Some of my biggest memories in my life are related to video games, and I have a pretty "sad" story to tell, seen from a gamers' perspective.
I started out getting familiar with technology when I was about 2 years old. That is, I pressed buttons on a keyboard and wondered what would happen. At the age of 3 or 4, I got a Game Boy from my dad, because one of his friends’ kids was bored of it. I played for a couple of minutes, and I even remember the game, Toy Story. I was having a blast, when my mom decided that this kind of stuff was dangerous to me. So she took it from me, and hid it.
Now, let’s jump a couple of years forward. Now, I was 7, I think. At this point, I knew a lot about computers. However, the only thing I played on the computer at home was old DOS-games, mostly Outrun, and I barely knew the Internet existed. I had no consoles, and no handhelds. At this point, I thought the whole GB-thing was just a dream. So, anyway, it was finally time for my birthday. And there was only one, single thing I wanted. A Game Boy. So at my birthday, we went to Toys 'R Us. They had the GBC, and the recently released Game Boy Advance, so obviously I wanted a GBA. But nope, it was too expensive, so I had to settle for a GBC. Also, she wanted to leave without buying a game, as she couldn't even understand why I needed one. After what felt like ages of complaining, she decided to buy the cheapest game she could find, a puzzle game called Klustar. I got bored of it after a couple of weeks, but then dad went ahead and bought Super Mario Bros. DX. I had never played such a fun-filled game, and I was stunned by all the modes, extras, and the graphics.
But after about a week, I started the GBC up, and the "Nintendo" at the bottom was messed up. Also, the game didn't start up. I first panicked, but after trying to re-insert the game, it worked. For now. After only 1 or 2 days, the game was permanently destroyed. You see, something was wrong with the GBC, and it eventually ruined every cartridge you put into it. And what does my mom do? Does she take me to TRU to exchange the GBC? No, she throws away the receipt. T_T
Anyway, the next day or so, dad brings me a bag FULL of GB-games, and something else... My old GB from 4 years ago. :')
Sadly, the only game I remembered was not in the bag: Toy Story. So after I noticed, I followed dad into the basement, where he found the cartridge lying on the shelf where he found the bag. Anyway, let's continue.
The GB didn't destroy the games, but sadly, the treat of playing the games in color made me use the GBC instead. And one by one, all the good games were ruined. One particular game, The Hunt for Red October, broke after I played it a single time. However, one game kept working, if you put a thick piece of paper between the game and the Game Boy: Toy Story. As for that game, I remember not knowing how to finish the first level, until I found the instruction book. :/
Also, everyone I knew with a GBC had a Pokémon game, but I didn't. But I guess that it would break pretty early, so whatever.
So, after a while I found out about the GBA SP. It was released here in Europe 2 days before my birthday, so after I kept asking my mom every single day, she finally gave in, and bought it to me at the release day. She went to some random phone store for the GBASP itself, and to a toy store called "BR Leksaker" for the game I wanted, Rayman 3. I had lots of fun with it. I cleared it multiple times, finishing all the extra levels, finding all the Lums and cages, and even finding a small glitch in a level map. :]
And after a while, dad managed to discover VirtualBoyAdvance, and with that, I started to use emulators. The first game I ever emulated was Monsters Inc. for GBA, and when I finally got my own, super-crappy computer with a CPU on 90 MHz, I started playing Pokémon Diamond all day on the tiniest window ever. :3
I got pretty sad the day my save got corrupted, and the game started glitching as if I had caught Missingno or something. ;_;
Now, I could write an entire book about the GBA-games I got, so let’s just jump to my first console, the GameCube. For years, I wanted a console, but my mom just kept telling me that consoles were for people who couldn't afford a computer. However, after a while, dad agreed to buy a GameCube. So one day, he came home with TLoZ: Collector’s Edition, and a receipt worth a GameCube, since the store he went to didn't have any GC's right then.
Week after week passed without any GC, and after 2 months, they called to dad's cell phone from the store, saying that he could come and get his money back, and 50:-(About $8) extra. So he took the bus there, planning to buy an Xbox instead. However, while at the bus, he got another call, in which they said a miracle had happened. They just received a shipment of 20 GC's!! So he got the GC AND the extra money, which he used to buy a Memory Card.
However, there was more trouble ahead. You see, Zelda is only compatible with 60Hz, so I couldn't play the game. T.T
Instead, I had to wait until the last school day. It had just ended, and we were finally free for 2 months. The municipality had just built a place for everyone between 4th and 6th grade to hang out at, so I went there. They had lots of activities, but you needed a membership card, which was worth 200:-(About $32). So I ran home to ask my mom if she had 200:-. But when I came home, and saw Beyond Good & Evil for GC on the table, I thought "Screw that place", and immediately started playing. Up to this day, it is still one of the best games I've ever played.
I also bought a DS Phat on the release day. I had dreamed about it for a whole year, watching every conference Nintendo held, finding out everything I could about the DS, and simply talking about it all the time. At the day it was released, I went from school 10 minutes early to catch the bus. I was about 50 meters from the bus station, when I saw the bus approaching. I ran as fast as I could, and got to it just before it left. I also had to hurry to get to the train in time. :/
Anyway, when I got home, I ran into the bedroom, because I wanted it to be completely quiet when I unpacked the DS. It felt religious, opening the package and slowly picking out the DS. I was stunned at how nice-looking it was. I plugged it in, and waited for 3 long hours. When it was finally finished loading, I ran back to the bedroom, and played for the rest of the day. It was probably one of the best days of my life.
I've also bought a Wii, a 360, a DS Lite, and I've owned 3 more computers, but they don't have a worthwhile story to them, except for the fact that I got my Wii at the release date. Dad waited outside Toys 'R Us for 2 hours to get it. There was also about 40-50 persons camping outside another store, even though they would only get about 20 consoles, while Toys 'R Us had 10 consoles, which was enough for exactly everyone who waited there.
Now, I just hope someone out there actually reads all this. It took an hour to write. <_<
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Time flies when you sure are having fun. 
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