All Your Free Time Are Belong To Us

Video Games, yeah! I've spent the better part of my youth, and adulthood, escaping work and other chores just to get five minutes of game time. Whether I was twiddling my thumbs over buttons or using my whole body to make my ship fly a different direction, long before a sixaxis controller, I invested a lot of time and money into them. From the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games to the seventh generation consoles, I've watched the meteoric rise of the video game industry. I've seen it come from the humble beginnings of a pong console with only a dial controller all the way to the Nintendo Wii with its "wiimote." I've plunked my quarters into arcade games time and time again while pestering my parents to get me the same game for our Atari 2600 in hopes that I could duplicate the look and feel of the arcade without wasting my allowance. Unfortunately, the Atari 2600 couldn't match the original arcade versions and poor gaming quality and over saturation of the market led to the Video Game Crash of 1983.

Arcade vs. Atari
Comparison of Pac-Man graphics

While Computer Games held my heart in school and beyond, I still yearned for a high quality gaming dedicated console. The NES offered some release but it too fell short in the long run in favor of better technology. As we moved into the 21st century, Sony placated my insatiable taste in gaming but fatherhood denied me the time needed to endeavor on quests and missions in the Seventh Generation of consoles. I detailed my entire life through the video game industry over the course of five weeks and as many posts and here is the complete list as a single entry. Enjoy and feel free to add your own memories.

Part One: Yorgle, Grundle, and Rhindle, oh my!
The early beginnings of gaming on the Atari 2600 and other 2nd Gen. consoles.

Part Two: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
Childhood memories of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Part Three: Ctrl+Open Apple+Alt, 8, 1. Press play on tape.
A look at my computer gaming history from cassette tape to CD-ROM.

Part Four: A Zombie, a Hooker, and Tiger Woods walk into a bar.
Running the gamut of the gaming on Sony Specific Systems.

Part Five: Insert Coin. Valkyrie...is about to die!
The pinnacle and progenitor of my penchant for my playing.