What do you first think of when you hear "video games"

[J T]

Free associate: what are the first things that immediately come to mind for you when I say the words "video games"?

I'm interested in what iconography people subconsciously have connected to video games. For me, I immediately think of NES and SNES consoles. I think pixels and chip tunes. Mario. Metroid. Also, I tend to see a Dual Shock controller in my mind, which is the most modern image that comes up for me.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The first images that pop up.....

Atari 2600
NES
Arcade cabinets
Pixels
Chiptunes
Mario
Zelda

[ElkinFencer10]

The first level of Super Mario Bros.

[Xeogred]

Yeah I kind of picture the hardware first myself. NES, SNES, Genesis, and cartridges. Then images of the classics and sprites come to mind. Dash in many years of gaming magazines and reading too. Even if I've been gaming nonstop for about 25 years now, these are usually the images that instantly come to mind when I hear the word.

[Exhuminator]

SWEET BLISSFUL ESCAPE

[laurenhiya21]

Mostly my game shelf or a pile or random games. Nothing specific comes to mind other than Higurashi, but that's probably because it's the game I'm currently playing.

[noiseredux]

The first level of Super Mario Bros.

Me too. Even as a PC guy, this is really iconic.

[Tanooki]

Historically... a release, a better place, something always new to explore and enjoy, Nintendo, Mario, Zelda, SNES, NES, Gameboy, fun at home or on the go, worlds so amazing they in the imagination feel alive.

That what you're shooting for?

Just thinking of it I can still get the original Super Mario Bros, Zelda Overworld, and oddly the Bubble Bobble (and it's Bust-A-Move 'little brother') theme stuck in my head and it stays there for a bit. There's a few others like Castlevania (Vampire Killer) comes to mind as well to be fair but it's a pretty short list.

Games these days just lack imagination, they've taken 3D to the point pretty much when going HD where you can't imagine things as you're doing it or later on and explore them in your mind. It's all spoon fed to you, anything from the full lush world to them now spoon feeding you also every nuance like you're a little child taking a good chunk of the risk vs reward out of it.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I think of my basement, which is where all the video games were back when I was babby. Many an evening was spent down there playing my SNES and N64. I'm not 100% sure why I think about that, but maybe it's because I would spell out "video games" when I would ask my parents if I was allowed to play them, thinking that it would lessen the impact of the word (you know, like you do in front of the dog so he doesn't know he's about to go on a "walk" Xp).

[samsonlonghair]

I think of the classic 8-bit Mario tune from Super Mario Bros.