Bookmans Employees Reminisce About Their First Games and Systems
When you buy, sell and trade video games with us, you allow us to participate in one of our favorite geeky pastimes–especially retro video games. Our love for gaming goes way back. In this post, we share our love for our first video games and gaming systems.
Ryan H., Bookmans Ina Assistant Manager
My first system was the NES. Castlevania was my favorite game but I also played Gremlins and Contra quite a bit.
Carl M., Bookmans Ina Electronics/Music Supervisor
I have vague memories of playing Pong on our black and white TV in the 1970s, but the system must’ve died pretty quickly ’cause it was all about arcades and Defender for me in the ’80s. Years later I was in Chile and a friend gave me a copy of Duke Nekem which, being one of my only English-language forms of entertainment, I got pretty serious about, seeking cans of soda and frying little turkeys to stay alive. Once back in the U.S., another friend gave me X-Com and Masters of Orion, and those two almost derailed my dissertation permanently. (Beware of your friends.)
Lori W, Phoenix/Mesa Community Relations
Commodore! But my true faves as a kid were Pitfall, Track and Field, and Street Fighter. My mother’s favorite lil’ Lori story is how my favorite game to play was Frogger–only I used another colorful F word as the title instead.
Cody M, Bookmans Grant Event Liaison
My dad had a Pac-Man arcade machine in the basement when I was really little…but I spent hours and hours writing songs and making little animations on Mario Paint (Super Nintendo) when that came out.
Kevin E, Bookmans Speedway Cashier Supervisor
Nintendo Entertainment System. First game I got for it was Ninja Gaiden. Now my favorite game was Super 2020 Baseball for the Sega game system. It’s super and 2020 and baseball–I mean, it had a full robot team. How could you not love it?
Rodney W, Bookmans Mesa Special Ops Supervisor/+10 in MODing
My first video game machine was an Atari 2600 and it came with the game Combat. Now the funny thing is that, at the time, new video games were $49.99–a lot like they are today. So I couldn’t afford to buy the one game I wanted, which was Pac-Man. By the time I did get it, it was summer and I spent most of my free time outside and not playing games.
Elaine E, Bookmans Grant Books Supervisor
Spy Hunter on Commodore 64.
Sarah M, Bookmans Mesa Store Manager
Gotta go with Bob on this–Pong and Atari hit when I was in the 5th grade. Never played anything else until this year, when I bowled on the Wii and my son showed me how to play Raving Rabid Rabbited? in France? Whacked out.
Scott H, Vice President/CTO/Toaster
Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES.
Mike O, Warehouse
I would also have to say my first video game system was the NES. Four directions, two buttons, what more could you ask for? I remember playing all the great games for this system, but nothing takes me back more than the Mega Man series. This game had it all – killer robots with all sorts of cool powers, which you could later steal after beating them up. Great game, great time – I am glad the movie bigwigs have stayed away from this franchise. And if for some reason they decide to make a movie, I would want Vin Diesel to play him.
Karilyn A, Bookmans Grant Visual Merchandiser
Had an Atari of course, but the Christmas that my brother and I got a Commodore 64 lives on fondly in my memory. (Hope that doesn’t make me sound too old!)
Forrest B, Bookmans Ina Customer Service/Cashier Supervisor
My first love affair with video games began with the Sega Master System. Sadly enough, the game I remember most is the one that was built into the system itself, Hang On. Alien Syndrome and Spy vs. Spy (card version) stole many an evening from my childhood as well though.
Desiree D, Bookmans Flagstaff Assistant Manager
None. I didn’t have the attention span required for video games. My sister and I were too busy trying to be James Bond, Indiana Jones, and the gang from Star Wars. We ruled our neighborhood on sweet Big Wheels, armed with lightsabers and water balloons.