At what age did you become a retro gamer?

[ZeroAX]

When I was about five, I had a SNES. I remember getting up early in first grade to play Killer Instinct. I think my dad took it after he worked in Iowa and soon after he and mom divorced, so now I was stuck with my Xbox. I remember about third or fourth grade he got me a Wii, (back when they were super rare) and he got me Star Fox 64 and Super Mario World on Virtual Console. I also spent much of this time finding out about these old games on Wikipedia. In fifth grade, I ended up moving to the house of my mom's boyfriend at the time. He had a NES, SNES, and later N64. At this time I also started reading Hardcore Gaming 101 and watching the AVGN, which made me enjoy retrogaming even more. After moving to my current house, I took the NES, SNES, N64, PS2, PS3, and my Wii and Xbox 360 (which I'm going to sell). Now with my old Xbox found, and a Saturn, Dreamcast, and Neo Geo Pocket (speaking of which, I kept my GBA SP after al these years and my handheld collection now includes those, a 3DS, and a PSP), all my time is spent reading about and playing old video games. Now, when I'm spending all my money on Saturn imports and arcade sticks.



And Power Rangers toys. Can't forget the Power Rangers toys.

How old are you mate?

[elmagicochrisg]

I was born a retro gamer...

Same here. I grew up with Pong/Atari/Asteroids.

Jungle Hunt, Frogger, Space Invaders, Popeye (arcade)...

And then there was this erotic Smurfs game I was not allowed to see.

Up to this day I still don't know what it's about...

Anybody?...

[3DSStrider]

Blah blah bla.



And Power Rangers toys. Can't forget the Power Rangers toys.

How old are you mate?

I turned 14 last August.

[flojocabron]

[floattube]

Had a N64 for almost all my life. Over twelve years later and it still works. (I'm 14, not 12.)

[Breetai]

I didn't really become a retro gamer so much as I never quit playing my old games.

I got an nes right around the time Super Mario Bros. 3 came out, and I've been active in every game generation since. The thing is that I didn't stop playing my older systems when new ones came out.

As I see it, I'm just a gamer (and collector).

This. I started with the Atari 2600 and then NES and SMS, because they were the current consoles at the time, and never quit playing the games I liked.

[SamuraiMegas]

When I was seven my brother bought a genesis and lots of CIB gane for 40$ and I loved it.

[Gunstar Green]

I was always at least a generation behind growing up and started on my parent's Atari 2600 so always I guess .

[foxhound1022]

I'd probably have to say when I started downloading games on VC for Wii about 5-6 years ago.

I've always been an avid gamer, but never had a lot of disposable income, so always wanting to play the latest and greatest, my previous gen consoles and games got sacrificed in my hunt to break new gaming ground.

I don't believe I ever lost my love for the older stuff; I was just too engrossed with the newer prospects that it just never came up.

But, once I started browsing the VC games on Wii, all the memories and nostalgia started flooding back. Sooo, after downloading 40-50 games for various systems, I was slightly offput by not having the original controllers to play with. So, I got the revelation to go and pick up my favorite console when I was a kid; the SNES.

I got one at a flea market for $10, and it came w/ SMW, Super SF ll, Fatal Fury 2, and Top Gear. After that, it was freight train out of control.

I went back and got all the stuff I loved: Battletoads, FF's, Super Mario Kart; then moved onto the NES. From there I got every system I owned until current; all the games I loved, then the cool stuff I missed. Now I'm to the point where I'm after the either high demand or slightly obscure, and imports as well.

I've never looked back since. I still buy and play current-gen consoles and games, but now I can more easily justify spending $100+ on harder to find retro stuff, than shelling out the $50-$60 for a new game when I know the value will only depreciate. So in that sense, I'm as much as a collector as a gamer.

[Breetai]

What's the age range on this site? Maybe 12-50s?