Game era (games and consoles) you grew up with

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By "grew up" I'm mostly referring to early childhood, old enough to play and understand a game but before teenage years.

I technically grew up in the 8th console generation but my earliest game exposure was pretty much just the Wii. 3DS came next.
As for games, I'd say: Wii Fit, Super Paper Mario, Pokemon Black 2/White 2, NSMBW, and M+L: Bowser's Inside Story.

By the time the Switch came out and I was allowed to regularly use it I was nearly in middle school.
 
pc and some mobile games my first actual console was the switch in 2018 👁 __ 👁
since this is SUPER vague. the pc games i grew up mostly were in the 2000s but theres a bit of overlap with 90s and 2010s too
stuff like these two pc games none of you are likely to ever have heard about besides me bringing them up occacionally also theyre both from 2008, worms armageddon and some other worms games like 3d and worms forts and worms 4 mayhem,, minecraft probably, mysims, transformice, a bunch of h*rry p*tter games, some sims 2 and 3 mostly and of COURSE spore
i think i can also count angry birds space and bad piggies
 
I first started playing with old PC games from the late 90's and early 2000's like Insaniquarium, LEGO chess, Stronghold 2, Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender, Age of Empires II and III (especially II), and some brain train games. I was like 5 or 6. I revisited some of these this year which has been pretty fun and heartwarming, some of them are genuinely still good to this day like Stronghold 2, others not so much but still incredibly nostalgic like JP3.

Then a Wii/DS with games like Bowser's Inside Story, the first two NSMBs, Galaxy 1 and 2, Super Paper Mario, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play, Wii Party, Mario Party 9, LEGO Batman 1, LEGO Indiana Jones 1 and 2, and DKCR. I got those when I was something like 6, 7, or 8 and kept playing them for years and to this day many are my all time favourites like SPM and BIS. Though these days to play Wii and DS games I mostly use Dolphin and my 3DS respectively.

I also started playing some mobile games on an iPad that was like shared by my family when I was like 10 and kept doing with various ones over the years (notable ones include the angry birds series, clash of clans (and some similar games like battle beach), jetpack joyride, and the bloons tower defence series) till I got my 3DS though it got a lot less frequent when I was like 13. I revisited a few this year and the later parts of last year via the BlueStacks emulator and my new iPhone 12 but I didn't get back into them much, and I have barely played mobile games in the last month even though my iPhone is one of the things I do have at university.

My brother also got an Xbox 360 when I was about 12 which I played Minecraft on (the x360 version of that game was much if not most of my gaming life age 12 to 15, I got Java Edition when I was 15) and a few LEGO games (lego marvel super heroes and lego indiana jones 2 mainly, later on lego batman 3 and lego dimensions)

It wasn't until later that I got the GameCube (age 15), Wii U and 3DS (age 16), and Switch (age 18) so I won't list those games, though more info here.
 
Well I got an N64 when I was four years old, although I don't remember if I got it for my fourth birthday in 2000 or for Christmas that year. Considering how late I got it, I only ever had a few games. I remember having Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and I'm pretty sure I had Kirby 64 too.

Then I got a PC in early 2002, during kindergarten, mostly played edutainment games on that like the JumpStart games, Flash games online (the Thing Thing series, who remembers that? Smash that MF like button if you do), and (later on, when I was in 4th grade) RuneScape. The PC wasn't a gaming PC, so it didn't have a dedicated GPU or anything like that, so y'all can see why I didn't play graphically demanding games on it.

In 2006 (age 10), I got a PS2 for Christmas and I got SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab and Thrillville with it. Later got other games like Lego Star Wars (pretty sure I got the second one first because I remember freaking out when I found the first one for sale at GameStop a while later), Sonic Mega Collection Plus, The Sims 2 (yes my introduction to The Sims was via the goddamn console version).

Also got a Nintendo DS Lite at some point, think maybe Christmas 2007 when I was 11? Don't remember 100% but I do remember having it during middle school and I remember getting Super Mario 64 DS and Drawn to Life when I got it, and drawn to life came out in September 2007. That thing got stolen alongside my copies of Kirby Super Star Ultra and Pokémon Diamond in gym class when I was 13 btw.

After the DS, I didn't get any more consoles (outside of a used replacement DS Lite some months after my old one was stolen, thank you guy at the flea market selling it for like $40 with the box) until I got a Nintendo 3DS (2011, age 15), a Wii U (2012, age 16), a New Nintendo 3DS XL (2015, age 18), and my current gaming laptop (2020, age 24).

I'm not counting the other couple of laptops I've had because they all had integrated graphics and weren't meant as gaming devices, I did game on them, but that wasn't what they were designed for.
 
Although my family owned a PS2 before we got our Wii, I will not be listing any games for it here because I only remember watching my siblings play it. I never played on it before it went into my oldest sister's possesion.

The first games I played were on PC (Age 6-8). Most of these were Jumpstart titles or licensed games based on TV shows, movies, books, and toy-lines (I had 2 Dora games, a few Disney games, and 2 My Little Pony games.)

I got my Wii when I was 7 years old. The games I remember having are some Gamecube titles (Mario Sunshine, Pokemon Coliseum, XD, and Channel, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour), several Mario (Galaxy, MP8, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic games) and Pokemon wii games (Pokepark 1 and 2, PBR), Animal Crossing City Folk, several licensed games (Most of these weren't very good and were sold off, the only one I remember fondly was Littlest Pet Shop.), and a few RPG titles.

My 3DS I got for Easter in 2014 (Age 11). Most of my titles for it were not licensed games and I had some DS titles too since the 3DS had backwards compatibility with them. I had lots of Mario (All 4 party games, Yoshi's New Island and Woolly World, Mario 3D Land and 64 DS), Pokemon (Pearl, HeartGold, Black 2, Y, Moon) and Kirby (Triple Deluxe, Extra Epic Yarn, Planet Robobot) games, The Legendary Starfy, Digimon World DS, Yo-Kai Watch, and Smash Bros. 3DS.

My Wii U was received for Christmas 2015 (Age 12). It came with Smash Bros and Splatoon pre-installed. I did not own a lot of games for this, and all of them were sold off last year.

Since I got my Switch in 2018 (Age 15), I will not be counting it as a console I grew up with.
 
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Oh yeah I forgot I also had a plug and play Intellivision when I was a kid but IDK if that counts considering it was just pre-loaded with old Intellivision games from the 1980s and I couldn't exactly go out to the store and buy more games.

It was still fun as hell though, so I'm going to count it but with a big asterisk because it was a plug and play system but it was at least playing games that had been actual vintage games and not just 'here is a basic platform game with SpongeBob in it we threw together because your mom paid $20 for a plug and play system that looks like SpongeBob's face'
 
Velo said:
and 2 My Little Pony games.)
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oh my gosh i completely forgor i also played my little pony the runaway rainbow as a younmg kid........... like, it might have been one of the first games i ever beat and i did so multiple times, and i also distinctly remember the translation was really poor lmao

i like how everyone has cool childhood games and hten heres me with like. uhhhh pony world (one of the 2008 games i mentioned last post its a polish game kinda like hte sims its really boring but i like it). uh frickin transformice,
 
I had a SNES when I way quite young, but I'd say the Gamecube was the very first console of my childhood. I grew up with games such as Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Party 4-7, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Power Tennis, and most importantly Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which I consider as my favorite Mario game. I am very fond of the Nintendo's Gamecube era, and I felt like there's so many games I have missed or overlooked.

Then, came the Gameboy Advance, the DS, the Wii, the 3DS, the Wii U... But... I never felt the same magic that I had with Nintendo and the Gamecube or SNES when I was younger.

Now, I have a Switch (two actually 🤪) , and even if I still dare to say that the Gamecube is still my favorite Nintendo console, I have admit that the Switch might truly be my favorite Nintendo console. I really rediscovered that magic I felt when I was younger playing Gamecube games, and I found myself loving plenty of games on the Switch. with Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Breath of the Wild, Skyward Sword HD, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 + 2, Splatoon 2, Astral Chain, and Metroid Dread to name a few.

Despite all that, I am still very fond of my Gamecube.
 
Mainly NES and N64. Got a GC when I was 12 but I wouldn't call that early childhood.
 
Mostly just started with playing on the family's pc, I used to play some like, disney ps1 games like the hercules one and the shitty Tarzan one despite being horrible at them, and theres some other more minor games like hamsterball or some puzzle games i honestly play nowadays from time to time

I got my first console in 2010, that being my Wii. i mostly just wanted it because my neighbour had New Super Mario Bros Wii and I absolutely LOVED IT, and honestly that's just kinda what got me into mario. I was 5 at the time, so its safe to say that ive been a mario fan for most of my life. anyway i slowly started getting introduced to other franchises thanks to that, and that just kinda leads to today

Even now, with the switch being the objectively better console and the one I play more with, the Wii will always be special to me
 
Technically, I had an SNES and N64 the moment I can remember anything, but when I was a very young child, N64 and GameCube were the game consoles I grew up with.

I was familiar with a huge batch of edutainment titles from the 90's though, as edutainment was huge then. All the kids knew what The Learning Company was and we also played those games in the computer lab at my school.
 
I missed the GCN era by a hair, so Wii/DS for me.

Personally, I have nostalgia for NSMBDS, MKDS, and Sonic and the Black Knight (my first Sonic game. I still hate you, Sir Gawain).
 
Ray Trace said:
Technically, I had an SNES and N64 the moment I can remember anything, but when I was a very young child, N64 and GameCube were the game consoles I grew up with.

I was familiar with a huge batch of edutainment titles from the 90's though, as edutainment was huge then. All the kids knew what The Learning Company was and we also played those games in the computer lab at my school.
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Mate I've got such a soft spot for 90s era edutainment games. Hook that Carmen Sandiego into my veins.
 
The first games I played, back in the early 2010s, were Flash games, most of them from a site called Cool Math Games. I played those games for several years, and they're quite nostalgic to me (I replayed a few in 2020, before Flash shut down). Eventually, in 2015, I found that my local library had a Wii with Wii Sports in it, so I often played it whenever I stopped by there. A year afterwards, I got a Wii U, the first game console I owned. That was when I was 12, so right around the time my teenage years began.
 
The N64 was out but my parents were poor so I grew up with my older brothers SNES and my cousin's Genesis. Silly thing is when I finally got my paws on a 64, I ended up liking the SNES better. Can't say the same for the Genesis.
My two obsessive favorite games were SMW and Mario Paint. I loved to imaginary play in SMW and make pixel-art and animations on MP.
In my double digit preteen years, the GameCube and GBA came to be. Those quickly became my new favorites.
 
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Goombuigi said:
The first games I played, back in the early 2010s, were Flash games, most of them from a site called Cool Math Games. I played those games for several years, and they're quite nostalgic to me (I replayed a few in 2020, before Flash shut down). Eventually, in 2015, I found that my local library had a Wii with Wii Sports in it, so I often played it whenever I stopped by there. A year afterwards, I got a Wii U, the first game console I owned. That was when I was 12, so right around the time my teenage years began.
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COOL MATH GAMES OH MY GOD ME AND MY FRIENDS USED TO PLAY THAT ALL THE TIME BACK IN THIRD GRADE
 
Those consoles were mainly the N64 and Gamecube, but there was also SNES, Wii, GBA, DS, and the PS2 and Genesis at cousins house.

We only had a couple of SNES games like Super Mario World, Super Mario All Stars+World, and a few others I can't remember. I also remember seeing Donkey Kong County and playing Frogger at a cousins house.

Genesis, it was Sonic 2, X-Men, some Golf game, Jeopardy, and a few others I can't remember.

The N64 games we owned was Mario Party 2, Smash Bros, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. I also got to play other N64 games like Yoshi's Story, Mario Party 1&3, Diddy Kong Racing, Glover, Pokemon Stadium 1&2, Pokemon Puzzle League, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 at other people's house.

Gamecube was definitely the main one. Mario Party 4-7, Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart Double Dash, Paper Mario TTYD, Sonic games (SA1, SA2, SH, Mega Collection), Starfox Assault, Tak games, Spongebob games (especially Lights Camera Pants), and Animal Crossing (and being able to play NES games I would have otherwise probably never even play).

Wii was Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports, Wii Play, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2&3, and Super Mario Galaxy.
 
first console was the N64, got it and Pokemon Snap for Christmas one year when I was like six; it was near the end of its' lifespan but I bought a lot of the major games used in the following years so it was still ultimately one of my most played consoles growing up. GameCube was a year or two later; it, GBA, PS2, and later DS were the main ones I actually shopped new for my preteen years. PS1 and GB/C games were also played on their respective consoles. some favorite games in the early years included Smash, SM64, Party 4, the two Banjo-Kazooies, Diddy Kong Racing, the Crash and Spyro trilogies, just about anything Pokemon, Sonic Adventure 2, Battle for Bikini Bottom, and almost definitely something else I'm forgetting right this second

I also got an SNES fairly early on but it was a while after it was discontinued so I didn't have nearly as many games for it. Played a ton of SMW and DKC2 though. also got a Genesis and I had a bit more for that, though I sold most of my games for it after my second one broke, which given I'm now a collector I regret a lot lmao. mainly played the classic Sonic titles on that. never got an NES to work (though I tried) but I got to play a few of them in other ways

in general N64, PS2, and GCN were my favorites a kid and while I would say Switch is currently my favorite I still have fond memories of those three in particular
 
My first video game console was a Wii I got for Christmas in 2010. The first games I played in were the Wii Sports games and Super Mario Galaxy. My favorite part of any Wii Sports game was the flying part of Wii Sports Resort, but the first Super Mario Galaxy is still one of my favorite games of all time. Everything about it is just so... authentic.
Goombuigi said:
most of them from a site called Cool Math Games
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Most people know what Cool Math Games is.
 
I played on Starsue.net a lot during my childhood. It had lots of variety in its flash games and even had some original ones too. They brought it back after it shut down, but like a lot of other sites, you can no longer access the flash content. Now its just another game site on my do not browse list, as Y8 has more variety than it and has games where you can earn achievements if you have an account (the flash content is exclusive to the Y8 browser app for PC), and GameKidGame keeps its flash content up via Ruffles, a flash emulator that works on both PC and mobile.
 
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