Same country, (almost) same experiences

You realize that I’m talking about video games here, particularly old (and not-so-old) video games.

I just took a partial survey 20 to 30-something friends about what video games they played as children. So what did I find out? We all owned a Nintendo Family Computer (Nintendo Entertainment System) and played Super Mario Brothers.

So here I am wondering if it’s a regional thing. You know, a bunch of people who live in the same area and play the same game. It’s really no surprise. It’s also not absolute.

For one, I remember the Famicom being bundled with two games, Super Mario Brothers and Adventure Island. Secondly, although we all share the experience of playing the pudgy red-garbed Italian plumber, we have diverse backgrounds in video gaming.

I grew up with the Coleco Telstar Arcade, the Game & Watch, the Apple IIc, and those old and really heavy IBM PCs, aside from the Famicom, the Super NES, and the Gameboy. In contrast, my wife, Joyce, only experienced the joys of owning and playing games on a Famicom (fortunately for her, she met me and is now enjoying MMORPGs [shhh!]).

How is it in other parts of the world? What consoles, platforms and games did you grow up with?

Image downloaded from the online edition of The Age newspaper of Australia. Mario is a video game character owned by Nintendo.