First game I bought just browsing was Back to the Future for NES. The screenwriter of the movie said it was "one of the worst games ever" and urged people not to buy it.

Reviewers said it's "nearly impossible to get through the entire game without" the slow motion feature of the NES advantage and that the difficulty of the game would give players the urge "to remove the cartridge and chuck it out the window".

At least I learned at a young age the importance of doing research before making a purchase. After that I always rented, checked reviews, or played a friends copy first before buying a game.

A is A said:

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I was a toys r us kid.

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Yeah, but you grew up. See what that did to Toys R Us? No one could be a Toys R Us kid anymore.

The only way I got to try or play new games was to trade Tecmo Bowl/Super Tecmo Bowl for a week or two. That's the only game I had that people wanted to borrow.

Rocag said:

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I'd risk going in blind on a rented game, but usually not buying one. I never had the money to waste on that.

One of my favorite gaming memories of the old days: I found a copy of Super Metroid at a random booth in Canton several weeks before it was supposed to be released in stores. That was an instant buy and still one of my favorite games.

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Yeah there was a video game rental place right down the street from my apartment on Harvey.

I couldn't believe how much of the stuff gaming companies put out was straight trash / a waste of 5 rental dollars! This was like 1990.

Yeah I know.

My first roommate at A&M had a NES, and he also worked at a local video rental place. Most nights he would bring home video games to try out because his boss let him bring them home free of charge as long as he had them back by the time the store opened the next day.

It's a miracle we both graduated!

I bought WW2 Online in 2001 and my PC couldnt run it. No returns on open boxes.

I was a very sad boy.

Fenrir said:

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wangus12 said:

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What I really miss is the depreciation of video games now. Used to be able to walk into a GameStop and buy a bunch of $5 games that were second hand. Now they're selling used games that are 5+ years old for like $40-50

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You can largely thank the increasing adoption of digital game sales for that.

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Conversely, I haven't purchased a physical game in at least 15 years and almost never have to pay more than $10 for a game digitally. I've purchased A list titles for as little as $4 on Steam. And then played A list titles for free on GamePass...enough that I would still call them free despite my monthly $16 to Microsoft for GamePass.

I think this is part of what subconsciously made me more of a console gamer growing up. I got burned by that once or twice and I said to hell with it.

I think I talked my parents into upgrading RAM one time or something like that, but it might as well have been a foreign language to me.

Toys-R-Us man.

Just getting those slips of paper...choosing one after reading the backs of those plastic signs...them disappearing behind a cage to get your game for you.

YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

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Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

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Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

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Where was that First Friday sale? I remember meeting vendors in a parking lot after midnight ca. 1995 or so.

techno-ag said:

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ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

---

Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

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Where was that First Friday sale? I remember meeting vendors in a parking lot after midnight ca. 1995 or so.

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We'd left DFW area by then. The meet that we'd go to was on saturdays in the basement of the info art building on stemmons

ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

---

Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

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Gah... Compusa in Houston, our first windows pc came from them. Pretty sure it was windows 95. Replacing a dos box. Remember it clearly. White and clear emerald green tower with a pentium processor. Played prince of persia on it, roller coaster tycoon and many others. First pc we had internet on, dialup from aol.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

---

Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

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Hmm, maybe. Going to text my dad and ask him.

FatZilla said:

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ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

---

Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

---

Gah... Compusa in Houston, our first windows pc came from them. Pretty sure it was windows 95. Replacing a dos box. Remember it clearly. White and clear emerald green tower with a pentium processor. Played prince of persia on it, roller coaster tycoon and many others. First pc we had internet on, dialup from aol.

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I think we got in on the sweet Windows 3.11 version. Vaguely remember it being just a navigation window, divided up into a few sections.

CompUSA. I remember playing Diablo for the first time there, but it was the Shareware version and very restricted. "You may not talk to Wirt on the Shareware version." Etc.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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YouBet said:

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Never heard of electronics boutique. It was big, big day in my life though whenever my dad would go to Dallas to get computer parts and accessories. He was a computer consultant back in the day. I can't recall the store but it was basically a Radio Shack kind of feel for PCs.

Don't think it was Babbages although we went there too (maybe it was). Anyway, when he let me go with him I was allowed to buy a game for my Tandy 1000. Basically just like Christmas morning for me.

---

Softwarehouse in Addison? Eventually became Compusa. I remember going there in the early 80s and there would be a line out the door and people waiting to get in because it was basically the only computer store in DFW in early 80s.

Did anyone use to go to the big sodtware/computer show in the basement of Trademart back in the 80s?i had tons of games I got kn flopps from there. The ID guys were selling Wolfe stein from a card table. Got all 6 versions of it.

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That's it!!! Dad just confirmed Soft Warehouse.

EclipseAg said:

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Back in 1992 or so, we installed a golf game on one of our PCs at work. We had an absentee boss who hid in her office all day long, so we would gather in the "golf game" office and hold tournaments.

We had one color monitor in our entire department, and I had an early version of Sim City I loaded on that PC. Since it wasn't in my office, I would wait until everyone left for the day to play.

Remember the dark maroon code sheets that kept you from sharing disks? You'd have to have that sheet to log into the game.

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Early 2000's I was an Elect Engineer working for a high tech firm. Guys had some modded original Xbox's that we'd hook up to projectors in a couple conference rooms to play some OG Halo.

Each room has 2 projectors... 1 room was 8 player Blue squad and 1 room was 8 player Red squad. Possibly the best video game time ever.

@NFLPlayerProps said:

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That looks like maybe '06 at the earliest. I thought Babbage's was long gone by then.

I remember going to Babbages for games and Compusa.

We saw a 30 second demo of The Seventh Guest at CompUSA and walked out the door with it.

Probably not the best game for a ten year old.

That's a Madden '11 cover, Dead Rising 2 advertising a pre-order, and Halo: Reach display that says coming soon. Would be summer 2010, probably.

Even more surprising, to me at least.

when the multimedia craze took over there were a bunch of CD-ROM only stores that sprang up around DFW. The back of the store was usually a porno room. When Doom 2 was released one of them promoted it by having Dave Taylor sit there all day at a 4 computer LAN.

I can't remember the name, but if you dig through 93-94ish issues of Texas Computing Monthly or Computer Currents you'll probably find the ads

Malachi Constant said:

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We saw a 30 second demo of The Seventh Guest at CompUSA and walked out the door with it.

Probably not the best game for a ten year old.

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Man, I loved 7th guest. I don't think I ever finished it. Creepy as hell

double aught said:

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@NFLPlayerProps said:

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That looks like maybe '06 at the earliest. I thought Babbage's was long gone by then.

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I loved going into Babbage's as a kid. There always seemed to be so much to choose from. I remember getting the original Legend of Zelda there. Pulling the gold cartridge out of the case -- my 9-year-old self was blown away.

Anyone remember Incredible Universe on NW Highway in Dallas around the mid-90s? After it closed, it became a Fry's Electronics. I loved going there because they had a ton of demos.