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As per the title, this was something I was kind of curious about, as this website/these forums are filled with a diverse number of users who have grown up in different eras, have lived under different circumstances (ex: economics, differing regions), etc. Originally, I was just planning to ask "What was your first video game console(s)?" Then it became "What was your first video game console(s)/the first one you played?" Then I thought about how some may have had their first exposure to video games through PCs or even mobile devices. And of course, I realized how regarding any of the aforementioned topics, there was bound to be a game, or multiple that you played on the platform(s). So, I decided to broaden the scope of the topic to just "What Was Your First Exposure to Video Games?" Things to discuss regarding the topic (but don't necessarily need to follow exactly) can include: What was the first video game console(s)/platform that you ever played on? What was the game(or games) you played? What was your first video game console(s)/platform (that is, one that you owned yourself; could have been a gift or something you purchased with your own money)? Any reasoning for that specific console(s) and game(s) (what were the circumstances; ex: ones listed above like economics; perhaps you had a friend who owned the console(s) and game(s) and wanted it for yourself; maybe you seen an ad and were instantly sold on it)? Any memories you have of said console(s) and game(s) (you can go a bit beyond your first experience, so long as you don't start just listing everything you've ever owned/played, to keep it on topic). As far as I go, my dad owned a lot of consoles and games from practically every era, that is up until the seventh-generation (he blew off the Wii, thought the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were kind of neat). He had been born in 1969, so he had exposure to pretty much everything starting from the rise of video games (arcade machines, the Atari 2600). But that's the thing though, with the key word being "owned." Fast forward to 2007-ish, and my mom just found out she was pregnant with me. Being in Florida at the time, and right as the Great Recession was starting to take effect (my dad had just been let go from his job at a construction company), they decided to relocate to their home state of New Jersey. Fast forwarding a bit to sometime after I was born, my dad had to sell off a lot of his collection to fund my formula (although according to him, before the selling of it, he had let me mess around with some his things, like the Nintendo 64 and NES). In the end, after the culling of his gaming library, it left a Sega Genesis (specifically a Model 2) console, along with a Sega CD unit (Model 1; the Model 2 had died out sometime before hand), a PlayStation 2, an Xbox, a GameCube, and a Game Boy Advance. These are the consoles I would have access to up until around 2019, where my dad started to acquire a lot of the consoles and games he previously owned. With that settled, reverting back to the topic at hand with my experiences with each console: The Sega Genesis - I only really remember playing the Sonic games he owned/owns (that's not to say I didn't play thee others), which were/are Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, and Sonic 3D Blast. I remember getting a good enough grasp on the games where I made it to Spring Yard Zone, Hill Top Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Lava Powerhouse Zone (maybe), and Rusty Ruins Zone respectively. I also remember messing around with debug mode and level selects in the games that had them. Sega CD - Unfortunately nothing, because as far as my memory goes back, it too stopped working as well (I think the drive belt finally wore out, but I think there may have been more to it as well). PS2 - Probably the console that got the most play out of me, as my dad and I would always play the arcade compilations he had on the console. The ones I remember playing the most are Namco Museum (2001), Midway Arcade Treasures 2, and Capcom Classics Collection 2. In regards to the games on the aforementioned collections themselves, I remember playing Pac-Man Arrangement (beat it with him several times), Rampage World Tour (ditto for this title), and a neat little obscure puzzle game called Don't Pull! the most respectively. There was also this demo disc with a demo of Star Wars Battlefront 1 on it, which we played to death, as well as a demo for Asterix and Obelix Kick Buttix (or XXL, depending on the region), which I always played to try and see if I could pass the limited play area before the time ran out. GameCube - For this console, I remember playing Freekstyle and SSX 3 the most (or at least as my memory permits), always racing against my dad, sometimes winning, but more so losing. What didn't help was that for the longest time, I didn't know how to pull off tricks in either game, which grant you boost. On a higher note though, I have a good memory of a game called Freaky Flyers, where I managed to be at my dad in a duel for the first time. Xbox - Halo 1 and 2, as well as State of Emergency, got a lot of multiplayer use out of them. With the former two, the level, Blood Gulch, wasour most commonly played map to battle out in. Game Boy Advance - Don't really remember seriously playing most of the games available, except Wario Land 4. I played it on a couple car trips, on the GameCube itself through the GBA Player, etc, and never made any real progress whatsoever. Apparently, according to my dad, at one point I deleted his complete save file (whoops!), but have no memory of it. I could keep going on and on about what I played. I haven't even touched upon my first actual game console! But due to limited time (I'm typing this out on my lunch period), this is where I'll have to depart for now. Maybe I'll add more later, but until then, add your own past experiences! Feel free to write as much as you want, as admittedly, I think I went a little overkill with my post. Bring on the nostalgia!

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/03/07/nickelodeon-to-bring-back-figure-it-out/ YES. YES AND YES. To reiterate, this is not simply re-running the old episodes. Figure it Out is being completely revived for 40 more episodes. Now to clamp on to my hopes once again that Legends of the Hidden Temple is brought back too.

It's approaching Christmas time, and what do people associate with Christmas the most? Why, toys of course! They're not limited to just this time of year though, toys are available all year around. While most toys you ever owned will probably have been forgotten through the progression of time, I'm sure there's some toys that that have stuck in your mind. One could say that those ones are for life, not just for Christm--*bricked* Anyway, this topic is about the toys you used to own, or toys you own that have some meaning and history for you. I was inspired to make this topic after my day of Christmas shopping. I was in the Disney store, picking out some appropriate presents for the close family members who would appreciate the sentiments (my sister got an Aristocats plush gift set because she loves that film, and my dad got a large Grumpy mug because...well...) when I came across the rag doll rack at one of the islands. They were mostly just the accepted princesses, but the one which wasn't on this occasion was Alice (I saw a Mary Poppins rag doll a couple of weeks ago). This instantly reminded me of a rag doll I had back when I was about 5 or so. Back then I just referred to her as the yellow-haired doll, but thinking back on it, it was clearly inspired by Disney's Alice (blonde hair, blue dress with white frilly pinafore, white stockings and black mary janes). I guess my parents were trying to get me attached to the whole surrealist-logical notion. Naturally, I ended up buying the rag doll in the Disney store for myself (because said parental attempts worked. :/). Aside from that, there a few other toys that hold a place in my childhood. Firstly, I remember playing with Lego constantly from the age of 6 onwards. It was just so fun to build things, the most notable of which were infant recreations of Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen in their Ferrari and McLaren cars. I also remember being fond of chewing the rubber parts of the Lego wheels, they just felt so good on my teeth and gums (late teether much? <.<). In 1997, I remember that the Teletubbies were the hot product for Christmas (my parents remember it too; in retrospect, they told me it was a nightmare to get hold of them). I wanted them all, but most especially La-La. When it got to the big day, I opened everything up and it turned out that I'd gotten La-La, Dipsy and Po. Given that I'd at least got my favourite, having an incomplete set wasn't such a big deal. Ironically, a few year later, I went shopping with my dad one day, went into this local card shop down in Stoke (which shut recently), and it just so happened to have the Tinky-Winky of the set. Dad was kind enough to buy it for me there and then. Nowadays, all four of them are somewhere in the loft, not discarded because since it's a complete set, it could be worth something in the future. My most treasured toy of my childhood was one I got when I was about 7/8. All I can remember of the exchange was that I remember my favourite auntie telling me and my sister that she'd bought a little surprise for us. That surprise turned out to be hand-knitted teddy bears, my sister's pink, mine green with yellow dress and underwear. I don't know why but I latched onto that teddy from day 1. The thing was that I thought she was a fox way back then (she had no tail, damn you kid Annie!) so I called her Foxton. Naming stupidity aside, she goes everywhere with me. She's seen parts of Yorkshire, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Northern Scotland, Paris, Koln, and now resides with me here in Derby. She also has a nice array of hats thanks to that Help the Aged promotion run by Innocent Smoothies, including a lovely matching yellow hat and a dazzling Vecpio-colour themed hat (keeping rocking the catwalks, Foxton!). In 2000, the big thing for me was the Rugrats movie, and I so desperately wanted the Reptar wagon with accomanying figures (mostly because it was the only way of getting figures of Phil and Lil, my fave characters). I even remember having a dream about ownin it I was that excited. Simply put, I got it Christmas that year, and I was happy. Unfortunately, they were chucked out a couple of years ago due to how worn they were, but I'll always have fond memories of all the adventures I had with the little tykes (along with a different figure of Tommy which had a missing foot which I dubbed RoboSammy, and a figure of Ike from South Park which I named Iceman because I didn't know any better). Later, I recall being caught on the Powerpuff Girls for a long time from about 2001, but I didn't want any toys from that specifically. Instead the plush doll of Buttercup that both me and my sister received was a spontaneous surprise from our parents when we came in from school one day. While I was pleasantly surprised, i was also a tad disappointed because while Buttercup was certainly my sister's favourite character, my favourite was Bubbles. My parents assured me that I could get Bubbles as well one day, but I wasn't so sure since it was VERY unusual of them to be so spontaneous. Indeed, I was proved wrong in getting Bubbles one day...when I came in from school one day a few weeks later, they'd gotten me and my sister Bubbles AND Blossom at the same time. I then proceeded to play with them as if they were indestructible superheroes (:L). Happily, they've still held up to this day and are currently in a hanging basket in my bedroom in Stoke. Finally, as of late, my childhood passions have all but been displaced by my one true hobby; platform gaming. I own so many Sonic X-onward figures now (including the rare Cream and Rouge figures, which pleasantly surprised my mum when I told her how much even unboxed ones can go for), I still have these Spyro and Crash figures from a Nestle promotion held in 2001 (it's a fucking miracle that I do), Cortex's head is a keychain on my colouring pencil case (he used to be a full figure, but the neck was sensitive), I used to own a Komodo Moe keychain (God knows where it is now...), I have several Sonic plushes (including an Amy which is muc bigger than the others), several Mario plushes (the majority of which I won at Drayton Manor barring Bowser, Koopa Troopa (both imported from Japan) and Koopa Paratroopa (same style as the Koopa Troopa, but found in a bargain bin at a market store here in Derby), s Crash plush which used to belong to my sister (I traded her a Pikachu plush for it), and a massive 28" Spyro that just happened to be hanging from the ceiling of Collect-A-Mania in Rhyl (Dad said my face lit up like I was a child again when I saw it...and this was only a couple of years ago). ...That's enough about me. How have you been with your toys?