how did you get involved with the 16bitter?

[cabear]

*i got my sonic equipped genesis in the summer of '91. *

i saved my pennies up and really worked my 10 year old ass off to earn that genesis and damn, that game blew my mind. my uncle worked late nights and i had to wait for him to wake up so he could set up the genesis since i was too afraid to do it myself in fear of harming the system.

once i saw that pudgy hedgehog pop out i knew i made the right choice.

the only ever system that ever hit me like that was the Neo Geo and i finally got my AES system last year.

[beigemore]

I got mine for Christmas 1989. Only had one controller that came with it for Altered Beast, so we used an SMS controller for second player for several days until my parents broke down and bought us another one. I think with the SMS controller one button did punch, and the othe did kick+pause with no jump. We loved every minute of it, though.

Sadly, I never really got into the system, especially once the SNES hit in '91. It was really awesome back in the day going to places like Target or Wal-mart and seeing people crowded around a tiny TV screen setup for the display systems and everyone being so impressed with Altered Beast or Super Mario World.

[Forgotten Sin]

Becoming a fan of both the Archie Sonic comics, and later the Sonic Satam tv show is what made me choose a genesis. And it's definitely a choice I don't regret.

[T2KFreeker]

Interesting stories here. Mine is long and boring, I am sure, so here's the short end of everything. Christmas on 1990, I begged and pleaded for a Turbo Grafx 16 and my cousin wanted a Sega Genesis. We both got what we wanted. Even though I really enjoyed what I got, I had to admit that the Genesis was a slick system. I had seen stuff for the system before, but this was the most hands on I had been with it. My main experiences with Sega at the time consisted of Commodore 64 games, Arcade, 2600 releases, and a friend of mine had a Master System and we played the Hell out of Phantasy Star. Around 1993 was when I wanted a new system so I ended up getting a Sega Genesis and later on the Sega CD system. I also bought a Sega 32-X at launch as well. Was just some bad ass times. Had lots of fun with it and the Jaguar for a long time. Never did get into Nintendo until the Gamecube, so Sega was the thing after Turbo Technologies folded, sadly. Got a Saturn shortly after launch and a Dreamcast the day it released. I miss Sega making consoles and it all goes back to me being a fan of the Genesis.

[Hiarcs]

My brother got the Sega, along with no less than Quackshot and Sonic 2, the rest its history.

[The Coop]

In short? Christmas 1989.

In long?

Having grown up with an Atari 2600 and my Atari XEGS (which I still have), I can remember seeing all the pictures of the Master System and NES games in magazines. All the arcade ports like After Burner, Shinobi and Thunder Blade were things I really wanted to play. Around late Summer of '89, I remember seeing the Genesis and the Power Base Converter that would allow you to play Master System games on the Genesis. To me, that was just a miracle.

As Christmas neared, I did what all kids do... I dropped hints. Lots of hints. Genesis this, Genesis that, Genesis Genesis Genesis. When Christmas came near, I remember thinking that I'd probably end up with a different system. See, a few years before I really wanted an Atari 7800 so I could play Xevious. That Christmas, I got my Atari XEGS with a copy of the 7800's Xevious because the moron behind the counter said the XE could play 7800 games. Needless to say, it can't and Xevious was returned. Still, my Atari XEGS is a treasured little system now and I own Xevious 3D/G+ for the PS1, so it all worked out.

Anyway, I waited. Hoping to get a Genesis, but in the back of my mind, expecting something else. The NES, a collection of Genesis (the band) music cassettes... who knew really. But the big day came, I opened the big box, and there was my Genesis. I'd been given a copy of Thunder Force II and Revenge of Shinobi as well, so I was all set. A few days went by and I got to go to Target. There, with Christmas money in hand, I got the last Power Base Converter on their store shelves and a new copy of Shinobi.

After that, bit by bit, I built up my library for both with the likes of Ghouls 'N' Ghosts and Spellcaster. A few years later, I bought a Master System with the 3-D glasses from a pawn shop. That Master System went POOF! when I accidentally plugged an NES power adapter into it, but I got another one some time later. Thankfully, I still have my original Genesis though. 21 years and counting.

[saxman]

Me and my brother got our Sega Genesis back in Christmas of '89. I was 5 years old at that time. The thing about it was, we had to send it bck to Sega to be repaired because it stopped working ON CHRISTMAS DAY. So much for Christmas joy =/ But hey, we got it back eventually, an we had a blast with it. I have all sorts of fond memories, and the Genesis is still around too (although I haven't plugged it up in a few years.)

[crazyteknohed]

Nagged me old man to death until he got me a Megadrive with Sonic for Christmas in '92. Was a proper mission to persuade him to get me one as we already had an Amiga A500 at the time.

[ShadowDancer]

in 1990 while i was skateboarding down the sidewalk, i found an envelope with 200 bucks in it. i took it home and told my dad and he called the police station to see if any money had been reported lost. (he didn't state the exact amount) we also went to the area i found the money and knocked on all the homes and asked if anyone had lost any wallets or money lately. turned out that nobody claimed the money, and my dad let me keep the money to buy whatever i wanted. so i bought a sega genesis system which i think came with altered beast. i played it so much that my parents eventually thought i was addicted to it so they took it away from me. one day i was looking around in the basement and found it. i also found a floor model television, and i hooked them both up right there in the basement. our basement had an outside entrance, so i would pretend to be walking to the library to do homework or something, and i would sneak into the back yard and then down into the basement to play my genesis. at this point i had about 4 or 5 games i think but my favorite was altered beast. i was so into it that i would sometimes skip school to go down into the basement and play all day long. creepy huh? creepy but true. i've had just about every system released since then and have always came back to my genesis. i guess i reaally was addicted to the damn thing.

[Nobi]

christmas '93 model 2 with sonic 2. then a few weeks later we got madden 92, and shinobi III.

our snes spent the rest of its pathetic life in a closet ever since.

[Mista_Ed]

our snes spent the rest of its pathetic life in a closet ever since.

ouch!!!

[eyeon]

WARNING: wall of text approaching.

Ah, Christmas '89 was a magical time. I still remember firing up Altered Beast for the first time and being blown away. I also received Revenge of Shinobi, which was equally, if not more, mind blowing. I was lucky enough to have a father who was into computers, video games, random gadgets, etc., and he was able to hunt a Genesis down for Christmas. If I recall correctly, he paid 400 bucks for it, or something ridiculous, they were sold out EVERYWHERE. I already had a NES and SMS, but those were quickly forgotten once 16 bits of power entered my life. Even years later when I got a SNES, the Genny was still king. There is just something about the style of Genesis games, especially the early ones, that just felt sooo much.. cooler. By the time I received the Sega CD, the spell was starting to wear off, but even that got a fair amount of play time, especially Sonic CD. My dad and brother thought FMV games like Ground Zero Texas were awesome, but I wasn't buying it. I slowly forgot about the Genesis, and by the I had my hands on a Playstation (another awesome christmas), it was just a distant memory.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I owned a PS2 that I never played, and video games were not a focus of any kind for me. A friend asked if I wanted some of her brothers old video game stuff, as he had moved out and left a bunch of crap behind. I received a box with a Dreamcast, SNES, N64, and a model 2 Genesis, with a bunch of games for each system. I hooked up the Genesis first. The nostalgia was heavy, but I was less than enthused with the video and sound output from the model 2, and the lack of any pre-sonic classics in the box, so my quest began. I was able to track down a Model 1 HDG, and i've been hooked again ever since.

Last Christmas I took a trip back home, and asked my Dad if he knew what had happened to my trusty old Genesis. He had learned about my new found obsession for all things classic gaming (not just genesis, i have amassed a questionable amount of stuff since then) and looked pretty embarrassed as he admitted he threw it away, and recently. I was bummed, and started digging through boxes under the house anyway, trying to find my old Atari Lynx. Too make a ridiculously long story slightly shorter, I unearthed a crusty bag from the depths of dusty, flea-ridden hell, and god damn, when I reached my hand in, it felt like.. plastic... Mmm.. Sweet, sweet plastic. I pulled it out and shined the flashlight in it, and was greeted by the shine of 16-BIT. I excitedly dug deeper into the bag, and beneath it were about 25 loose games. I dunno where the boxes went, but pretty much all the classics I grew up with were there. It felt awesome to be reunited with the Genesis, almost EXACTLY 20 years later. Turns out the Sega CD was gone, and that was most likely what he threw away. It held no place in my heart. Good riddance.. but I wouldn't mind having that little extender part for it.

Whew. Sorry for the novel, but what can you say, I be lovin me some Sega. As I was typing this out, I realized I hadn't even tested it when I got it home, I just gave it a cleaning and put it directly on top of my Model 1 Sega CD in my "display" area. I just pulled it out, popped in a copy of SOR, and turned it on. Blackness. After a dozen or cartridge insertion attempts and a little rubbing alcohol, I'm happy to report it's alive and doing it's thing in the living room right now.. It looks and sounds better than ever too, as I recently acquired the AV cable with a Japanese Mega Drive I found.

Man, you gotta love that intro music.

[retrospiel]

Man, you gotta love that intro music.

Yup. ^ ^

[salsays]

So your sister just blew $500-$600 on you? Accounting for inflation, that was like $230,000 back then. She must have been loaded. Is she still? And if so, is she married?

Yup and my sister has always been loaded shes the only one in the fam with a PHD and she's always had top ranking positions at any job. But yeah at the time back then I was the baby of the family so I was spoiled like no tomorrow and the reality is that yes it seems like a lot but back then to her and even today for her and my other 2 siblings spending around $500 or $600 is like chump change haha.