Being in my mid 20's, I feel like I've been able to see how far "gaming" has come in the past 20 odd years or so.   Obviously, I wasn't there for Atari, Colecovision, and the like, but I've seen my share.  It also doesn't help that I one of the most nostalgic guys around which is the main reason of this blog.  So, without further adieu...
 

Over the past 6 months or so, my fiance and I have begun the long journey of house hunting for our first home.  We've looked pretty much everywhere we can afford in the Chicagoland suburbs.  Houses, townhomes, and condos...you name it we saw it.  Closing costs, T.I. (no not the rapper), appraisals, inspections are just a few of the terms that have become mainstays in my current vocabulary.  However, now...finally, this long "journey" is over and we are finally under contract and ready to move into our

first home.  Now that the hard part is over, I've begun packing up my things, little by little...piece by piece.  This weekend I came across all of the old video game systems, games, and peripherals that I've owned.  Needless to say, after that experience, I felt like I had to put it all together in a somewhat sensible (read - rambling) blog post in order to catalog just how far gaming has come since I've been a youngin'.

The first system I came across was my very original NES.  My parents had bought the NES prior to me even being born.  Mario was a hot commodity in the household.  My dad was always partial to Excitebike and Duck Hunt as well.  I have early images of being 3 or 4 years old and playing the NES with the folks.  Overtime, the Ninja Turtles and Batman were also a must for the console.  Obviously, there are many other classics that I'm sure people can rattle off, however being in pre-school at the time, I wasn't privy to them.  I also came across our old light gun for the previously mentioned Duck Hunt. 

There were countless times I remember getting so frustrated with using the damn thing that I would stand right in front of the TV and hover the gun over the screen in order to show that dog just who was boss!

After I finished boxing up the NES and games I came across my Genesis.  I definitely remember getting this during the Christmas of...92? 93? I was in kindergarten and it was an awesome Christmas.  Seeing Sonic for the first time was turly an awesome experience.  I remember plugging headphones into the Genesis and playing the game that way.  Obviously, in retrospect...not that big of a deal.  However, back then, whoa!  That was a whole new experience.  I also came across a variety of old sports games that, back in the day, just required some skill and fun to enjoy.  I'm still a sucker for sports games, however the fun factor isn't as high as it used to be.  NHL 95, RBI 94, NBA Jam were all games that I probably logged many, many hours into.  Too be honest, those games also are what got me into sports.  NHL 95 is what got me to get into Ice Hockey, and to this day I still play in a men's league for fun.  RBI got me into baseball, and NBA Jam the same with basketball.  As I look back, it's awesome that a video game is what got me to go out and find other hobbies that I would enjoy.  Of course, at the time I was still rockin' the Ninja Turtles and Hyperstone Heist was an awesome game to go along with it.  I still remember playing the game over and over again with a neighbor in order to finally bring down Shredder.  Is it sad that I still remember that?  Haha, don't answer that...I realize it is.

With the Sonic and his buddies finally put away in a box, I came across my Playstation 1.  If any of you can remember the video of the kid going berserk over his N64 on Christmas, then you can imagine how I was when I finally got my PS1.  32 bits!  32 bits!  I had no idea what a bit was as a kid, but I knew the games were pretty snazzy looking!  Crash Bandicoot and MLB Pennant Race were the first two games I ever played.  Over time I added many other classics... Jet Moto, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter, Final Fantasy VII and many others.  I remember friends coming over to see Resident Evil and just how scary it was.  The game is still a classic that I go back and play at least once a year.  Not only did I find the games...but Dualshocks!  Oh Dualshocks, a blue one, a black one, and grey one, a clear one ,and a multi-tap no less!  I can't forgot how many times friends and family would all get together to play You Don't Know Jack with the multitap.  I remember even bringing the console and game on a family vacation specifically for that reason.  I can safely say, the recent YDKJ captures that same attitude!  The playstation 1 could very well be my favorite system of "gaming career."   Let's not forget that it was also a CD player!  At the time, this was another feature I thought was awesome.  I remember discovering the tones of Rage Against the Machine as a 5th grader while pumping their music out of the ps1.  It's silly, but again, something I remember.  
 
  

 
Anyway, thanks for reading this blog!  While I know I will move them to the new house, I'm unsure whether I'll ever actually un-box them and play them.  It's almost like when a game company or movie company try to remake a classic.  It never can live up to the amount of build up that you have put into it in your head. 

When you've moved, what have you done with your old consoles and games?  Do you reflect on the good times and put them away or keep on playing them?  Regardless, boxing up these old systems made me realize of how much fun gaming can be.  While I don't get as much time to play video games as much as I did as a kid, I can still look back fondly on all the time wasted (read - enjoyed) playing these games!