It hits me often, specially when it refers to the SNES/Genesis generation...man, I can´t get over how awesome those days were.....ever since that gen died, gaming has slowly gone downhill as far as I´m concerned.

When someone asks how happy I am with the current gen, nostalgia always kinda blinds my judgement...but what can I say....the 4th gen was ***** AWESOME.

I agree, going back to those Sega Genesis days..really brings my gaming out.

I remember my first time picking up a gaming controller and the first game I ever played was Sonic the Hedgehog and then Mortal Kombat.

I love those days...it's a bit complicated now. Especially all these different consoles and console manufacturers coming and going.

Online and graphics are a big thing and new control features are the new thing now :O

You know, today's young people will look at today's games with as much nostalgia. People always remember first times the most.

Sometimes I miss the simplicity of those days...but it´s not that, at the time, it seemed I couldn´t take a break getting so many good games one after the other.

I agree, Hyperion, I´m speaking about my own experience...though, it might be my impression, but sometimes it seems people who grew up with the SNES/Genesis, talk more passionately about them than people who grew with PS1/N64 OR PS2/GC/Xbox, talk about them.

Ahhh Sonic I remember when I played it for the first time it was pure greatness! The only time I feel that way about Sonic is when playing Sonic Adventure 2 the last good sonic game...

Yeah I know what you mean....Everytime when someone mention Pong my heart skips a beat of ten...Ah those days were amazing...Sadly there were not many good pong games anymore except the Pong version PS one that one was Ûber fun..

Sonic, Shinobi and Streets of Rage were the games that sold the Genesis to me.

But the SNES was my absolute favorite.

My first memory of computer gaming dates back to 1980 or 1981.

Before 1983, there was no console in Japan. Only gaming machine available at that time was NEC's MS-DOS computers called PC-8001, 8801, 9801, etc. Unfamiliar names, eh? I think old time Japanese gamers in their 30s or above remember these classics.

At the time, I was a kid and didn't have my own computer at home. Computer was very expensive equipment then. So after school I used to go to a computer shop nearby and played on display machines. Computer shops in Japan used to let kids use machines on display if we bought a game.

I enthusiastically played games published by KOEI, Hudson, ENIX, BPS, T&E, and later SQUARE. A lot of American games such as Sierra titles for Apple II were ported to these platforms, and I loved them all.

I remember after school I frantically ran to a computer shop and then stared at the package boxes of new games for hours because I had no money to buy them all. Every time I read about upcoming titles on magazines, I was always like OMG I MUST PLAY THIS GAME I CAN'T WAIT.

Always full of excitement and surprise. I've never had more fun in my life with gaming than I did at that time. It was like swimming in a pool of endorphin for eternity. Gaming was not just one of entertainment; gaming was something special. Gaming was magical.

These memories make me a little sad because they remind me that I grew old and somewhere along the line I lost the special feeling. Today, gaming is no longer magical to me. Sometimes, I try to think otherwise, but it's just not what it was. I'm glad that I have these memories, however. Recalling them is like opening a hidden treasure box in my heart.

I wonder how kids these days will recall today when they get older. They may remember how awesome they felt about Mass Effect, Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, and other memorable titles. They may recall how they were hyped up about upcoming titles and were so excited on launch days.

It's all good. Many generations will cherish their own sweet sweet gaming memories.

Playing classic Mario or Pokemon games gets me.