I had both the Intellivision and Nintendo in the '80's...I must go with Nintendo though, but Intellivision had some great games too.

How about you?

Gotta go with that old standby, the Atari 2600. Yeah, the graphics and sound sucked (even compared to its contemporaries), but it sure had a nice selection of good games. (especially the Activision games!)

I had to vote for Colecovision...since it's the only system my parents bought...lol

Nintendo by far....when that thing came out, it was the best thing since sliced bread :lol::lol:

The Nintendo may have gotten me through college, but the Intellivision was my baby. I still think it had some of the best home games of the 80's (D&D topping the list). The controller seemed perfect and the graphics were wicked (for the time).

On a side note. I actually had each of those systems, plus the Telstar Arcade. The 80's were great!

I'm only familiar with the NES and SMS, so my vote goes for the NES. It's the system that got me interested in video games.

I have limited experience with the 2600, but don't remember it much.

I'm a SEGA man myself :)

I don't think Nintendo was big in Europe in the 80s...Unless u count Game&Watch

Out of the 80's video game sytems I used to own Nintendo and Sega.Nintendo get's my vote!It had some of the best games of the 80's for it.That was when Super Mario Brothers was introduced,the Mario Bothers games are my favorite to this day.

DEFINITELY THE ATARI! I've had one since I was seven (though I've went through a few consoles) and the games always rocked! I also have each of the Nintendos but Atari games are pretty hard to beat. It's pretty neat trying to rack up a high score on the games:D

I didn't own my own gaming console until I bought a Sega Master System in 1991, but the gaming machine that I heard most about before that was Nintendo. Atari always seemed like rubbish to me.

My vote went for Intellivision. I alwasy wanted an Atari, but I never got either. I had a friend who had an intellivision and I think his mum thought she'd gained an extra son. I was always round there playing on it with him.

He had a football/ soccer game which he would thrash me on when I first played it. The day I beat him, he never let me play on it again LOL.

I had a ZX Spectrum during the eighties. The Sega Megadrive was my first console.

Well...we had an Atari 2600, a Nintendo, and Sega Genesis in the 80's.
I had to go with the Sega as my fav. because that is the one I miss the most! (we have a PS2 now that I have NEVER played :()

Even though I really loved the Mario games (including Dr. Mario...HeeHee! Remember THAT game?!?) I liked the Sega games and graphics better!

Originally posted by jeansfcc


Even though I really loved the Mario games (including Dr. Mario...HeeHee! Remember THAT game?!?)

I remember. :D

Never became a fan of the game, however. Tetris was my favourite puzzle game.

I loved my Atari, but I went with Nintendo, for three reasons:

Blades Of Steel
Legend Of Zelda
and
Mario Bros.

Countless hours of fun and entertainment! :thumb:

Before the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in 1985, video games were dead. Extinct. Over. You get the picture. Due to some bad decisions by the market dictator at the time, Atari, gaming became one of those fads that were cool for a few years and disappear just as quickly. Anyone even remotely interested in creating a game system was laughed at. Just not Nintendo.

Nintendo, prior to the successes of its video game division, was known for Japanese playing card games. Eventually they moved into electronic toys and games, and eventually arcade video games. Putting out arcade hits like Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong, Nintendo was somewhat keeping arcade games afloat. But eventually they became interested in a home console (TV Games as they are called in Japan).

Interestingly enough, Nintendo originally had the NES slated to be under the Atari name. But Nintendo backed out when a rumor started that Atari was working on something else, and all the wanted to do was get the NES and trash it, for competition reasons. Nintendo backed out and released the NES in 1985.

The problem was, no one would touch it. Retailers weren't interested in a video game system, due to mass monetary losses in the past. So Nintendo had to make a backup plan. Along with the NES itself they had to launch with R.O.B, aka the Robotic Operating Buddy (keep jokes to self okay?).

Of course R.O.B was just a front to get the system released, even in limited form. It was only released at first in the New York and San Francisco markets (I believe Chicago as well but I can't recall). The strong interest in it within these markets lead to a national release not soon after. Side note - R.O.B is the grandfather of accessories released for a console that never are used after a day or so (see SuperScope, Sega CD, 32X, etc).

It wasn't long after the national release that the NES took off completely, and began a trek that for one brought video games back to life, and second of all solidified the NES as one of the greatest video game consoles made, even to 2000 standards. But it didn't happen by osmosis. The games had to be good.

And wow they were. Quality games were never an issue, for there were tons. At first there was arcade conversions - Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers. Then the heavy hitter hit, and that hitter was Super Mario Brothers.

SMB was one of the first (if not THE first) home games that had side scrolling levels, where you could move a character across multiple screens, instead of the traditional one screen games like DK. It of course starred Mario, who has become the most recognizable video game character ever. The idea of multiple levels, with different environments, and what is now traditional 2D gameplay, SMB moved systems. FAST.

From there it only got better and better. More and more legendary game series' were released first on NES, like the Zelda series, Metroid, along with third party game series like Contra (which was an arcade game), Metal Gear (at least in US, if I remember right it came out on an old Japanese game system first), Castlevania, and the mighty Final Fantasy (only FF1 though, at least in the US). Mega Man also was made first on NES (though the MM series has hit massive overkill in typical Capcom style). It also had my favorite series ever, Ninja Gaiden. True masterpieces of gaming.

Unfortunately the NES wasn't too big on sports games, despite having my two personal favorite sports games ever (though released late in the system's life). Licensed games were rare, good ones were worse. Though there were a handful of great games. Bases Loaded comes to mind, along with RBI Baseball (which has a great story). Also, Mike Tyson's (before wife-beating, raping, ear biting) Punch Out was an amazing boxing game, that I played forever (until someone stole it from me..whoever it is, I WANT IT BACK!). My favorite sports games on NES though,were Tecmo Super Bowl and Tecmo NBA Basketball. Though they were released late in the system's life, both were excellent games, both fun and easy to play. I actually play them to this day when I hook the system up (that is if I can get a 12 year old box to run).

Nintendo did hit some snags though. A company named Tengen (*cough* Atari) was releasing, with Nintendo's blessing, games like RBI Baseball and Pac-Man. But suddenly, they stopped the licensing and left Tengen in the cold. BUT, Tengen worked their way around the system code and was able to release unlicensed games for the NES that worked. Needless to say, a big lawsuit emerged. I cannot remember who won, but I do know that it changed a lot of things in the game business.

What is amazing is how an 8-bit NES system could be overshadowed by a more powerful system (Genesis) and still control the market share. All it took was one game - Super Mario Brothers 3. SMB3 sold an amazing 20 million copies! While it didn't keep them winning forever, it was a good holdover for the Super NES. I personally remember trying to get SMB3, at all of 11 or 12 years old, watching my parents calling everywhere and not finding it, and (oh man) crying my eyes out with every "sorry sold out" notice. Thankfully they found a copy somewhere. But that was how hot the game was. You couldn't find it ANYWHERE, even a big city like Chicago.

Looking back, the NES has all the qualities of a great system. And it was just that. It brought back a dead form of entertainment, brought a little company into the spotlight, and gave kids something to do besides schoolwork (kidding!).

Of course, you can still get your hands on an NES at a used game store like FuncoLand or online. And best part is you can get one for a really good price. Because really, everyone should have an NES in their game library!

I loved my Atari console!!! When I received one for Christmas, I cried!!! Oh, the hours I spent on my Atari, playing Berzerk, Pac Man, Missile Command, Pitfall and Frogger!!! :)

I liked my Sega Master System the best, but I also had many hours of fun with the Atari system.

For me, it was the Atari 2600...when my parents had presented it to me for Christmas, I had sworn to never behave bad again (this promise didn´t lasted very long...;)).
I had owned a number of cool games like Defender, Missile Command and an extension called Supercharger (with this device, you was able to load games from a datasette into the 2600). I still have my console and a few games, sold the rest (and could still bite my arse!).

Since the consoles and games were pretty much expensive in Germany, I have only owned this only system. I had briefly toyed with the idea to get a 5200 or even the 7800, but by this time the console market was already going down.

Recently, I had almost bought a Vectrex console with a few games, but I have heard that the console tends to fail often, so I had disbanded the idea again.

I voted for Sega. I still have a Sega Genesis and have always enjoyed playing it. Didn't the Genesis come out about 1988?

Yup Stacy....SEGA Genesis was released in Japan in oct. '88, six months later I was released in the US, with Europe and Australia trailing another 4 months :)

Oh wow, I didn't know the Genesis/MegaDrive was so old. :eek:

Mine would definetly be colecovision. Loved Pepper II.

Marius

atari was the first system i owned and at the time seemed like the greatest. i allways wanted a coleco but never got one!
however i would have to vote for nintendo which i see isnt on the poll??

Colecovision! I loved it! I had the smurf game. :)

I would have to give my vote to Nintendo.

re-vote if ya recently voted....the poll already existed...topic merged ;)

yeah... didnt see the other one. Knew someone had to do it before.

Marius

I had three video game systems in the 80's, the Odyssey 2, Atari 2600, and Nintendo. Although I have fond memories of the great games I played on each system, I think I have to give my vote to the NES. I still pull out my system from time to time and play my favorite classics like "The Legend of Zelda" and the "Mega Man" series.

RockBoy83

I had a friend that had an Oddysey 2. I always wanted to play it, because it had a "Lord of the Rings" game available, but never got the chance. :(

There's always emulation ;) I know I seen an Odyssey emulator out there years ago...I'm sure there's still one out there...probably the LOTR game too :)

Hey! That's a great diea, Roem. I'll check into that later. Thanks. ;)

the Nintendo, i have so memories about that true console and when I was playing crappy games ;) seriously they were very good!! Duck Tales, Rescue, Marios Bros 2... i miss thoses great titles!!

Welp, I had three of'em Intellivision, Coleco, and Atari 2600. I didn't have a fav cause there were games i liked for all alot. But if ya held a gun to my head ad said pic I guess I'd go wit Atari, it had way more games. Though the graphics were better on the other two.

i had a atari 2600 that my mom bought me & my sis. when i got my first job in the 90's i found a nintendo and a copy of a game called final fantasy. hehe was hooked ever since. :D

Not sure if it is regarded as a videogame system, but for me it's the ZX Spectrum... :thumb:

I chose Colecovision. It's what I had in the mid-'80s.

on the game console front, i played games mostly on the Intellivision and Colecovision. in terms of the my fondest memories of video gaming at home, in general, the Commodore 64 was the best.

My first system was the Sega Master System II, I loved that machine!! I forced my parents to buy it for me because my cousin had it, then I went to a friends house and he had a Nintendo Entertainment System and OMG I wanted that even more - the games were better and I could play Ninja Turtles on it!!! So I then forced my parents to buy me that!!
I also played a lot of Atari 2600 (rainbow) at my cousins house (same one) too, I loved Pitfall!!

But Nintendo beats Sega and Atari by a mile!! Great selection of games and great graphics for the time and IMO still the best!

In 1990, my dad bought me (and my younger sister) an NES. I still have the NES, but I don't think video games compatible with it are no longer made. :(

There are LOTS of NES games available on ebay, most for as little as $5 or $10

the Commodore 64 was the best.

Jumpman!!! Best puzzle games ever!!! Damn i like that game!!! Used to play a lot at school when I was 12! :laugh: Year we were having C64 aroung 1994-95 :laugh:

I would have to say Atari, but I did/do love the nintendo. It had some great games. My parents bought my brother's and I a atari for Christmas in 1983 and then they bought my younger brother a nintendo. I would go to their house just to play nintendo.

Atari!! Atari!! Atari!! Oh yeah, Atari. But the Vectrex was kind of cool also for anyone who remembers it.

I voted for Atari 2600 and the two that I still have are in working order. :happy:

I loved my Turbo Grarx-16

Still the best video game system i ever owned (i still own it) :thumb:

I picked Sega, I loved playing my Sonic The Hedgehog, but I also loved playing Nintendo :)

We never got a Nintendo until 1990, so I'll always associate the 80s with the Atari 2600.

Well, since Nintendo was the only video game system I had in the 80's I would have to say definitely Nintendo.

I owned three systems in the 80's, Atari 2600, Sega Master System and NES. My favorite was definently the Sega Master System, i had alot of fun playing Shinobi, Alex Kidd and Phantasy star. The NES was fun also. My favorite Sports game was Mike tyson Punch out. At about June 1989 the Genisis came out i never owned a genesis cause my family situation changed, my mother lost her job. It would be a long time before i would eventually own another system, Nintendo 64, while i was in college (Sophmore year) 1996. My favorite system ythus far of all time has to be the XBOX.

I had both the Intellivision and Nintendo in the '80's...I must go with Nintendo though, but Intellivision had some great games too.

How about you?

I feel exactly the same way! I had the Intellivision in the early 80's (I still have it in my closet, but can't get it to work :irked: ) and have fond memories of it, but I must admit the Nintendo was more fun to play, so much so that I still have it hooked up and play it regularly. :yesnod:

Super Mario Bros 1-3
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (my favorite)
Contra
Castlevania
Life Force
Base Wars

and the list goes on.....


Actually, now that I think about it, the Commodore 64 computer may well have been my favorite to play video games on, though that's not a video game console like the ones on the poll - they had some cool games on there - Boulderdash (played that endlessly), Realm of Impossibility, Zork, One-on-One with Dr. J and Larry Bird, Crush Crumble & Chomp, etc. I gave it to my grandmother about 10 years ago cuz she was crazy about Boulderdash, so I kinda felt obligated. It no longer works now, probably because of overuse.

The Nintendo may have gotten me through college, but the Intellivision was my baby. I still think it had some of the best home games of the 80's (D&D topping the list). The controller seemed perfect and the graphics were wicked (for the time).


Are you talking about the Dungeons & Dragons game where the guy is going thru the maze shooting arrows at dragons, demons, rats, snakes and blobs? Oh, that was my favorite Intellivision game! :thumb:

I still have my Intellivision and games. Still break it out and play them sometimes. :thumb:

I cast my vote to Colecovision, I had one, it was better than Atari 2600, its games were quite expensive, but awfully enjoyables.

The ''Atari 2600'' always brings back memories.
I voted 'Atari.' :)

Edit: I always had a thing for my, Commodore 64 too.

Nintendo Get The Thumbs Up