Happy Anniversary & Remember, Remember

[thebitterguy]

Well, the NES (Nintendo Entertainmetn System) is now 20 years old as of yesterday (its US debut was Oct 18, 1985). In honour of that, I've set the theme to Super Mario Brothers as my ring tone.

As with all anniversary's rounded off to a number divisible by 5, it makes you realize how long ago something was. This is 20 years ago. And, even worse, I now remember that it came out a generation AFTER my console of choice, the Intellivision.

I was a hardcore Intellivision player. I never picked up the Intellivoice, but I was big on the AD&D and Tron cartridges. And I could play Astrosmash until the cows came home, or my dad shut it off (why he didn't just ask me to pause the game, I dunno). Utopia probably initiated my lifelong love affair with sim games and RTS.

A few years later, when I was getting into working on my C 128 (you know how they say your first million words will suck? Mine were all on C128), my brother Uday got an NES. It wans't enough to distract me from SSI's Gold Boxes o' pleasure (which kept me from tossing myself in front of a CP Rail train over the worst D&D game ever), but it was an a cute diversion. I never got into Final Fantasy (Uday enjoyed it, but it never clicked for me), and the only games I really enjoyed were Star Wars one, primarily for the setting. Although I think they may have come out on the SNES.

So, now, that's 20 years ago, and I'm just getting older and older as the days go by. Xbox is my love now, as my PC is too decrepit for me to play anything fun on it (and now I can't even run Galactic Battlegrounds, which means until I get that resolved bnddbl07 will have to wait for his whuppin'.

Ah, well. Time flies.

Open Note to all: Guy Fawkes Memorial Halo Party at Casa Bitter Nov 5. Any To based folks interested in play? I can probably squeeze a few more in. Dinner will be pizza and beer, beer optional. Fireworks, hopefully. There will be bomb games to commemorate papist treachery, if nothing else.

Comments

[anidada.livejournal.com]

The word "Nintendo" automatically reads as newfangled and not-for-me. Yes, I'm old. Odyssey all the way, baby. Go ahead, laugh.

Very cool that the Halo party is also Guy Fawkes Day! Planning to burn anything in effigy in the backyard? :)

[thebitterguy]

Once I remembered it was Guy Fawkes day, yeah, that seemed painfully obvious. Maybe a small effigy.

We will be rolling it around the neighbourhood, asking folks for "a penny for the old Guy.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

What will be depressing is listening to people younger than ourselves talk about the good old days of N64 gaming.

[thebitterguy]

What do you mean, Will be?

[gurudata.livejournal.com]

Hiho,

And I could play Astrosmash until the cows came home,

Damned cows, always coming home and ruining the fun. :)

CU,
Andrew

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

A few years later, when I was getting into working on my C 128 (you know how they say your first million words will suck? Mine were all on C128),

When I was 10, my first computer was a Vic-20. It came with a tape drive. As in a cassette tape!

[thebitterguy]

God bless the Vic 20. I have more processing power in my pants than that thing had.

[terminal-pariah.livejournal.com]

Aha, the good old days of Commodore. We had a few C64s and a 128. Still do, actually. Didja eventually make the jump to Amiga?
I ain't never played Halo. You Xboxen owners. :P

[thebitterguy]

I, myself, went from C128 to 486, but I knew a few guys who had Amigas. Mainly for playing Defender of the Crown, which I understand can now be run on a cell phone.

[terminal-pariah.livejournal.com]

We eventually gave up and got a 386 (back when that was recent). It was Monkey Island, DOTT and Doom (especially Deathmatch over modem) that actually got me away from the Amiga for any amount of time.
Let's face it, Commodore's machines were gaming heaven back then. Lemmings on the Amiga was so good!

[bnddbl07.livejournal.com]

Ah booooooo

I have been home a few times since we planned that, and I can't find the freaking game in the mosh pit of house that it is right now. (renovations happening.... and me being blissfully out here.... hehehehe)

Delayed it shall be, but whuppin, it shall not.... BRING IT ON Karaoke man!

I will look again when I am home in November. Let me know when you are back in the PC world.

and the btw, NES Rocked!. I had about 15 games, played all of them until my thumbs were raw from those buttons!!... and really, what was that "Blowing into them thing" anyway? We were SPITTING on to the contacts, this cannot have helped!! :)

[thebitterguy]

Delayed it shall be, but whuppin, it shall not.... BRING IT ON Karaoke man!


Oh, it'll be brung. You believe it. You'll wake up some day and go "Did he just kick my ass with Gungans?" And I'll knock down your front door and scream "Messa gonna fuck you up again, Biyatch!"

[bnddbl07.livejournal.com]

hahahahahaha!

oooo it's on, it's on!!

[umario.livejournal.com]

You have convinced me to get Ebes to download an Intellivision emulator with Astrosmash. And yes, I'm worse at video games at 28 than I was at 8...

But now I know that Ebes married into an IntelliVision playing family. Wee-ked!