How Did You Become a Gamer?

[Auron225]

My older brother wanted a PS1 for Christmas... I don't remember being a part of the decision-making process seeing as I was only about 5/6 but it worked out that it became a joint present for both of us. He got Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot (which is a fantastic way to start gaming)... and I got Rayman and Casper -.- We both played his 2 a lot more...

 

[DanielBrown]

1. Pretty much only play games because I got nothing else to do during the days. Got quite serious four years ago when I was done with school. Before that I was the super casual Counter-Strike/World of Warcraft guy. Played a lot of PS/PS2 games as a kid though. Mostly the Final Fantasy series.

2. A demo disc, year 1998, for the Playstation. As I didn't speak English I could never figure out why the games were so short and seemed to end in the middle of the game.

 

[UniversalRonin]

Back in those heady days of the early 90's, my aunt got her first computer, and she treated my brother and I each to a game for it. I picked up UFO Enemy Unknown. He picked up Civ 2. Neither of us ever looked back. Sure we had a Nes and a Commodore 64 before hand, but it was then that I realised the truth, that micromanaging impossible situations was wonderful. That Ghandi was a pillock who would nuke you without provocation, and that the PC was the device for me. (since then I have owned an N64, a PS1, a PS2, a GBA and a Dreamcast. Then nothing but my PC and Nexus 7.) And as much as I loved each of them (Goldeneye and Shemnu 2 (or however it's spelt- never could) are two of my favourite games) none of them were quite as good as the good old rig. (though recently I have been using my nexus 7 more than my PC for everything. Including gaming. ....Don't judge me until you've played Breach & Clear, Shadowrun Returns, Vessel Self Drive Hong Kong and Star Command....)

 

[Not Matt]

my parents was never very fond of gaming so i didn't have an actual console before the Xbox 360 (no really). I was alowed to play some learning games on the computer but that was about it, occasionally a few movie related once. in short, my parents were strict when it came to gaming.

BUT!

In the same way that most children had a "cool uncle" with no of kids of his own who were either single or with a free spirited girl/boyfriend. I had a cool aunt with no children with a freespirited boyfriend. And from one of their trips to the wonderland america she brought back two boxes. And on Christmas eve 200? (all i know is that i was in either 2 to 3 grade and i don't want to do the math) Me and my sister unwrapped two shinny new gameboy advanceds with the game "planet monsters" by titus

Spoiler: only image i found

I played it for hours on end even though it was buggy, frustrating, repetitive and hard. and that my friends is how my journey through the interactive medium began.
My aunt was also the first to give me and let me play my first R rated games, which my mom constantly tried to hide from me. She now have children of her own and mom is getting her revenge on her sister by letting me find a "cool" Christmas gift for my cousins. Happy holidays boys and girls

 

[Diddy_Mao]

I had an Atari 2600 and a pong machine as a kid, but those both belonged to my parents.
I played it from time to time but not with any real interest.

It was playing Metroid and Super Mario on the Nintendo Playchoice 10 at the local arcade during my friend's birthday party that really cemented video games as a thing I was into. After a full year of begging and pleading my parents to buy me an NES it was finally my Grandmother who came though during Christmas. She got me the 3-in-1 Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, World Class Track Meet set and...well that was pretty much it. I've been a pretty avid gamer ever since.

 

[StormShaun]

Snip

Ah, this story, I actually recently remembered it.
It started one day where my family visited my grandmother and uncle ... of course they knew I would be bored as heck over there. Sure there were Legos but even a child can get bored of the. So my uncle bought out the PS1 and Oddworld for it.
I was instantly addicted.

Soon enough I got a gameboy colour due to my parents and then ...

Spoiler: This cute creature

... came into my life and I instantly became a gamer. Later on I got further handhelds/Gameboys, a PS1 and then eventually a PS2.
Then I evolved into the person I am today. ^_^

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I was lucky as hell to get an NES Christmas 1985 as my mom was a stewardess and was in New York City during the test launch. I got the console and Super Mario Bros. and Excitebike on Christmas day... happy kid. I played a lot with my Dad, and later when more games were released we played together for the next 10 years or so, also getting a PC in 1989 and a Genesis later on... Upgrading the PC yearly and a steady diet of Sierra games, and other odds and ends of old school shareware disks... wow... I was hooked before I knew it. And still love it, thank you to my parents for being so damn cool.

 

[Schmeiser]

I got a nintendo, the old gray ugly box with the huge discs lol like when i was 2 or 3 years old, played some original mario and that's when it started.

 

[Phasmal]

I decided to impress all the sexy gamer dudes, obviously.

Nah, just kidding.
My parents got me and my sisters a Megadrive when I was but a wee kidlet (seriously I was about 3 or 4 maybe). I remember we had a few games, but I can only remember the names of some of them, since I was playing it when I was so little.

I remember having this Aladdin game, and me and my sisters would fight over who could be the girl on Streets of Rage.
We were all very obsessed with the Megadrive and always fighting about who would play, but over time my sisters kind of lost interest in playing games, while my interest just grew. I've never NOT played games.

Oh yeah, Columns!

I freaking loved Columns.

 

[sweetylnumb]

I became a gamer by having access to an ancient PC with the processing power of a modern graphics caluculater. I played pokemon yellow on it. ON A FLOPPY DISK *oh nostalgia*

Then i got introduced to Star wars battle front and War-hammer 40K and the true Geekdom began.

 

[ArithianFlame]

The earliest games I can remember that had significant impact on me are Super Mario 64, Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. I took interest in competitive multiplayer right around the time of the PS3 release in Warhawk, before migrating to Modern Warfare 2 and Halo. I currently shift between various competitive free-to-play mulitiplayers, bash my head against the MOBA wall, and wonder how the hell I'm supposed to find time for single player.

 

[kommando367]

I started playing games on my brother and sister's old Atari 2600 about 15 years ago.

I have no idea what games I played though, because my memory is extremely fuzzy around that point in my life.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

As a wee lad, I have a hazy recollection of playing (or rather, mistreating the joystick) some kind of thief&cop game on my aunt's Commodore 64 (I think it was a C64, wasn't really an expert back then). Then there was one of those shitty "popular console knock-offs" that everyone in Eastern Europe seems to have experienced at some point, which came with a bunch of pirated games pre-installed. My cousin had one, and we used to play Contra on it.

The first game I've played with some understanding what all the buttons do was a demo of Commander Keen on my Mom's office computer. There was a handful of others, like Titus the Fox, some racing thingy and a pool game. I played maybe for an hour a week, and a lot of that was looking over my sister's shoulder, but I was hooked.

The first two games I could claim to "own" (i.e. were bought for me specifically) were those two:

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure

Solar Winds

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I don't remember the first game I really owned, but I think what got me into gaming was watching my oldest brother play Legend of Dragoon a lot.

That game was one of the first games I ever really played. Bit complicated for as young as I was but I still got decently far.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I guess it was throught my brother since he own the Gameboy and SNES and I was oftern his 2nd player and playing his Gameboy when he's not on it.

As for owning my first game, I guess that was this SNES game Total Carnage since all the other SNES game did belong to my bro.

 

[Skeleon]

My father brought an old Atari PC home, black and white screen, that you could play Ballerburg and a few other games on. Imagine how revolutionary the 386-PC seemed after that! Actual colours!

The first game I owned? Bought with my own pocket money and all? Warcraft 2. I had played the demo way too many times and finally wanted to buy it from my allowance to know how it continued. I think I was around 10 years old at the time.

 

[Palmerama]

My dad brought home our first PC. It was a Compaq with Windows 3.1! We had a floppy disc with a pac-man & Space Invaders clones on, golf and chess. Me & brother played them to death. It was how I learnt how to play chess. I also found Commander Keen on there as well.

Then for my 4th birthday my parents got me a NES with Super Mario Bros. 3. The rest is history.

 

[Dair1]

For me it was a gameboy and the game was Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. I can't remember the other game I had with it but mario was better and I basically played it when I could until I got my PS1 on my 10th birthday.
I remember being able to complete it without dying once. Not sure how much of an accomplishment that is but I impressed myself with the feat none the less.

 

[Korenith]

I was bitten by a radioactive Mario All Stars cartridge and so began a life of virtual heroics and villainy!

 

[mistahzig1]

Old school here.

1st game: a PONG console

When I became a gamer? When my father literally put me in the HUGE Atari Games bargain bin. I was SWIMMING in game boxes, frantically picking games to buy at a ridiculous price. Found my all-time fav Atari game at the bottom of the bin: Bump 'n Jump. LOVED crashing other cars while racing. I felt like such a badass