I like collecting video game hardware. Like most of you, I work a nine-to-five job and don't earn enough to add to my collection whenever I want. I usually have to wait until the holidays when family gifts me this stuff or... money ;) The sad thing about collecting old hardware like this (as well as my old computers) is that the hobby has it's detractors. People will always say, "Just get an emulator." While I do like playing games, there's something satisfying about playing them on the original hardware. Let's take a look at what I have, so far.
The Intellivision from Mattel. Released in 1979. This thing has that sweet faux wood grain. And it's brown... so brown. Shades of brown all over this thing. Brown. Some of the games aren't bad. The graphics are a tad better, in my opinion, than the Atari 2600. I picked this up from tech writer Paul Thurrott, who was an avid collector. As you can see from the photo, I added joysticks to the controller which is a big improvement over the control disc aka directional pad.
The ColecoVision. One of my favorites. This was released in 1982 and had the potential to take over the video game world. No wood grain on this one. This thing would get expansion modules such as a steering wheel and a device which allowed you to play Atari 2600 games.
The Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in the United States in 1985, this video game console was leaps and bounds superior the Atari 2600 & Intellivision. Mine has an issue with the cartridge slot. I can only push it down if I take off the top or simply keep it loose. Clearly, I'm not mechanically inclined enough to figure out the solution. One day I'll get the version with Rob the Robot in the box.
The Sega Master System. Released in North America in 1986. This was my first system after the Coleco Gemini (an Atari 2600 clone). Thankfully, by the time we got this, we were no longer using a black & white television set as we were when we had the Coleco Gemini. The graphics and colors were wonderfully good, but as I mention elsewhere, more times than not, the more fun games were on the N.E.S..
The Sega Genesis. This console came to the United States in 1989. This was the console that made Sega a household name in the 1990s. It was this console that made Sonic the Hedgehog popular.
The Xbox. This hefty device came out in 2001 from Microsoft. I've been trying to get this in my collection for a while which is odd as it's readily available for purchase online. For whatever reason, it just took me a while. Perhaps it was because I wanted it at a good price, but with the original box and manuals. My buddy Larry used to love this thing. Then... he fell out of love with it. Took a while though (think it was malfunctioning).
The Sega Dreamcast. Yep, I like Sega! This came to the U.S. in 1999. This was another console I picked up from Paul Thurrott. This thing is sweet. I mean, the games were great, but you could use that VMU (memory card) as a portable game unit! Whoa.
The PlayStation 2 Slim. This was released in 2004. I have to admit, I'm not smitten with this thing. I used to have the original PlayStation, but that was stolen along with $2,000 to $4,000 worth of other stuff when someone broke into my apartment while I was at a job interview (I was laid off at the time). Baldur's Gate... Loved that game.
The Xbox 360 S. Released in 2010. My wife bought this for me as a Christmas gift along with the Kinect. I know I'm in the minority, but I loved Kinect games. Not all were good, but some were top notch like Kinect Kung Fu and Kinect Party. I still prefer the user interface to the PS3 and Xbox One.
The PlayStation 3. This came to the United States in 2006. Good looking device. Power too. I got this for free, because a coworker wanted it destroyed. They were literally going to smash it with a hammer. I said, "WHOA! NO! What's going on??" After explain to me that it stopped working and they feared the hard drive had too much personal information to just be thrown out, they wanted it smashed so no one can access the files. I pleaded with them to let me take out the hard drive and they could smash that to smithereens! So I did, right there at work. I took the console home, which was filthier than a 100 year old junk yard. I opened it up to find every bit of it covered in moist dust. After cleaning it out and throwing in Dell laptop hard drive, I was able to find instructions online on how to reset this and download the necessary files to get this working again.
The ColecoVision Flashback. Released in 2014. Comes with 60 games. Not much to say about it except it was a gift from my coworker, Lou. It's a great space saver and easy to connect to modern televisions. Learn more about it here on The Retroist.
There are SO many consoles I want, but I must admit, I only get enjoyment when I can share them with friends. Sharing it with you is the next best thing. Thanks for taking a look!