What was the first video game you remember playing?

[Grizfarb59]

Pong, 1974, Atari. We really thought that was something!

Edit: it was 1972 not 74, my memory is getting bad....

 

[Zloth]

Pong, 1974, Atari. We really thought that was something!

And we were right!!

 

[red_5ive]

Arcade: Asteroids. I think I was 7. It was my first time seeing an arcade machine. Ever. My hands could barely reach the buttons. I was in awe. My Mom gave me a quarter to stop nagging her to go home as she was still shopping. I was dead in 3 seconds. Still, it held my interest long enough for me to watch other players "go for ships" while my Mom continued to shop. I was mesmerized. And parents didn't pay attention to their kids in public places back then. But that's another story.

Home: I was the kid with cheap parents (refer to the aforementioned quarter story in the paragraph above for evidence). Instead of buying me an Atari 2600, I got some tank game console that played only a B&W version of Atari 2600's Combat. The console was green and had 2 sets of grips/sticks as it was 2-player only. If you couldn't beat your opponent (as in my jarhead brother fresh out of the Marines who also has 11 years in front of me), you just yanked the sticks really hard to free the suction cups - and therefore the console - from the coffee table, and force your opponent into a missed shot, and risk the ensuing shoulder bruise. It was worth it. And no, I'm not joking about the suction cups. I did eventually get an Atari.

 

[Barukanen]

Reading the comments here and for the first time in a while, I don't feel particually old at 37.

 

[Zloth]

Reading the comments here and for the first time in a while, I don't feel particually old at 37.

Of course that's not old!

View: https://youtu.be/hyZaUwG50zI?si=utowO9lReN6cw_X9

 

[Grizfarb59]

Reading the comments here and for the first time in a while, I don't feel particually old at 37.

Oh to be young again...enjoy it while it lasts Friend...

Of course that's not old!

View: https://youtu.be/hyZaUwG50zI?si=utowO9lReN6cw_X9

I was thinking the same thing, Monty Python was the stuff back in the day, we would sit up and wait for it to come on TV, can't remember if it was Fri, or Sat night but it was the last program on before the stations quit broadcasting for the night.
Back in the day TV Stations went off air till the next morning starting around 5 or 6 am.

 

[Barukanen]

Of course that's not old!

View: https://youtu.be/hyZaUwG50zI?si=utowO9lReN6cw_X9

One of the few things my country is good for.

 

[Nocturnia]

I don't remember exactly which one was first. I was an early RuneScape uptaker, but before that I think there was Pokemon Red, which I believe was the first game I actually owned. And before that, I got interested in games by playing them at my piano teacher's house, I think. The only one I remember from that time was Diddy Kong Racing, but I think there were other ones. And even before that, I may have played a few much older games. I recall one called Stunt Island (installed on floppies) that I was shown and tried playing at home. The OP mentioned Carmen Sandiego and I definitely played that at some point, as well as some Medieval library-esque game made by that publisher of encyclopedias called DK, I think?

 

[Needpcstats]

It was FIFA 15 with my brothers we spent years on that game

 

[Dead2009]

It goes back to the Atari 2600 but I can't remember the game. The game I do remember however is the first Mario on NES.

 

[Nux Vomica]

New Super Mario. I distinctly remember this as I believe Bowser taught me to cuss.

Lotte (Lot-Tah)

 

[elissmith]

GTA3 and counter strike

 

[Positron]

I remember earlier games... but my first system was a
Commodore 64 and I had JumpMan (a Donkey Kong clone from EA)

 

[SweetPea34]

I'm an avid gamer, but I've been trying to think of the first games I remember playing and really loved. I remember sneaking into my cousins dad's study to boot up his mac to play Monkey Island, where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? And Myst (which I wasn't very good at). If you're a gamer, what do you remember playing and why?

I remember playin Pacman and Ms. PacMan many moons ago! TV Tennis too! When Myst came out I was mesmerized by the graphics.....that was a fantastic game.....I also have fond memories of playing Super Mario Brothers with my nephews and trying to rescue Peach!

 

[Krakenkratos]

GTA vice city

 

[jason141319]

Super Mario Bros

 

[Gumayusi]

Probably Adventure.

 

[Spl4yce]

I don't really remember the first one, but the first game that I got hooked instantly was TOCA Race Driver 3. That is the same game like the GRID games series.

 

[frankejane]

I'm an avid gamer, but I've been trying to think of the first games I remember playing and really loved. I remember sneaking into my cousins dad's study to boot up his mac to play Monkey Island, where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? And Myst (which I wasn't very good at). If you're a gamer, what do you remember playing and why?

 

[Colif]

GTA3 I think. I was forbidden to play computer games until I was about 6-7 years old.

Technically, so was I but only as they didn't exist at that time
I don't think I could tell you the name of the first computer game I ever saw. Or even what computer system it was on. It wasn't my computer. Back then I had games for all sorts of different computers, none of which I owned. I remember a Spy vs Spy game but looking at it, I don't remember playing it. (it was 42 years ago so I have an excuse).
They weren't PC games .. I couldn't tell you when I saw first one of those is either. Maybe 1985. They weren't amazing gaming machines at all back then.
It wasn't until around 1995 we had a machine at work that could show graphics... so we played Golf. Meanwhile our IT section were playing Networked Doom and tried to buy Flight Simulator expansions with out money...

 

[red_5ive]

It wasn't until around 1995 we had a machine at work that could show graphics... so we played Golf

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyBD0X81tjk

 

[AnmarBg]

I think it was Age of Empires. Great game

 

[Alpechin]

Popeye for Nintendo

 

[wenbin]

The first thing I actually remember attempting was a sidescrolling Star Wars game on the SNES. I was very young, probably only about 4. My father worked at an ad agency at the time handing Nintendo of America's account and apparently a few of them got sent home with the product.

I was very bad at it. I can guarantee my father was very bad at it because he did not then nor does he now play video games. But I remember passing the controller to him absolutely convinced that he could beat it for me when I died jumping into those sarlacc holes over and over.

 

[red_5ive]

The first thing I actually remember attempting was a sidescrolling Star Wars game on the SNES. I was very young, probably only about 4. My father worked at an ad agency at the time handing Nintendo of America's account and apparently a few of them got sent home with the product.

I was very bad at it. I can guarantee my father was very bad at it because he did not then nor does he now play video games. But I remember passing the controller to him absolutely convinced that he could beat it for me when I died jumping into those sarlacc holes over and over.

That reminds me, while not the first game I'd ever played, but it was the first Star Wars game I played, which was also a side-scroller, but on the Atari 2600.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwjFDQMmXf8