Do you remember?

..life before there were video games?

I will tell my age by stating that I was 12 years old in 1977, when Atari released something called the Video Computer System. I suppose one could argue that video games really came on the scene in the early 70's with the myriad pong clones and something called Odyssey and Channel F, but my first knowledge of video games came in October of 1977. In the name of full disclosure, I should also add that I did not get my Sears Video Arcade (2600 clone) until Christmas of 1981 when I was 16 years old.

Suffice it too say that my main childhood years were spent outdoors riding bikes (summer) and tobogganning (winter), playing Hot Wheels and Matchbox with my older brother, and even something called G.I. Joe (not the 2 inch tall action figures, but the 12 inch tall dolls). At the risk of sounding like an old codger, I wonder how many kids get outdoors for physical activity these days. Maybe that has been replaced by physical activity on Kinect, Move, and Wii, but is it the same?

I guess I wonder what it would have been like to have video games in the house from my earliest toddler days, and the thought seems sort of alien and strange, to say the least.

We had the Odyssey 2 back in 1978 or 1979. My dad was a big pinball fan so some form of gaming has been in my blood since I can remember.

Funny I collected the smaller G.I. Joes. Sold some off but still have a few around.

As big as games are/were I still enjoy the fresh air. As a kid we would play inside mainly when the temp hit the high 80's and above. Or when the humidity made it feel like 100 degrees or more.

My first gaming system was the 2600. Before then, I mostly spent time playing outdoors with the few kids that were around (I grew in a rural area). I wasn't playing, then I was studying or watching TV as there wasn't much to do. When I got the 2600 it was great because I was able to do immerse myself playing all these fun games on my TV!

TrekMD wrote:When I got the 2600 it was great because I was able to do immerse myself playing all these fun games on my TV!

That's what I remember too. I had played Battlezone, Pac Man, and Venture at the local laundromat (we were too poor to own a washing machine), and the VCS finally allowed me to play those games at home. I was simply elated when Coleco released VCS Donkey Kong and would play that game for hours and into the hundreds of thousands of points. That despite it having only two of the arcade levels.

When I was a kid, my parents bought Intellivision, and at first it was another toy they bought for our amusement.  But then I was immediately entranced by the idea of having direct control over what was happening on the TV screen, and not just watching TV anymore.

Since my parents were strict about how much time I spent on the Intellivision, I spent a lot of time not playing and wishing I was, so much of what I created in my childhood was inspired by video  games, whether on paper, in clay, with Legos or blocks, or anything else I could get my hands on.