The arcade is where I got my first taste of videogaming - pong and lunar lander were my first recollections of gaming.

I remember my brother getting his Pong game to play on our television.

Shortly thereafter, I worked my butt off selling newspapers to earn enough money to buy my very own Atari 2600. I was 14 at the time, and I got it at the local Tipton store. It came with Combat.

I eventually owned (or played courtesy of friends) the Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Odyssey, Sega Master System, Intellivision, Colecovision, Vectrex(every game was ' Battle Zone' style), Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Commodore 64, Gameboy, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Color, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast(my first online gaming experience), Gameboy Advance, PC, Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube (released after the XBOX, but still in my list of systems).

I was hooked on the XBOX since about a year prior to it' s release. My system pre-order was placed at about that time, and reviewed every website that even mentioned a word about the XBOX or Microsoft. I was the first person to walk away from the midnight launch at my local Gamestop (Babbages, back then) with everyone in line applauding - Oh, the excitement and anticipation of getting to play any of the three launch titles (Halo, Dead or Alive3, and Air Force Delta Storm) that I had purchased!!!

Life (on- and off-line) with XBOX has been responsible for some of the best gaming in my life, and I cannot imagine a future without it...and yet, I look forward to experiencing XBOX 2.

Videogaming has been in my blood for some 26+ years now. The games I enjoy have changed somewhat, but I have no intentions of giving up gaming until the day someone can pry the controller from my cold, dead fingers.

Ah...interesting sentiment. And while I certainly don' t agree that the Xbox is the pinnacle of gaming, I do agree with your last few statements there.

The same can be said for me, and I think it was the fascination of Pong and Pac-Man that began it, Hero' s Quest and Earl Weaver' s Baseball on the Tandy that fanned the flames, and Super Mario Bros. on the NES that turned it into a full-blown love affair.

my path to the xbox went as followed:

when i was verry young, my mom and dad gave me and my brother a small white console that had 4 games in it. you could not get other games for it. the games where pong, tennis, squash, and hockey. all games where black and white, and builded up with lines, exept for the ball, that whas a square.

when the atari 2800 came out, we got that from our parents. most fun i had with the smurfs, pac man, pitfall, and a formula 1 racegame, but i forgot the name of that game (hey, that rhymes )

then i' ve got me a " commodore 64" from my own money. i had more than 2000 games for it (on tape, and disc) this computer i still own, and is still in working condition.

after a few years commodore released the amiga 500. so i bought me that one too, with the extra memory expansion. the most i used this computer for making music. ofcourse i gamed on it too, especially the games lotus espirit turbo challenge and super hang on had lots of gametime.

then i bought me my first console. when i walked past a shop, i saw the game " ghouls and ghosts" demoíng in a window display tv. so i went inside to ask " how did you get a real arcade machine hooked up to a tv ?" . they answered with: " no, that is not the arcade version, its the megadrive (genesis) version" . next weekend i returned with the money, and went home with the megadrive, ghouls ' n ghost, and super hang on. my collection at the end of the megadrive' s life was around this (i can' t remember them all, but the ones i played most): sonic 1 2 3, mickey' s castle of illusion, mickey' s world of illusion, streets of rage, streets of rage 2, quackshot, super hang on, ghouls ' n ghosts, virtua racing, alien storm, street fighter 2 turbo, outrun, monaco gp, aladin.

not long after buying me a megadrive, i' ve bought me a supernintendo. the snes had the next games (again i can' t remember all, but the most played ones) mortal kombat 2, super mario world, yoshi' s island, mariokart, micky' s magical quest, aladin, stunt race FX, donkey kong country, rock and roll racing, batman returns.

then the first upgrade for the megadrive came out, the mega cd. i had only 4 games with it: road avenger, sonic cd, batman returns (cool sprite scaling in the race section !), and jaguar xj220 (had the same spritescaling as outrun had, and you could create your own racing tracks (including the surroundings)

i skipped the 32X, and went streight into the playstation. i will definately not mention all the games i own (still have my psx), but my most favorite games are: ridge racer, ridge racer revolution, rage racer, ridge racer type 4, gran turismo, gran turismo 2, crash bandicoot, crash bandicoot 2, crash bandicoot 3, crash team racing (i liked this way better than the mariokart on the n64), formula 1 (the first version), and super puzzle fighter turbo.

then the nintendo 64 came, but after the dreamcast got crazy taxi, i' ve sold my n64 to buy me a dreamcast and crazy taxi. the games on my n64 where: goldeneye, mario 64, mariokart 64, wave race (i still love this game, but dont own it annymore), didi kong racing, and the first racing game that got released on it (forgot the name, but it had to go head to head with ridge racer in the arcades)

then i bought me (at almost the end of its life cycle) a saturn. the reason whas simple: OUTRUN !!!! ofcourse i got almost all those sega ages games. i got outrun, powerdrift, afterburner, and the normal games, sega rally, daytona usa, daytona usa sce, virtua racing, virtua cop, virtua cop 2, bug, gale racer (known as rad mobile at the arcades).

then the n64 made space for the dreamcast, my most favorite games for it: crazy taxi, crazy taxi 2, sonic adventure, sonic adventure 2, super runabout, revolt, shenmue, speed devils, virtua tennis, virtua tennis 2, house of the dead 2, virtua cop 2, yu suzuki' s gameworks vol 1 (yeah, with outrun, powerdrift, afterburner, hang on, and space harrier), metropolis street racer.

then the playstation 2 (to keep the gran turismo serie complete), and, the playstation 2 whas also my first dvd player.

the last console i' ve bought whas the xbox. merely for project gotham racing, and project gotham racing 2, rallysport challenge, and rallysport challenge 2. and ofcourse for outrun 2 that will be upon us before the end of this year (i hope) i got more games for it, but those are my most favorite.

somewhere between the playstation and nintendo 64 i' ve bought me my first pc. now i am at my 3' rd pc. a pentium 4 1,700 with asus geforce 3 with 64mb ddr memory. internal memory is 256, and got 160 gig hd space (2 hard disk' s inside). my favorite games on my pc are: max payne, max payne 2 (i really love this game), need for speed 3 (hot pursuite), need for speed underground, dethkarz, and lots of emulators, among them: mame, gens, snes9x, project64, system 16, afterburner (no, not the game, but its the name for a emulator).

i gues i did not let something out. exept for a complete list of games. but that would take ages (or would it take sega ? hehehehe)

My path is as follows:

I was born. Then I was riding my BMX doing tricks as a kid. Next thing I know I have a freakin' Xbox and am typing this post! What the hell?!

I agree that the Xbox is NOT the pinnacle of gaming. I' d give that honor to the Genesis, SNES, NES, SMS, PC Engine Super CD, and Saturn (Japanese library) collectively. But I bought an Xbox because I saw Gun Valkyrie sitting on a store shelf. It was made by Sega and looked awesome. I bought an Xbox and a few games (including GV). I was amazed at the discrete 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and the crisp graphics (I already owned a Gamecube, and I think I had the PS2 at the time as well). I had the controller-s so I was fine with that. I love the Xbox, it is my favorite system of this generation. But it certainly could be better.

I want to thank nintendo for introducing me to gaming. i never started with pong like most people.

I remember i was in New york at a woolworth store with my parents back in ' 92. I was there to get a new super soaker(i think ). And there, high uup on a shelf , sat the most remarkable thing i ever saw. The nintendo entertainment system. In front of it were a slew of attractive games, and i just begged my dad to get it for me., despite the fact that i had no idea what it was.
Ever since then, ive been crazy about games, and have bought every single system except for the saturn and the N64. The first games i got on NES were mario, contra, zelda, and othello. bliss

in 1994, the playstation was released, and again i begged my dad to get it for me. After two years of incessantly rambling and pouting, i finally got it, with a copy of FF7, Driver, Tomb raider and GT.

After that was the ps2, with its compelling graphics and games, it tottaly captivated my mind and emptied my wallet. I spent so much time perfecting my skills at winning eleven that at a certain point, i became absolutely unbeatable.

Then i bought the nintendo and the xbox at around the same time, and if i had to compare the two, id say the cube wins by a mile. Xbox had a few good games at that time, but nothing gave me more enjoyment and satisfaction than a bright and flippy nintendo game.( note: enjoyment and satisfaction not in the same category as sex, chocomilk, bacon or soccer )

I' d give that honor to the Genesis, SNES, NES, SMS, PC Engine Super CD, and Saturn (Japanese library) collectively.

That' s all you needed, right there.

Although having the Genesis and SNES side-by-side on my entertainment center was probably the very best combo I' ve ever had. But the PS2/XBox combo could be on track to take that crown, if everything goes smoothly for the next couple of years or so...

I first put my foot on the video gaming ladder when I played my dads ZX Spectrum. Soon after I was given a Master System as a friend of mine had one and I loved it. 6 years of age was when I first played a Sonic game and after that I was an obsessed Sega fan for life.

My parents took my Master System for a Megadrive which is still the most loved console I have owned to date. Laughing at Nintendo and their futile efforts to prove Mario as better than Sonic. I single handily managed to convince all of my mates to get a Megadrive and interested in Sonic... which I took great pleasure at showing off at destroying bosses they had been struggling to kill for ages before me.

At first I despised the Saturn as it meant the death of my Megadrive. I only really got one to play Nights which is possibly the single best reason to own one today. Not a long game, just seriously addictive and looking more visually stunning than any Saturn game in existence. Alas we all know what happened to the Saturn...

Mid August 2000 (if memory served me right) I receive an e-mail from Sega informing me I had won a Dreamcast. That night the entire street where I live heard me screaming and shouting in Joy. I didn' t actually get my hands on it till late October but I enjoyed every second with it.

With the Dreamcast dead though I needed to look elsware for another console... and at the time there was only one place to turn: the PS2. I don' t know why, but while I' ve enjoyed a great number of games on it I' ve not gelled well with it. I needed something more and thought I found it in Nintendo. Brand loyalty. Nintendo was one of the ' old boys' and while I despised them before I snapped up a cheap Gamecube and Gameboy Advance. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is possibly my favourite game to date.

The trouble with Gamecube is the truly stellar games come out for the device too little and not often enough. I would love to be a devoted Nintendo fan now but there' s nothing much else for me to buy.

It was the logical next step for me to get an X-Box. I don' t love it like I did my Megadrive. I was a kid back then and probably remember it better than it was. But the X-Box is defiantly the best of the current generation consoles.

Well there isnt really a path to the Xbox, it was more something for the collection and because of a handfull of games that I wanted to play for example Halo, Topspin, PGR2, Kotor, Fable and a few others offcourse but it wasnt like hmm that I really wanted the Xbox because it was the Xbox...hard to explain really =) I just wanted to experience a few games.

My road of gaming begane with the Atari 2600, I was still very young and it was my brothers. We played games like Dark Chambers, Frogger, Pigs N Wolfs and a few others. We never bothered to buy new games, I just enjoyed the ones we had and well it was fun.

After that we recieved the Nintendo 8 bit with games like Zelda, MGS and Mario. We really had the whole collection that I would praise now. I was totaly hooked on Zelda (still am) and I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid alot...and I mean ALOT :P We had a nice collection and well lets just say I was a Nintendo kid from that moment.

The console collection expanded with the Gameboy and offcourse the Super Nintendo. We didnt bother with the consoles from Sega, that is where my hate towards sonic started *evil grin*.

I was looking forward to buy the Nintendo 64 but I couldnt afford it and I was in love with the Zelda: OoT commercial. I knew that one day I would get the machine to adventure again with Link! Wooyay :) I always played at a friends house and we rented games like Waverace and Mario Kart 64. And some day quite some time after the release my collection expanded with the N64, I was so happy.. *jumps around*.

The regime of Sony expanded my gaming experience with the Playstation. I played games like FF7, Syphon Filter, Crash Bandicoot, Gran Turismo..ect ect I liked it and I was in love with Final Fantasy 7, it was such an beautiful game and awwww the memories of me playing it It was so much fun.

A new era started with the next generation consoles, Dreamcast and Playstation2...That was a horrific fight and I seeked for shelter since I didnt had the money to afford any one of them nor did I feel the force pulling me to one side or the other. Somehow I always wanted the PS2 but it would be only for the Final Fantasy franchise, other games sucked in my opinion and didnt do the new era any justice. As time flyed by and seasons changed and I got older but I was still at the side of the almighty Nintendo. I was like a little kid lost in the forest, didnt know what to do and where I should go. My patience started to fail and I needed to play something new.

And that is when I imported the Dreamcast (it was rare here) and I loved it. Shenmeu was the main reason behind the whole story, I loved the game and a whole new world opened for me. I had a kick out of the many co-op games it had like PowerStone and the many shooters like Zombie Revenge. I even likes Sonic Adventure, who would have known?

The next generation of consoles were more promesing but only one stood out and that was the Nintendo Gamecube (personal opinion). I was staying loyal to Nintendo and the games brought back the old feeling I had when I was a little kid. Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Burnout, Resident Evil, Zelda (wieee) and offcourse Metroid. Because of my loyalty I bought the Gameboy Advance and after that the SP. I was back at my gaming roots and till this day Im still enjoying the machine.

But as final the story behind the Xbox. There was one feeling that I couldnt satisfie and that was the call to play some arcade games. This addiction for Arcade is something I brought with me from the Dreamcast. I wanted something new and simple games and that is why I bought the Xbox. Games like Ninja Gaiden, PGR2, Halo, Rallychampionship and a few more made my desicion to buy the machine this summer. Some may say that those games arent Arcade, I dont know but they are easy to pick up to play just a few hours. Xbox Live wasnt really a reason to buy it although I have it now, its not something mayor really but I cant wait to play Halo 2 and Conker online. As final note I as a RPG addicted really wanted to play Fable, I followed that game since the annoucement and it was almost the main reason to buy the Xbox, cant wait to finnaly play it.

That was it.

My path was simple. Every time a new console is released I buy it.

Yeah, pretty darn simple.

i don' t really need to tell a big backstory to what led me to buy an xbox, do i? i bought one because of ninja gaiden and pdo.

panzer_baiken,

All you would have had to do was list the systems from your first console until you got your XBOX without giving us a big story...but it' s good to know that you chose the XBOX...and for such awesome games!!!

I hate this forum system for signing in...after about th 15th time this fucking forum decided it would let me sign in. I' d use a smiley to describe the anger but they would only make me mad. Even the anger smiley is too cute for my liking...

Back to topic:

Atari 2600-NES-SNES-Genesis-Sega CD-PSX-N64-PS2-Xbox

I wouldn' t have even bought an Xbox if it didn' t have such a good online plan. That' s really the only reason because I was looking towards the future of the system and I loved online play at the time. When I bought my Xbox I only had one game, Halo, and that was the only game I had for quite awhile. I think the next game I got was the beta test games for Xbox Live, lol.

my first console was the sega mega drive cant quite remember how long ago i got it as i was only young.
after that i was introduced to the n64 by neighbour we used to slave over games such as mario 64 and goldeneye (best shooter ever apart from halo)
during 2002 i had my heart set on a gamecube and every morning i would remind my parents what i wanted for christmas a GAMECUBE.
unfortunately my parents picked up the xbox by mistake and on christmas morning i was annoyed to see it there.
after an hour of complaining i plugged it in and put in the sega gt 2002 double disc
i was amazed by the graphics and sheer power of the xbox, and the fact i could listen to my own tunes while thrashing my ford gt concept round awe inspiring tracks. on boxing day i made my dad drive me to the nearest availeble game shop so i could purchase halo ever since that fatefull day i have been an xbox convert with 23 games including RS3, PGR2, fifa 2004, crimson skies, and on october the 8th i will be the proud owner of FABLE!!

Once again [old people] , I was probably still in diapers when you guys played Atari or whatever that is. I don' t even know what the heck an Atari is, I don' t know what pack and pong and Odyssey and master system and intellivision and colecovision or vectrex is. Okay...okay...enough...now to my story:

I was 8 years old and started gaming at my neighbor' s house playing the old NES where Bruce Lee had only 3 moves: jump, kick, and punch. yes, it was that sucky. Then i bought his extra SNES and there was my dream come true. I started playing and beating Gradius several times, then I bought more games...then more consoles and more consoles and then the Xbox. The end.

i had an n64.

then i got a gc

then, i had a spare $150 (only time in years), so i got an xbox

that is my 21 page long timeline of game systems i have owned.