own) PC in 1995, I went straight to DOS games.... and that's how it was till the late 90s, which brought me to Windows games. I haven't really touched consoles since, even though PC games market is degrading due to the newest consoles :/. Oh and about being spoiled by all the graphics -- I like good graphics, but you can't beat good gameplay. And though we don't have the family gathering around to play, when the single player is done, I go right back to some good old HL2 Deathmatch on some good, friendly servers.
@ RTV71 Vectrex? Sounds like something the doctor gives you after you've had sex with Paris Hilton.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 25 Apr 08 21:28
Eh, the first console the family had was a Pong clone with a rifle attachment that my dad bought at Gold Circle a few months before his death in late '74. He (and we) had a ball with it. The next console we had was an Atari 2600 one of my sisters won from a McDonald's contest. My first console that I personally owned was an NES (in my mid 20s, ironically). I now own most of the consoles out there (now that I am in my mid 40s), with an emphasis on Sega consoles (from a Master System add-on, up to the Dreamcast), but you never forget your first love.
the first games console i had was a sega master system with alex kidd built in!! ohh, the memories are flooding back lol!!
@U_N_S97; "Oh me also had a "Ping Pong" like game "console", hehe. that was fun to play with it. Of course though the C64 was not a console, but it will always be the winner for me. BBS, mailswapping, cracking and so many good pals... those were the good old times." A big +1 goes for me also! The C64 ruled! Amazing when you think about what could run on 64K memory and how fun it could be.. I also had a fastloader cartridge!
@Hypnosis4U2NV I have had an Action Replay cartridge, that has the fastload feature too... Those times coders knew how to code properly and we could see amazing things on a 8 bit machine with 64K memory. Not to mention the pictures were drawn pixel by pixel and not digitalized but a lot of games were still much better than the ones today, as good gameplay and new and good ideas rule. My Amiga /and other consoles+computers/ was nowhere near as much loved as that little C64. :B I have to admit that the time I spent with this machine was a very nice period of my life which I will never regret. Also the scenes have gone wrong since the C64 days, I have to add this too unfortunately. :c
Pong, then Atari 2600 when is was called Atarti VCS and bundled with Combat. I always wanted a Vectrex. How about Rescue on Fractalus on Atari 800, the 1st video game to ever startle the s*it out of me when that alien jumps up and smashes through the cockpit...
This message was edited at: 26-04-2008 09:43
This message was edited at: 26-04-2008 09:43
@U_N_S97; BBS'ing was great.. I use to tie up the phone line in my home over and over downloading new releases.. I remember the credit system, you would upload a release and get something like 2x or 3x the credits for use as a download.. I made many friends and we would also go out to "Meets" in the city or to a SYSOP's home.. Truly one of the best experiences of my life was with that little C64.. Crazy to think that this was the PRE-internet ageof today, yet everything ran so smoothly over a common phone line with no fears of the RIAA, MPAA, BSA catching you 'filesharing'..
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 26 Apr 08 19:55
Pong was the first one. On Black and White TV. Never had those NES/SNES machines at all . Later it was Vic20 and up to Amiga that still dominates as the best machine out there still alive today
. Later it was Vic20 and up to Amiga that still dominates as the best machine out there still alive today
@Hypnosis4U2NV yeah calling BBS's was such a fun, especially with a hacked phone line.. We Europeans had to call North American BBS's as those were the best. Yeah credit system applied to many people, not that I cared, we did the scene for fun and friendship not to gain bucks and alike... There were several copy and demo parties, one of the most loved ones was held in Venlo/The Netherlands. Those times are gone for good unfortunately, today anyone who can offer any hardware or has a fast broadband can join almost any group. It's about "speed" these days. Quality does not matter anymore. 
We never heard of companies like RIAA, MPAA, BSA and alike that time. Sad how bad the world became in last 20 or even less years. Today the young people cannot understand why some of us are always crying for the 80's, 90's... maybe because we were young then ? :X Who knows, at least those sweet memories will remain forever. :g
We Europeans had to call North American BBS's as those were the best. Yeah credit system applied to many people, not that I cared, we did the scene for fun and friendship not to gain bucks and alike... There were several copy and demo parties, one of the most loved ones was held in Venlo/The Netherlands. Those times are gone for good unfortunately, today anyone who can offer any hardware or has a fast broadband can join almost any group. It's about "speed" these days. Quality does not matter anymore. We never heard of companies like RIAA, MPAA, BSA and alike that time. Sad how bad the world became in last 20 or even less years. Today the young people cannot understand why some of us are always crying for the 80's, 90's... maybe because we were young then ? :X Who knows, at least those sweet memories will remain forever. :g
@U_N_S97; Heres some nostalgia for you, maybe it brings back memories: Eagle Soft Incorporation (ESI) Ikari Triad FairLight Horizon North East Crackers (NEC) Illusion Fantastic Four Cracking Group (FFCG) :d
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 27 Apr 08 18:23
I played Atari at a friends but my first console was an Intellivision...My dad payed $199 back in appox. 1978 or 79. I mostly remember playing baseball. I actually still had it unitl about 7 years ago when we donated it to an old folks home.
@Hypnosis4U2NV oops, your post brought memories back... yeah, most you mentioned I was trading with that time, plus I was a member of some of those. Was Fantastic Four Cracking Groups not labeled as F4CG by the way ? 
Not that it matters, thanks for this short group list. So good to read those old ones.
Was Fantastic Four Cracking Groups not labeled as F4CG by the way ? Not that it matters, thanks for this short group list. So good to read those old ones. 
Pong w/ light gun attachment, Atari 2600, TI-94A computer which used cartridges for games and other programs (I also had the voice module which was super cool for its time) and then Colecovision. A few years later I bought a NES and Gameboy for my little brother. Later I bought him a Genesis, SNES, N64 I sure miss my 2600 though! I sold it to my cousin to buy the Colecovision. Big mistake as it had a tendency to lock-up a lot. I exchanged it 3 times and all suffered from the same problem.
the snes was my first and last 16 bit which graphics looked good at the time i was born in 93 so i didnt know about a stupid genesis i liked mario instead of sonic.the came the ps1 i loved that game console i remember when i got spiderman 2 enter electro instead of virtue fighter 5.dumbass decision i ever made game wise.oh and on re3 i ran from nemesis instead of killing him?lol good ole times like that might not come back today is all online playing with people you barerly now instead of your family.
NES 1st system I got for a christmas present and loved every minute of it back then I was spoiled I got the latest system every year until I turned about 15 then I quite playing video games anymore.
still got my old 800xl somewhere up in the loft.. dont know if the cassettes would still load though ...lol must get it down sometimehttp://www.cdfreaks.com/jochem/../im...es/2/smile.gif
since then its been mega drive ps1 ps2 xbox xbox360 wii
when will it stop...
when i go blind...lol
since then its been mega drive ps1 ps2 xbox xbox360 wii
when will it stop...
when i go blind...lol
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 29 Jan 09 21:23
Judge Drokk Of ANARCHY............ Amiga 89-93
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 30 Mar 09 03:44
Magnavox Odyssey, not 2, but the original! With the light gun! Still have it with all of the extra pieces. The controllers were connected with heavy, thick wires. Every game was a kind of takeoff of pong. Played and collected them all up NES. Got Intellivision, Atari 2600, Colecovision, C64... Now, I just have all of the emulators on my laptop and play them all on there.
i still remember that i play all day on Super FamiCom that uses cartridges. Playing with duck shoot and wild gun man was such a fun with friends.
sharing cartridges every time there is one new.
We feel very lucky since we have seen how computer gaming evolved into a more realistic one
sharing cartridges every time there is one new.
We feel very lucky since we have seen how computer gaming evolved into a more realistic one
PONG!!!!!!!!!
Pong. We did not own it we just hung out at the local Caldors and played ..a lot. Hey we did not steal it! Caldors is gone but I read somwhere Pong is making a comeback. Honest it was not us who put Caldors out of business 
First was a pong clone (actually an Odyssey clone since Pong was a rip-off of Odyssey) - Monteverdi by Lloyd's electronics. Deluxe model with a gun for skeet shoot games (a large square bouncing around the screen).
Then came a Fairchild Channel F (original model when it was discontinued). My dad made a deal with the store we got it from as Fairchild stock had just dropped, that they would take it back for a full refund if it was discontinued. It was within a year or so, they refunded and by then the price on Atari 2600 had dropped, so I got a 2600. Traded my entire 2600 collection for a printer about 4 years later (Star Gemini 10x) but have since (and for maybe $20-30 total) put toghether a bigger 2600 collection than I had originally. Had a Colecovision briefly (took it back because I couldn't stand the controls). Got a 5200, then nothing for a while. Had a Sega Master System for a year or so and gave it away (paid $5 for it, but couldn't get games cheap enough to be worth while). Picked up a couple NES's and a 7800 about 12 years ago, Saturn about 11 years ago. Got a Dreamcast last year, and added N64 and Playstation in the last month or two. And that's not even counting computers, just game consoles.
Then came a Fairchild Channel F (original model when it was discontinued). My dad made a deal with the store we got it from as Fairchild stock had just dropped, that they would take it back for a full refund if it was discontinued. It was within a year or so, they refunded and by then the price on Atari 2600 had dropped, so I got a 2600. Traded my entire 2600 collection for a printer about 4 years later (Star Gemini 10x) but have since (and for maybe $20-30 total) put toghether a bigger 2600 collection than I had originally. Had a Colecovision briefly (took it back because I couldn't stand the controls). Got a 5200, then nothing for a while. Had a Sega Master System for a year or so and gave it away (paid $5 for it, but couldn't get games cheap enough to be worth while). Picked up a couple NES's and a 7800 about 12 years ago, Saturn about 11 years ago. Got a Dreamcast last year, and added N64 and Playstation in the last month or two. And that's not even counting computers, just game consoles.
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