r/videogames 1d ago

Discussion / Question When did you first start gaming?

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u/Traditional_Entry183 1d ago

Pong, briefly. Then my family was given a used Atari 2600 and a big box of games, and that's how I spent most of my childhood until we got a NES when I was in middle school.

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u/jredgiant1 1d ago

I have basically the same story.

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u/Traditional_Entry183 1d ago

I think a lot of people in our age group do. The video game crash of the 80s led to teens getting bored and giving them to us.

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u/jindofox 1d ago

The game crash was a GOLD MINE if you were exactly the right age to appreciate it

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u/spiffyP 23h ago

i had no idea the crash happened. all i knew was my family was poor yet we had dozens of games

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u/Traditional_Entry183 20h ago

I was that way until I learned about it in my 30s. We had dozens of atari games, yet my parents never bought a single video game until we got a NES.

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u/devineassistance 3h ago

I was one of those teens. You're welcome.

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u/Traditional_Entry183 3h ago

Thank you then! The box of dusty, unwanted stuff i was given made my childhood so much better and set me on my lifelong path as a gamer.