Period(s) in gaming history you never got to experience but wish you did

[MrNewVegas]

I was born in 1990. I got to experience NES thanks to older cousins, received a SNES at the age of 4. So I've gotten to be around for most although being a tad older to understand would have been better.

My age was such a tease for arcades. I remember being 3-4 years old walking by the arcade in the mall just wishing I could go in.

WoW of course. I played City of Heroes as my MMO. Also spent a lot of time on CS and BF2.

The early years of online PC gaming was one I wish I was there for. Heat.net seemed like fun in 98-99.

 

[Krooner]

That first one. The Pong and first TV games era, it must have been absolutely mind-blowing to interact with your TV like that. Television itself wasn't even that old a technology really, feeling that leap would've been amazing.

 

[RROCKMAN]

The Age of Marvel Vs Capcom 2

 

[JayCB64]

The arcade golden age in America, the arcade really never kicked off here in Wales as much it seemed to over there, short of bandit machines.

 

[darfreeze]

I wish I experienced the PS2 era. I was born in '91 and got to experience little bits of the PS1 as a child. Like I got to play dragon ball gt and ffviii but only have little understanding of what's in the screen.

After that we just switched to PC where most of the games were rts. I can say that I grew up on red alert, battle realms, and warcraft. But I still wish that I got to experience the ps2 era. Some friends say that it's the golden age of playstation.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

At (almost) 39 I'm pretty much old enough that I don't feel I missed anything of note. Just Atari 2600 and before (we had a 5200 and then I really got into gaming with NES) and none of those older games do much for me.

I was never into PC gaming, so I guess I could say that. But since finally getting a gaming PC in early 2016 I haven't really found any PC exclusives that interested me as things like Sims, RTS, Arena Shooters, point and click adventure games etc. just haven't been my cup of tea.

 

[N E R O]

I am pretty happy with what I've got, unlike many. There was an arcade place close to where I lived in my teenage years. So I didn't miss arcade around 90's. I miss it now though since I moved from that country. Console wise I am pretty good

 

[Aranjah]

My first console was an N64 because I couldn't convince my parents to get me one before then, so I missed all of the seminal NES stuff and all of the golden-age SNES stuff even though I'm old enough to have been around for both of those.

 

[eXistor]

I'm 36 so I lived through most of it. But there's one glaring omission in my gaming upbringing and that's Arcade gaming. I've been getting into in the last few years, but in my youth it just wasn't a thing where I'm from. The only way I would even see an arcade is when the carnival was in town. and they usually just had a couple of cabinets.

 

[Truly Gargantuan]

The 70-80s arcade boom is that only era I've missed that I care about, born late 80s so I got everything else.

 

[JMY86]

I was in college at the time and I completely missed most of the PS2 era.

 

[eyeball_kid]

My first console was the 2600, so I don't feel like I missed out on eras. But I do regret a bit now not being around for the SNES. After the NES era I was given a Mac and basically ignored console gaming until after university. I know the trope is guys in dorms sitting around playing console games, but that didn't really happen where I was. It was people hooking up PCs over modem/LAN to play DOOM. So when people wax nostalgic about SNES games or that era it doesn't resonate with me at all.

The one era that I wish everyone here could have experienced is the arcades of the early-to-mid 1980's. It's something you can't replicate with emulators because it was a social experience.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Mario64 at launch. I had a PlayStation and always got super jealous when the FuncoLand ad would come on TV and show a brief snippet of SM64 gameplay. I didn't get to see the game in person until 6 months later when my best friend got one for his birthday.

 

[petran79]

Early 80s computer gaming systems, like Spectrum, Amstrad, Apple etc Saw some demos in computer shops.

Text adventure games era especially. But a 5 year old wouldnt be able to read,especially a foreign language.

Also Japanese 80s-90s PC scene with visual novels,dating sims ero games and Sega's Cherry Blossom Wars.

 

[daTRUballin]

Did you mean to respond to my post? Sorry if I'm missing something here, but I'm not sure why you quoted me. :/

EDIT: Responding toBurrman. Why is it not showing the post you quoted? Weird.....

EDIT 2: Ohhhh nvm. It's because you didn't actually say anything in your own post.

 

[mas8705]

I always gamed with Nintendo, Microsoft and even Sega (during the Dreamcast Era). That said, there was that one set of games I never got the chance to check out: any of the Playstations.

I missed one completely, hopped on two towards the end of its run, and barely checked out three. I have four, and even then I'm not too drawn in to the games at the immediate moment. Still, I wouldn't mind experiencing those games.

 

[Deleted member 7450]

The period I want to experience is yet to come.

When games and gamers finally grow up.

 

[New Donker]

I missed the majority of PS2 exclusives.

My brother and I got one at launch, but it stayed in his room, especially after I got the gamecube. Then he moved to college and took it and I got an Xbox for Live. The vast majority of my playing that gen was on the GameCube

 

[mr lurtle]

Even though I'm 35 I pretty much missed everything console related before the Wii and 360 because I only played with my computer. Only exception is the game gear which I had and loved.
I try to catch up on the classics but often feel I just had to be there to really appreciate most of them.

 

[Conciliator]

I was a little late for the late 80s/early 90s CRPG scene, so all the Ultimas and Might & Magics and such I wasn't really in time for. But the DNA of that stuff was in the late 90s CRPGs(Fallout, Baldur's Gate, etc.) that I connected with so much at the time, and continues into today.

 

[Richietto]

I wish I could have been there for the PC shooter boom. I didn't play half-life till maybe 10 years ago. Would really have loved to have been around when Counter Strike cropped up and stuff like Team Fortress Classic was in its prime. Alas I was a console only kind of kid. Can't afford a nice PC when your a family of 7 and your dad is an E4 in the military.

 

[MannyTV_]

Early 2000 PC gaming. CS in particular.

 

[alexi52]

Didn't experience the 8bit or 16bit era , I started on the n64 era , not to mention I never had a GB or GB color so i was the only kid in school not playing early pokemon

 

[Aftermath]

I strted with the Atari 2600 and gamed all the way through except one era

I pretty much missed out on the PS2 era, I did have a shared PS2 console with my brother, I had just left college here in the UK

I owned Tekken Tag and Dave Mirras Bmx 2 and that was it for almost the whole era, because at the time I was spending searching for a job and trying to become the responsible adult meant i felt i was a bit too old for gamer, I had more grown up hobbies like Music etc, gamed weren't gonna attract girls and I wanted a Girlfriend, so I pretty much stopped playing Videogames alltogether in that time, excpet maybe now and again, like my brother would rent some and i'd say how crap games were e.g

Resident Evil 4 - oh dear what have they done to RE? Thats not a Resi game
Mortal Kombat V - again was not impressed, MK 1-3 & trilogy was my jam, 3d i felt they were trying to copy Soul Calaibur and Tekken and it annoyed the hell out of me

Now years later I am back into gaming, when i realised all the great games that i missed out on, i am quite gutted about there are a ton that I would have loved if I knew they existed and didn't pretend to be so stuck up. (As it happens MK V and Resi 4 i think i enjoy now that i have gone back to them years later)

 

[AmFreak]

The Home Computer Wars.
Missed the bigger part of it.

 

[blinky]

I grew up in the Atari 2600 era, but I didn't get back into consoles until very late in the PS2 era. Missed SNES, GameCube, and all the other cool stuff that's now retro.

 

[gcwy]

I can't relate with most of these posts. I could not have wished for a better 'generation' to be born in. I appreciate and love everything that's around me and everything I've experienced. And I optimistically anticipate the future. I love playing old games, using old hardware/technology however I would not want to replace whatever we have right now.

 

[Darth Vapor]

I'm old enough to have experienced Atari 2600 onward so I don't feel like I missed out on too much (please let me know if I'm not thinking of something.)

I'm really glad I was 8-15 during the hay day of arcades. It was such an awesome place to hang out with friends as a kid. Man, some of them were dark, dingy, smokey and a general pandemonium of sound and flashing lights. You really felt like you were in some underground club.

I remember one of the first times I went to an arcade with my mom to play some pac man, there was like a twelve year old with a pack of camels rolled up in his sleeve lighting up while putting quarters in the galaga machine. Scared the shit out of me as an 8 year old.

 

[mute]

Only wish I was old enough to have blown a ton of money on Saturn stuff back in it's heyday, instead of a decade later.

That and I wish I had easier access to arcades back then too, as I typically only went during vacations and special occasions.

 

[Wink784]

I slept on the Dreamcast. I would have liked to experience Shenmue and Soul Calibur and Phantasy Star Online and Skies of Arcadia when that console, for a brief moment, offered a glimpse into the future like nothing else did.

Granted I was on PC mostly at that time so I had some pretty awesome games to play, but something about the nostalgia from people for it as well as the game ports I've played later on XBox or Gamecube made me wish I had been there at launch.

 

[s_mirage]

The UK 8-bit home computer wars in the 80s. I was around for the tail end of them, but not when they were at their height.

The 80s/90s Japanese home computer scene. Of course, that would mean I would have had to have been Japanese, which I am not.

Perhaps in an alternate reality I would have bought a Saturn rather than a 3DO, but I'm not sure about that. I have fond memories of playing my 3DO, and it was something unique that none of my friends had. The only real regret I have is that I missed most of the 32-bit console scene as I moved exclusively onto the PC for a few years after the 3DO. I don't regret gaming on PC, but I did miss something by doing so.

Honestly though, I don't know if there would have been an ideal time or place to have existed for me in terms of video game history. I enjoyed the 16-bit era and the transition into 3D games as I experienced it, and I would lose that by being older, younger, or in a different country.

 

[Metalgus]

I did go to the arcades in the 90ies but by the time I was a teen with more freedom we were already in 1997-1998 so I missed the golden era. Wish I could have experienced that a bit more. But considering I was born the early 80ies I feel I'm pretty lucky when it comes to having experienced much of gaming.

 

[TheIcedP]

The Wii has plenty of games that I do enjoy now that I have played them. But during the reign of the Wii, I was on my stupid ass playing COD Black Ops and other COD titles. I wish I would have executed myself back then, I just feel so stupid for wasting so much time, days and nights to a game that rewards you with absolutely nothing!!!!

Sorry for the rant had to get that out of my system, anyways for me it would be the Wii generation.

 

[AnimalFather]

not so much a period. but i am upset i missed out on Torment back in the day especially when Black Isle was my fav dev back then.
i also missed out on shadow of the colossus.

 

[Juraash]

I was born in 86, so I feel like I got most of the good stuff. SNES was my first console but I had friends with older siblings who had a NES. So I got to play all that stuff and arcades were still kicking when I was younger.

 

[Fuchsia]

Born in 92 and never got to play the SNES in its prime. Would've liked to have been a part of that. But at least I got the N64/PS1/Gameboy magic of that time. I'll never forget that era.

 

[thebeeks]

Despite being born in '87, I didn't get to experience the Nintendo/Sega console wars. Our family didn't exactly have a ton of money when I was younger, so I was playing on an NES and a 2600 we got at a flea market, and in '98 we got a SNES. I vaguely recall Sonic mania sweeping the playground, and later I kind of remember kids losing their minds about Mario 64, but I never payed close attention to the newest latest video games because I had my old consoles to keep me entertained. Reading old game mags from the time make it seem like a crazy era to be clued into games, mudslinging and all. Kinda wish I could have been more aware of it.

 

[Strider_Blaze]

Being born in the early 90s, I wish I could experience the Golden Age of Gaming. Would've been nice to live to see when Atari was a big video game juggernaut before Nintendo.

 

[Hamoody]

I wish I experienced the peak of the console wars between Nintendo and Sega

 

[NintendoMariah]

Game boy era

I was more of a console boy from nes and sega , and completely ignored the handheld era until the DS. Wish I could go back and change that

 

[srhltmr]

I'm 37 so I haven't missed much. I started with the 2600, had a NES, SNES, Gameboy growing up.

One thing I did (intentionally) miss was multiplayer FPS when they first became big (and now if I'm honest). I still think it would have been nice to be part of it.

 

[Nemesis Warlock]

The SNES era RPGs.
I mean, I HAD one, but being an Aussie, we never got any of the greats, like the Final Fantasy games or Chrono Trigger. (Mind you, I played the HELL out of Super Metroid, and Terranigma was nuts!)

Also, Final Fantasy VII.
I knew it was a thing, but didn't get a PS1 until FF8 came around. (Yes, 8 was my first FF, shoot me)

 

[Deleted member 12635]

I was completely out of gaming between 1994 and 2006. I started to game on PC. Never had a console before 2006 but was able to play at my nephews house with the first Atari console. After that it took some time before I got a ZX81 and after that the ZX Spectrum. After a short break straight to PC where Doom and Unreal were the games I played the most. Doom on a local Network with peer to peer cable connections through my apartment. (memories). Focused on studying from 1994 on and totally switched to Apple since 1997. In 2006 i had a longer sick period so I needed something to do at home. Wanted to buy a PlayStation (Germany) but it wasn't available at that time. So I bought the Xbox 360 instead. Bought the PS3 Slim too after some years but since then I am primarily on Xbox.

 

[Phediuk]

God this thread makes me feel old.

 

[Cryxok]

I was born in 1993, my first gaming console was the N64, followed by the PS1. I would've loved to experience at least the SNES in it's prime. I've played many SNES games after the fact and that console has some of my favorite games of all time.
After the N64/PS1, my sister was born and my mom got asthma. My parents couldn't afford another gaming console until I sold them on the Wii's motion controls. So I never got to own a GCN or a PS2. After that I've bought my own consoles.
Finally, where I live WoW was pretty unknown. And as a kid, I couldn't appreciate the game or the dev work enough to get myself to pay for a PC game. So I never got to play WoW properly until Warlords of Draenor. I feel I missed so much of that game.

 

[Shatty McKracken]

I would have loved to experienced the golden age of arcade games (1979 to 1990, roughly), but I was born just at the tail end of it, so I got to experience the SNES/Genesis era instead.

Click to shrink...

For my first post on this forum, let me share with you just how awesome it was.

Imagine being about 5-7 years old and always getting dragged to the grocery store, or a department store by your parents. It can be quite a miserable experience. One day you get dragged to the store and you see these really cool looking tall boxes with TV screens and funny handles built into them all standing at the front of the store or the lobby. They make the coolest sounds that your young ears have ever heard. They have cool names like Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man. Instead of getting dragged around the store and yelled at by your parents constantly to not touch anything, they can give you $1.00 in quarters to keep you entertained the entire shopping trip. Parents could now shop in peace. It was the first win-win scenario I ever discovered.

As you get older, entire buildings pop up that are full of these machines. You can ride your bicycle to these places and hang out with your friends all day. Instead of hanging out with your friends on IRC back in the day, or someone's discord, or gathered around a live stream, arcades were the places we hung around to socialize. It was such an amazing time, that I don't think I would choose to be born in any other time period.

 

[Aminga]

.

 

[Pensanden]

The golden age of JRPGs in late 90s to early 2000s on PS1 when you look back at it there was a great JRPG coming out every other week.

 

[c043y]

I wish I got to experience Arcades as a teenager.

 

[sinonobu]

PS1~N64. I was too young to play video games then.