Your Memories of Your Consoles

I don't have any specific memories, but my dad and I completed Super Mario World 100% on the GBA SP. We got every dragon coin, changed the world colors, got the highest score possible on the "Choose A Game" screen, everything!

 

They are toys or tools. Having an emotional connection to a piece of frequently upgraded and mass produced consumer goods never seemed like a sensible plan.

I have good memories of them, though more for the people I was playing the games with. I could probably link some memories with some games or something but from the get go it has always been a serious mix of things available to be played and everything was in heavy rotation.

 

Got a looooot of memories with all of my old consoles, my family has been pretty "gaming" oriented for the most part, my dad used to be a huge gamer and my older bro, too, so I have a lot of memories playing stuff with them or watching them play and such.

The first significant memory I can recall is with the SNES and playing various games. TMNT Turtles in Time, Might Morphin Power Rangers, X-Men Mutant Apocalypse...used to love playing those games, and I'd sit there and watch my brother play them, too.

Then there was the Game Gear, it was my older bro's but he used to let me play it every now and again, I remember playing Sonic and stuff on it all the time.

Then the Gameboy, too, I used to play mostly Pokemon Red, Donkey Kong, Super Breakout, DQ 1+2...I think I still have that somewhere.

Then the N64, I used to play all sorts of stuff on that when I was younger. Smash Bros, Super Mario 64, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Stadium, Hey You Pikachu, Goldeneye...

But the PS1 is probably the one I played most as a kid. I remember the first time I got stung by a bee (or I guess multiple bees, it was like 3 or 4). After that happened, my dad took me to a Gamestop to pick out some games to make me feel better, ended up choosing Spyro 1 and 2. That was the first time I played the Spyro games, which ended up being my favorite series on any of the older consoles.

Then of course there was the Dreamcast, we used to play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Dreamcast a ton. I remember we used to use cheats a lot in that game, we'd enable perfect balance and then just leave it running while grinding to see how high we could get the score.

PC gaming was also pretty big, too. My dad and I used to play Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party together all the time, I probably clocked over a thousand hours in that game just playing multiplayer with him...Then of course the classics, Diablo, C&C Red Alert, I remember we used to own the Interplay 15th Anniversary Collection thing which had a fair amount of games in them like Fallout, a few old DOS games, Battle Chess, Redneck Rampage...

I could probably go on for ages.

 

Humans make emotional connections to everything, from songs to movies to colors to actors to video games and the systems they're played on. Association is a strong part of human psychology, and we can't really discriminate against what should produce a response and what shouldn't.

Anyways, I'm pretty fond of my GBA SP. While I didn't have that many games for it, I enjoyed playing all 3 Sonic Advance games on it. I wish I had had more games on it. Even though I never owned them when I was younger, I always thought the Pokemon cartridges looked cool. Plus, the whole pseudo-chiptune sound of the GBA sounded cool to me.

 

No doubt, I certainly have my share of "unintentional" long term memories featuring games. On discrimination then trick cyclist types would probably make a distinction between health associations and not so healthy ones.
Spin it another way though. I am sure you can find people that have no particular emotional attachment to any vehicle they have had, same deal for me but with consoles.

 

Perhaps, but take into account that vehicles are a necessity (at least in America and a few other countries). Vehicles (neutral stimulus) may be associated with road trips and enjoyable moments for some (unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response), but for others, they're strictly a necessity, and don't associate fondness for their vehicles because they may not have enjoyed such moments, or haven't gotten joy out of such moments. Heck, they might even have negative moments occur with the vehicle, and may grow to resent the vehicle.

Game consoles are different in that they aren't a necessity, and the people who get them probably enjoy video games, so after a while, they begin to associate the consoles with the games they play and the experiences from said games. People who don't enjoy games aren't likely to make these associations, but, then again, they probably won't being buying game systems for themselves.

 

Gameboy Color: My first received game console, as a Christmas gift with Pokémon Yellow in 1999. The thing would become a permanent fixture to my hands, and open a huge rabbit hole that I promptly fell into, never to return.

Nintendo GameCube: The next step in my gaming evolution, received as a birthday gift in 2002, with Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. I'd played game systems at friends houses before, notably a Sega Genesis, N64, Dreamcast and PSOne, but this was my first home console that was actually MINE. Like the GBC before it, it was a literal game changer.

Nintendo Wii: During the height of the Wii's popularity, my dad and I scoured the neighboring town looking for one. We were lucky enough to find the lone one left at Target, and picked it up instantly with Twilight Princess and Sonic and the Secret Rings. Getting one was lucky, but the fun our entire family had as a result of that system was more than worth the journey.

I've had way more consoles than this over the years, but these three are the most prominent memories in my gaming life.

 

Genesis: My first console ever, I was a little kid when my wealthy uncle gave it to me as a gift
Dreamcast: my beloved console, I felt bad when I was seeing it dying. I wanted it to be my last console.

But my girlfriend convinced me to buy a Wii U (she's a Nintendo girl...), so I have profound feelings with that console as well

 

True Story

For me it's the SNES, not because it's a great console, but because two dear friends are connected with it. Before there was phones, internet etc. there was just the SNES and football (or soccer for you americans). I lived in a small village with my friends. We always played football outside when the weather was nice and played SNES Super Soccer when the weather was bad. Some day my family had to move to a town. That's when I lost contact to both my friends forever. Some day when I was grown up enough, I attemped to visit them by myself. I spent half the day cycling to my old village. Sadly they had already moved and left their houses empty like some ghost houses. Considering I was still a kid, that was creepy as hell. I cycled back home and knew that I would never see them again

 

my best childhood memory was probably the day when my dad brought me to the shopping mall and bought me a NES, SNES, and PSX console. my relations with my dad was and still is distant, so when I remembered he bought me those three, somehow I think it's kinda sweet.

I had a lot of good memories with SNES because I could play it with my cousins. but the most memorable experience was Chrono Trigger. It was my 1st rpg ever.

I have no particular memory for PS2 (bought it by my own), or PS3 (bought it two years ago, don't really like it)

I bought Wii two years ago because I want to the GC compatibility. one of the best console ever for a retro gamer

 

I remember my first time playing SM64 I had no idea what to do. (I was only like 5 years old) XD

 

I've got a weird kinda fondness with my PSP. I obtained it because my older brother had it, and he gave it to me to bribe me out to lie to my dad about something. I almost never played any PSP games at all, but I did use it for browsing 4chan and to run Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. So even though it's broken now I still keep it because it makes me think of my older brother and because it had a substantial impact in shaping who I am.

 

Sega Genesis: I don't remember much about this one but, my Mom always tells the story of how my older brother taught me to play Sonic the Hedgehog at 6 months and I still play it (on other consoles) to this day.

Nintendo Gamecube: The first game console I specifically have memories of playing. The first game I played was Super Mario Sunshine at the age of 3. Never beat it and still haven't fully beaten it today.

Sony Playstation: One of my favorite consoles to this day. Not the PS2, PS3, or PS4. The PSX. My favorite game for the PSX is Nascar 2000. I specifically remember coming home from Kindergarten extremely excited to play the game every day.

Nintendo DS: I remember my Mom got her first Nintendo DS when I was 3 years old. The first game she got for it was Super Mario 64 DS which was an amazing game. We still have the old brick of a DS (It's not bricked tho xD (Hacking pun ))

Nintendo DS Lite: This was my first PERSONAL game console. I got it for Christmas when I was 7 years old (Same year I got my first Wii). I still have it and still occasionally play it. I got Mario Kart DS with it which is still one of my favorite games.

Nintendo Wii: We got this console when I was in 2nd grade. It was also the first console I f*cked around with homebrew on. I still have that hacked Wii. The Disc Channel is bricked tho so, I have to launch discs from USB Loader GX but nonetheless, the console is still in our living room on top of the cable box and plugged into the TV.

Nintendo 3DS: I bought this console in 2013. It was the first console I bought with my OWN money. I was so proud of myself. I spent 2 years saving up for it. Had I waited an extra 3 months however, I could've bought the 3DS XL instead of the 3DS. I still have the 3DS and it's the only console I own that I've hacked and haven't bricked at least once (I am VERY careful with it). The first game I got for it was Mario Kart 7. Not as good as Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart DS but, it's still pretty good in it's own style. I held the world record for Maka Wuhu on MK7 with 1:14 for a while. Don't know if it's been beaten yet or not.

Nintendo Wii U: One of my favorite consoles to this day. It has Wii backwards compatibility which of course meant I had to hack vWii to play Gamecube games on. The first game I got for the Wii U was Wind Waker HD but the first game I played on the Wii U was Mario Kart 8. This console has a GREAT Super Smash Bros. game and was the second Smash Bros. game I personally owned in the franchise. My favorite game on the console however is LEGO City: Undercover and, I can't wait until the Switch port of Undercover comes out!

Switch: Sadly don't own one yet ;(

 

I got tons of great memories with a lot of systems but to this day the n64 stands out the most. Those countless hours in 007, perfect dark, Duke nukem, mario kart, etc. I will never forget those days playing them with friends and family.