First Nintendo?

Xenji

Gameboy was my first, it was yellow and I hated the color, but I was a kid and it was a birthday present, played it near to death, but still works.

First console was a GameCube.

CiDeRmAn

I have a good story that illustrates the bias at the time of the GC launch.

First for me was the SNES, although I had played (a lot) the 2600 and NES in a local youth club before that.

I remember one year, my parents asked me what I'd like for Christmas, so I said a NES. This was the year the SNES came out, so the SNES was pretty expensive at the time. Thought the SNES was well out of budget, so I asked for the NES instead. Christmas morning, my three brothers and I got up and opened a SNES. Blew our little minds.

We got F-Zero, Super Mario World, Super R-Type, Super Soccer, Super Tennis and Smash TV. Spoiled little sh1tes.

I loved all of those games, but for some reason F-Zero really caught my imagination.

(Aside: Always remember my Da saying "I don't see the point in these games", etc. Then he played Zelda and Super Bomberman. He still plays them today, but the joypads had worn down a bit. Surprised him with a SNES Mini last year. A couple of weeks back when I brought my son down to visit, my Da and I went outside for a bit. When we came back in, my three-year old had unpaused Zelda and was hacking away at a chicken. Da and I just looked at each other and laughed. Anyway, that's enough reminiscing for now... I can't see the keyboard with my eyes watering. Stupid ninjas cutting onions around me.)

(Further aside: great topic CiderSir, and a great read.)

CiDeRmAn

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I have a good story that illustrates the bias at the time of the GC launch.

I was working in Gamesworld, on my day off from nursing, at the time and, having already owned a PS2 I went and imported a GC upon it's launch in Japan.
It was, and remains, a cracking console.
I had the various launch titles, Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball and Waverace, and they were all great fun.
So, there was a computer/tech magazine being run out of a set of offices up near Glasnevin/Phibsboro, and they wanted to do an article on the big three new consoles, all being launched around the same time, so that was a PS2, imported US Xbox and a GC.
As I owed a GC I was asked would I give them a loan of mine, for the purposes of review and I agreed.

A couple of days later they called me to come collect my baby and, to a staff member, they all rated the GC the lowest, nearly destroying their pants with the Xbox and Halo.
They made an instant judgement based on the design of the console and the controller, with it looking less like a sturdy PS2/Xbox and more like a toy.
They didn't seem to rate Luigi's Mansion at all, despite my opinion that that game hasn't aged at all, it's still great with tons of cool touches.
Super Monkey Ball too is a cracking game, but I still ended up standing there, amongst the magazines staff, defending the Nintendo while they were all gushing over the Xbox.

CiDeRmAn

Apparently, when I came home from Dublin on leave from the hospital I was working in up in Sligo, my brothers would raid my back pack for my SNES, or whatever console I might have at the time, and play it when I wasn't around.

Star Lord

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I was working in Gamesworld, on my day off from nursing, at the time and, having already owned a PS2 I went and imported a GC upon it's launch in Japan.
It was, and remains, a cracking console.
I had the various launch titles, Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball and Waverace, and they were all great fun.
So, there was a computer/tech magazine being run out of a set of offices up near Glasnevin/Phibsboro, and they wanted to do an article on the big three new consoles, all being launched around the same time, so that was a PS2, imported US Xbox and a GC.
As I owed a GC I was asked would I give them a loan of mine, for the purposes of review and I agreed.

A couple of days later they called me to come collect my baby and, to a staff member, they all rated the GC the lowest, nearly destroying their pants with the Xbox and Halo.
They made an instant judgement based on the design of the console and the controller, with it looking less like a sturdy PS2/Xbox and more like a toy.
They didn't seem to rate Luigi's Mansion at all, despite my opinion that that game hasn't aged at all, it's still great with tons of cool touches.
Super Monkey Ball too is a cracking game, but I still ended up standing there, amongst the magazines staff, defending the Nintendo while they were all gushing over the Xbox.

Waverace is probably the only of those three that hasn't aged that well, but it was still an excellent game. The original Super Monkey Ball was crazy Sega genius, they got diluted with subsequent releases in the franchise, sadly! (Though 2 was still very fun, and the first Wii version controlled excellently) Luigi's Mansion though I'm very much looking forward to playing when it's re-released on the 3DS, as I'd only got to play it in brief goes up till now, and absolutely loved Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.

Banjo

Played my cousin's SNES a few times but I was a C64 kid graduating to cobbled-together PCs and hand-me-down laptops, my first Nintendo was the N64 with Goldeneye and Ocarina, a birthday present from my girlfriend. It's not the only reason I married her but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a contributing factor.

wheresmahbombs

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

They made an instant judgement based on the design of the console and the controller, with it looking less like a sturdy PS2/Xbox and more like a toy.

The GC controller remains one of my favourites. And I also quite like the console's compact design.

CiDeRmAn

wheresmahbombs wrote: »

The GC controller remains one of my favourites. And I also quite like the console's compact design.

But at the time the Xbox and PS2 were big, black with flashes of green/blue, a certain brutalist design, while the GC far more matched in with their existing hardware decisions.

The GC pad is not a favourite of mine, I think I was far more comfortable with the smaller Xbox pad tbh, as well as the Dualshock.

But the issue at the time was that Nintendo went from the biggest name on the planet with the Super Nintendo, into the PS era with the N64 and then just dipped below gamers radar completely with the GC.

The Wii and WiiU never grabbed back the zeitgeist but the Switch seems to have captured hearts and minds once again.

seamus

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

No one seems to speak of the N64 with much affection, yet it was home to SM64, FZeroX, Waverace64, Pilotwings 64 and tons of other great titles.

I don't know, there were (at least) 3 groundbreaking games on that console, offering gameplay that was at the time unmatched.

Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 are obviously two of them. But GoldenEye. One of the greatest FPS multiplayers ever made. The time we spent playing that is measured in weeks, not days or hours.

Of course you also had ocarina of time, which was a true exploration adventure in 3 dimensions.

CiDeRmAn

Goldeneye really hasn't aged terribly well, but at the time it was astonishing.
The games you mention are all good, but the N64 really suffered in PAL territories, with the letterboxing and poor conversions just resulting in stilted ports.
A good example is Waverace64, seems fine on a PAL machine, right up to the point you play it on an NTSC N64, and it's then sublime.

CiDeRmAn

Was owning a Nintendo enhanced by sharing with a sibling or did you wish you had it to yourself?

johnpatrick81

Gameboy! Think my uncle got it for me in US on a business trip.

Although my older bro had the donkey Kong game and watch DS dual screen type which came first I guess!

2 Scoops

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Was owning a Nintendo enhanced by sharing with a sibling or did you wish you had it to yourself?

Our old family photo albums are full of pictures of me bawling my eyes out while a sibling was hogging the controller, so probably not

When I got a few years older it definately enhanced it, multiplayer games like SF2 and Mario kart were golden.

Star Lord

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Was owning a Nintendo enhanced by sharing with a sibling or did you wish you had it to yourself?

We had a fantastic time of it, from 2 player in the original Mario Kart, 4 player-2 controller Micro Machines, though the N64, with Goldeneye multiplayer (insta-death mode (Live and Let Die iirc) with 'slappers only', or proximity mines, great craic!), on to the manic perfection of Double Dash's Baby Circuit, and now the Switch, where same room multiplayer has never been easier!

tedpan

tedpan wrote:

Got the Nes in 88, with duck Hunt, gyromite and a the robot, was pretty cool at the time. Had a Gameboy 1st edition, Skipped the SNES, then got a Gameboy color, N64 was next, then a GameCube.

I made a huge error. Forgot about my Nintendo Game & Watch handhelds. Zelda, SMB, goldcliff and blackjack(now I know where my gambling came from!) Must have been 1986/87.

petes

Snes, wanted a nes but got an Atari 2600 ha.

The amount of hours I put in on the Snes is mental even with games these days with 200 hours plus.

The ghost level on Mario Kart took a lot of time as I shaved tenths of seconds off my lap time. Good times.

AVFC.Stephen

Had the mario bros from 1983 (hand held) made by Nintendo. Still have it with box and I think the instruction manual is in it too. Don't ask me how I got it as I was 4 at the time.

C64 was the first system with the Robocop gun and batman the cape crusader. Once a friend got an ST the c64 grew lots of dust. Had a few hand helds from Tommy too which you put over your eyes but could only work if sunlight was coming through the top of it.

Then nes with Mario and duck hunt. Sold it for a master system to play Alex kid. Then sold that for a nes to play mario 3. Then sold that for a a snes with street fighter 2....

CiDeRmAn

While I was getting paid as a student nurse back in 91 I wasn't rolling in money.
I owned SMW and a couple of others but mostly rented games.
Odd now, I don't think I ever went back to renting games later, but at that time it was a god send.
I recall too buying games on weekly installments in the local electrical retailer there, you'd go to a booth in store and pay a lady a tenner a week until you had enough set aside to pay for a new game.

Josip007

Mine was a NES but it was bought in the '90s. Best period of my life

Ace Attorney

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Was owning a Nintendo enhanced by sharing with a sibling or did you wish you had it to yourself?

oh god enhanced big time! mario kart 64 and goldeneye with my 3 other brothers are some of my best memories of the late 90s

wheresmahbombs

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Was owning a Nintendo enhanced by sharing with a sibling or did you wish you had it to yourself?

I'd say it mostly enhanced the experience. I remember a photo of me and my brother playing the N64 around the time I first got to play it. I had plenty of siblings who would drop into my house and play with me. However, I'd try to quit a game of Mario Kart Wii if I was on the verge of losing.

Alone time is still good, however. These days, my brother wants me to help him with some EA Sports game on the PS2 or Gran Turismo or whatever, typically against my will. And when I want to play when he does, he sometimes wants me to back off.

CiDeRmAn

My brothers were never allowed near my Spectrum!
And by the time I became a Ninty Nut tm, I was living in Sligo and no one else I knew was playing videogames.
So, gaming was a solo effort and so it remains.
I just can't get into multiplayer experiences at all!

sryanbruen

GameBoy Advance SP, the blue version.

Been so long now that I forget what the experience felt like.

Pac1Man

This was my first.



I was young though so terrible at everything! I remember my mother being addicted to Bubble Bobble and my father waking everyone up at 2am to show us that he beat Mario.

Some good memories and nice to still have the console for nostalgia sake. It's something I'll never get rid of.

wheresmahbombs

sryanbruen wrote: »

GameBoy Advance SP, the blue version.

Been so long now that I forget what the experience felt like.

My silver GBA SP along with Super Mario Bros. 3 both hold a special place in my heart.

I played the heck out of it in my childhood. I also remember putting two of my fingers separately on the A and B buttons, in an awkward position!

Nollog

Pac1Man wrote: »

This was my first.



I was young though so terrible at everything! I remember my mother being addicted to Bubble Bobble and my father waking everyone up at 2am to show us that he beat Mario.

Some good memories and nice to still have the console for nostalgia sake. It's something I'll never get rid of.

Aw man, that digger game!
Best game disregarding duck hunt.

My nes went missing a decade ago, around the time my older brother had kids getting into games..........

WeleaseWoderick

First Nintendo was the NES Action Set with Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt back in 1991 from Santa.

Luckily Santa also seemed to spot that Quinsworth had NES games on sale too as I got Time Lord, Marble Madness and California Games with it too!

AMGer

Had a good few of the G&W series as a kid back in the 80s. If I remember correctly I think Donkey Kong II was the first one I had (and I still have it!)

CiDeRmAn

I have a few Game&Watch consoles.
Others tried to match them, Tomy for example, but no one came close.
I have the DK one myself, and a few others.
Nice to collect.