1st gen - I was not born/too young for the consoles of this gen.
2nd gen - My grandmother gave my brothers and I an Atari 2600 with loads of games. This was well into the 3rd gen though, but it was my first taste of video games.
3rd gen - We had an NES when I was a kid. I used to stay up way too late playing Mario Bros over and over again. Also remember Jackal, Ninja Gaiden, Guardian Legends, Wrath of the Black Manta. So many awesome games. I was also going with my grandmother to the bowling alley every Friday and I would spend hours in the arcades. Mainly playing Pit Fighter and Double Dragon. When I was around 10 or so I went to a friends house and got a taste of Battletoads for the first time and then TMNT and I was pretty much hooked as a gamer for life. I had a small amount of experience playing the Master System at a friends house but I just was not strong enough for what Sega was bringing yet.
4th gen - Got a Genesis for Christmas and that was my first console of this gen. I played tons of Mortal Kombat in the arcades so naturally I got the Genesis version. My brother had an SNES but for the most part I was content with my Genesis. I probably missed out on some good SNES games, but I played plenty of them too I guess. This was also the gen where I got into handhelds for the first and only time. I had a Game Boy and hated it, sold it. Got a Game Gear and it was amazing, but the battery life was terrible. Towards the end of the gen I got a SegaCD and it was pretty awesome, it was kind of like a whole new gen of gaming with the same Genesis console I'd always owned.
5th gen - This was the first gen where I really could get my own stuff as I was 17 and working. As a result I owned a 3DO, Saturn, PSone, and N64. The PSone got by far the most play time. The 3DO only had a few games that were really good and I eventually sold it. The Saturn was incredible.. it was just too hard to find the gems as I did not have a credit card to use the Internet to buy things. I got an N64 a couple years after it launched JUST to play 007 after I had played it at a friends house. It was really an amazing MP machine. But PSone had Soul Reaver, MGS, Destruction Derby Raw, SF EX+, SotN, GT2, Tony Hawk, etc. I spent way too many hours playing it. I actually wore one out playing it so much it eventually stopped spinning discs.
6th gen - Maybe my favorite gen? Idk. It started with definitely my all time favorite console, the Dreamcast. Really the most clear cut generational leap we have seen imho. It really blew the PSone and N64 away. Best launch ever too. But Sega was too ambitious and revolutionary for their own good. Pioneered online play and even charged for it way before people started griping about XBL. Of course I eventually got a PS2 as well. I believe I waited until GT3 came out, I might be mistaken though. I remember being immensely disappointed in MGS2, and being just blown the **** away by GTA3 and SOCOM. When Xbox came around we all knew about their partnership with Sega so I had to snatch one up at launch and of course I grabbed Halo. Played through it multiple times with my brother. Amazing. Eventually they launched Live and took online gaming to a new level. I alternated between playing mostly MP on 360 and playing SP/SOCOM on PS2. Never even crossed my mind to buy a GCN.
7th gen - First console I got was the 360. It took almost a year for a game that really seemed "next gen" to come out and that of course was Gears. Just an amazing game, especially in MP. Got a PS3 when Killzone 2 launched. It was not as good as KZ imho but ended up way better than KZ3. It's funny, I now have the same type of split as I did last gen. Most MP titles, unless my brothers or friends are getting the PS3 version, I will buy on 360 for Live. SP games I pretty much stick to PS3 for. Got the Wii but mostly for the kiddos for Christmas. I don't think I have ever sat down and seriously tried to play a game on it. Well, I take that back. I downloaded some NES titles like TMNT and SMB2 and enjoyed those. Also quite a bit of World of Goo.
8th gen - Liking the WiiU but waiting before I jump in. Not sure what's gonna happen between PS4/Nextbox yet, undecided.
