Previous console launches - review

[Guts]

I've never bought a console on launch as I prefer to see if it'll actually be any good and not another Vita. *badum-tish!* I won't be buying a Wii U for example until there are some absolute killer games available in the stores.

Anyway the closest to me would be Nintendo 64 which I received as a birthday present in April 1997 (launched in March in Europe). I turned 13 that day and it was probably the greatest birthday I've had to this day and most likely ever will. I had waited the console for many agonising months (I had a SNES) and I firmly believed Nintendo would crush Sony and Sega like they always had and Playstation or Saturn couldn't come even close to the N64, yes I was a total Nintendo fanboy back then. On my birthday, I woke up as my parents entered my room singing "happy birthday" and told me to look under my bed. There it was in a shiny new box with Mario 64 on top of it. The reaction that followed was probably something like this:



Anyway, after that I was easily the most popular guy in my class. Everyone begged that they could come and see and play Mario 64 on a glorious 21" TV, and to this day it remains probably one of my greatest gaming experiences ever. Add to that classics like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, GoldenEye etc. (which we played probably hundreds of hours in 4-player mode) and it is the console for me (although today I rank SNES higher as a retro machine).

[JSR]

Dreamcast

I didn't plan to buy this console originally. I was sat firmly in the Sony camp at the time, and was more than content with waiting for the sure to be ultra awesome PlayStation 2. A friend of mine (who really isn't a gamer) told me how sweet the console looked, showed me some pictures of Dynamite Cop (yeah, of all the upcoming games, he chose that one to win me over) and wanted us to both get each our console. Easily tempted by new machines, I agreed. Some weeks later I put up my Game Boy Color with Pokemon (which was at the height of its popularity at the time) for sale in a local newspaper. Some dad bought it off me for 200 quids. I instantly went down to the nearest game store. The Dreamcast was barely on display in the store. Sega did no PR for it in Norway, so most people had never heard of it. Only two games were on display: I believe they were a jet fighter game and some sports title. I wanted neither. I asked if they had any more games, and the clerk started pulling out a handful of titles from under the counter. One of the last he had was Sonic Adventure. I got that, a machine and VMU and went home.

My initial impression was very good. The graphics were far beyond what my N64 could do. Everything looked so shiny, and the games ran so smooth (was Sonic 60fps?). The first level in SA was filled with crazy set-pieces, each obliterating anything I had ever seen in a game before. While I didn't buy another game for a few weeks, Sonic had tons of replayability and I dug the Chao minigame on the VMU. With only a single game, the Dreamcast was all kinds of cool.

Launch experience: 10/10

[ETC]

Mate phoned me on PS1 launch day. Went over to his, played wipeout all day, stopped at toys R Us on my way home and bought my own. Fantastic. My recently imported 3DO was then relegated to the top shelf of my wardrobe.

I got mine from toys r us too! The free copy of Street Fighter the movie was the kicker

[Brad]

Re: Previous console launches - review

I got mine from toys r us too! The free copy of Street Fighter the movie was the kicker

What!? I never got that! Right I'm going up there tomorrow to get some satisfaction!

[Neon Ignition]

Launch 03 - Playstation 2

For this one I was actively trying to avoid the N64 retailer so I got one through Comet as my Ex worked there, she kept an eye out to make sure it didn't get a kicking from the lads in warehouse. I had the system preordered along with Timesplitters and Tekken Tag Tournament. The big day came around and I was pretty anxious, Sony's god awful preorder system had caused a lot of concern (thankfully it was never used again) and so going to the store at 9am was a bag of concern.

And... I came away empty handed, the day involved several trips as the preorder system was proving tricky for the store to get their heads around. By about 1pm though it was ready and I grabbed the console and brought it straight home. The painful painful part though was that it was a Christmas present which meant that I couldn't have it till the 25th. With the house empty I snuck the box open and had a good look at the contents and the system. The next few weeks was a nightmare as I read so many stories of people enjoying the console. However, the big day came and I loved the system. The two games didn't blow me away like I'd hoped they would and it was a slow first year for the system but history shows that the PS2, which still gives plenty of joy all these years later, was worth the hassle.

[Dirty Sanchez]

PS2 - my first console. Managed to just pick one up in launch week. Still use it now, hardy beast.

Bought a lauch XBox in the US for ?200, brought it back and sold it within the week for ?600. My first taste of making a few $$$ from console launches. Had a few regrets as I loved playing Halo in the hotel on the day I bought it. Still, ?400 better off soon settled the regret debt.

Bought a launch PSP from Japan, still use it today.

The 360 was manna. I bought a rake of Core's from ToysRUs. Just picked them up as they came, went into work and doubled my money each time. Bought 10 from Germany and did the same. Made a rake of cash and kept a Premium back for myself.