Weekend Open Forum: What's the first video game you ever played, and on what platform?

[Jos]

Visiting Google's homepage today you'll get a fun surprise: the company has transformed its ever-changing website logo into a fully functional game of Pac-Man to celebrate the classic arcade's upcoming 30th anniversary tomorrow. This is Google's first ever interactive, playable doodle and will stay active for 48 hours. To start playing, just hit "Insert Coin" where the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button usually appears and use the arrow keys to gobble away.

By hitting the Insert Coin button a second time, two users can play simultaneously, controlling Ms. Pac-Man with the WASD keys. Much like the original Pac-Man, Google has programmed it to glitch and end at the 256th screen.

The game was imagined by Namco developer Toru Iwatani in 1979 -- partially inspired by a pizza missing a slice, as the story goes -- and reached the U.S. in the fall of 1980 after being renamed from "Puck Man". At a time when shooter games such as Space Invaders ruled the arcades, Iwatani's creation stood out for its originality and simplicity. Pac-Man was an immediate success and has been credited with expanding video gaming to a wider audience.

As you stroll down memory lane remembering the good ol' days when you scrambled for quarters to hit the arcades, we want to ask you: what was the first game you ever played? If you didn't think much of it, what was the first title (and platform) that really got you into gaming? I remember playing River Raid quite a bit on an Atari 2600 back in the day -- and never got the hang of E.T., man that game was awful. Discuss.

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[Ididmyc600]

Jet Set Willy on the sinclair speccy (rubber key version)

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Starcraft; on computer of course.

 

[Guest]

ping pong on the first console

 

[ColdFusion1990]

Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Genesis

 

[red1776]

Pong ....Atari, 1975 I think. we played it on our huge 25" Curtis Mathis.....now that was console gaming!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong

I think it was the following year they came out with 'Breakout' It had three colors.

 

[Guest]

Command and Conquer, the original on PC. I will always remember that game.

 

[CMH]

given I was a 5yo kid when I started playing games, I seriously can't remember the name of the game or the console....

 

[LNCPapa]

Space Invaders in the arcade - I was just a little kid and my mom took me out. I guess when she saw my eyes light up she couldn't resist letting me play.

 

[DarkCobra]

Pong . . . on a large commercial arcade machine at Columbia University in the mid-70's. Then all the space games on the Atari home machines in the early 80's, and up to my oldie but goodie UBISoft favorite "POD" (early 90's) which I wish they would refresh and reissue!

 

[exca]

Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Genesis

 

[Reloader2]

Diablo II. Wow that was a game I remember (Yes I am of the newer generation.... 14 years old). Almost feel like playing it again

 

[LightHeart]

I remember wanting the Magnavox Odyssey game (basically pong) but my parents wouldn't get me one. In the arcade, some of the games weren't really video games but the first video ones I seem to remember are Asteroids,a tank game, a robot chasing you game (can't remember the titles). My first personal game machine was the Atari 2600, I had a ton of games and our house became the hang out spot. I even had a BASIC cartridge for the 2600. I guess that was a sign of going into IT. The great memories...

 

[Timonius]

I can't remember the first game i played but it was definitely on the Intellivison.

 

[red1776]

I can't remember the first game i played but it was definitely on the Intellivison.

was it 'astro smash' by chance?

 

[Timonius]

Yes that was one of them

 

[steffinwolf]

Pong on the Atari 2600 Console that connected to a TV, about 1975? The company I worked for had made a vibration test fixture for the console. Groovy!

Next was Dungeons and Dragons on the company's first Heathkit Computer "Workstation" about 1982? Our soon-to-be IT guy built it himself.

In both cases it was monchrome (white on black screen).

 

[gwailo247]

It was Space Invaders. It was a computer of some sort. I used an audio tape to play the game, and they keyboard/computer had a rainbow on it. I was about five so I don't remember much.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

A Super Mario Brothers on the C-64. It was actually the Great Giana Sisters but with some sprite changes to make it look like Super Mario Brothers (which is funny as the Great Giana Sisters was a Super Mario clone).

 

[twojpodlysyn]

My first was "Dizzy" and "Contra" on Pegasus Console. Then "Big Nose" seriers and "Tanks", after 1998 I play Transport Tycoon Deluxe on PC.

 

[eafshar]

pong.. and then MARIO!

 

[mattfrompa]

Mega Man 2 on the NES...easiest Mega Man game I ever played, but not the last ; )
And yes both the console and game both still work. gee, I wonder if any of the consoles I bought in the past few years will last that long....

 

[Obakemono]

Buck Rodgers on Adam computer. Then Atari 2600, then my first computer was the Commodor 64

 

[myrmidonks]

pokemon game boy color

 

[mrtraver]

We had a Pong clone that we played on our 25" Zenith console TV, around 77-78. My cousins had some sort of triangular cartridge-based console that we played with a lot, then we got an Atari 2600 in 81. Activision rocked back then! River Raid and StarMaster sucked down my time and my grades.