In Praise of Gaming's Yesteryears...

When I was about six years old I got a gift from my parents that started a lifelong obsession: An Atari 7800. I started out with two games: Ms. Pac Man and Dig Dug. I started collecting games and ended up with a pretty nice library. There was something amazing about actually playing games previously only available to me in arcades or the roller rink IN my own house. I spent hours running through mazes, blowing up enemies, ranking myself in "Pole Position", playing one-on-one basketball and more. I was fascinated at the differences (and sometimes the similarities) between levels as they would get harder with each win. I was amazed that so many different styles of games existed. I was mesmerized for hours at a time during the hot summer months, when outside play was pretty miserable. These games got me through various bouts with pneumonia, and through many colds and cases of the flu.
Looking back at the graphics and the sound, I am nostalgic. While today I can run through 3d worlds with reckless abandon and immerse myself in deep story lines, I do often look back to those days of 25 colors and miss the sweet simplicity of those games.
I've owned nearly every major gaming system since, and a few more obscure ones. (Ninendo's Virtual Boy, anyone?) I have owned hundreds and hundreds of games. I still have a great affinity for those old games and that old console. The old two button/joystick controller was well worn before I retired the system in favor of my NES. I still pulled it out now and then and retraced my steps through those mazes and tunnels. My oldest kids got a chance to play on the system before it was lost in the ethers of my parent's garage where pieces turned up missing, and games suffered the heat and elements.
After all these years those games still hold a big spot in my geeky gamer heart, and even with the current offerings of the Xbox360 and the Wii and the PS3, I can't imagine that I'll lose these feelings for my first gamer love.
Heck, the 7800 was backwards compatible! My PS3 can't claim that...