Often, for fans of video games throughout the years, playing a game usually means turning on your television and connecting your favorite home console to it. Whether I was inserting in a new cartridge or placing a disc onto a tray, gaming was always associated with booting up a console while growing up. It’s something that is an intricate part of my life, and that the people I’ve interacted with over the years.

Yet, the landscape of the industry and advancements in technology have changed the way people look at the hobby of gaming. We can play games on our mobile devices while traveling, or stream massive releases to our televisions and computer setups without physical media. But no matter how things may change, I’ll always be a console gamer at heart.

Nothing Beats The Feeling Of Nostalgia

One of the strongest connections everybody has with console gaming is the feeling of nostalgia. Usually this comes from remembering simpler times when we played our favorite video games at home, without a care in the world. Some of us played with action figures or dolls, or even participated actively in sports, but others sat in front of a TV screen and played on our consoles.

This is something that has been constant since video games exploded in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. And those who lived through those eras vividly remember just how much console gaming played a part in the zeitgeist of pop-culture. For them and for me, things today may never be better than how they were as a kid back then.

Growing Up With Games In The 90s

• SEGA Genesis was released on August 14th, 1989.
• The Super Nintendo console was released on August 23rd, 1991
• The original Sony PlayStation was released on September 9th, 1995.
• Nintendo 64 was released on September 29th, 1996.
• SEGA Dreamcast was released in North America on September 9th, 1999.

I was a child of the 90s, when most of us who were interested in video games were caught in the midst of the real console wars between Genesis and Super Nintendo. As a SEGA kid who owned a SEGA Genesis in my household, it was an exciting time. No matter where you looked, there was always something different and new to discover that you probably never saw before at home on your console.

It was the flair that came from commercials on TV and magazines that showcased new games you could bring home. Coming back home from a major department store and popping in a new cartridge to play was part of the entire experience of gaming. Purchasing games is very different now because of the many options we have to do so, but nothing will replace the feeling of anticipation I get walking out of my local store with a new game in my hand.

The Console Memories We Get During The Holidays

As an offshoot to that, console gaming was always tied to the holidays at the end of the year. Although gaming has always been associated with holidays, kids knew that as the holidays drew near, the closer they were getting to unwrapping a new console with new games to play.

There’s nothing close to the joy of unwrapping a big present that revealed a brand-new console. One of my fondest memories as a kid on Christmas was receiving a Nintendo 64 with some of the launch titles and an extra controller. As soon as I could, I was spending my entire Christmas Day playing N64 games.

Almost anyone you ask who grew up in the 90s will most likely tell you a similar story. Because if you were a kid back then who played many games, there was no better time for you than the fourth quarter of the year. Even now, when the holiday season draws near, I often think about getting myself a game to enjoy on Christmas Day.

Console Gaming From The End Of Arcades

What makes console gaming a little different from other parts of video game culture is the fundamental shift in how people viewed the hobby. Games were mostly found in arcades that people would visit, often with friends and family.

But a trip to the arcade would cost time and money to experience, which didn’t become a big deal until the popularity of home console gaming. For me, getting to the arcade back then wasn’t always possible, since I was a kid who couldn’t drive, and the arcade was far away from home. Having any video game console available at home totally avoided that issue.

Being There At The Start Of Legendary Franchises

Consoles also opened the door for video game series to grow in popularity very quickly. Super Mario Bros. began on the Nintendo Entertainment System, which evolved into one of the biggest franchises on the planet. For those growing up with the NES and Super Nintendo after that, everyone they knew grew older with Mario as it became a world-renowned franchise.

The same can be said for many other game series that got their start on specific consoles. Most of them probably wouldn’t have the same level of notoriety or exposure if they weren’t released on consoles. I probably would never have gotten to play the Tekken series as much as I did if it had never ported over to the original PlayStation in the late 90s.

Simply Playing At Home Without Much Hassle

Once people could buy a gaming console to bring that experience to their homes, arcades began to lose their luster. It was still a different experience for players, but one that was much more convenient. I didn’t need to play Altered Beast in an arcade a short drive away, when I could instead stay home and play it on my SEGA Genesis. It was just easier to play at home whenever I wanted to.

This also enabled players to see and engage with their favorite video games in an entirely new way. This led to bigger and better changes for the industry down the line, despite the era of arcades being brought to an abrupt end. We got to spend more time with the games we played, rather than being gatekept from playing more due to a lack of quarters.

Friendships And Gaming Go Together

By far the most influential factor that console gaming has over people is the social aspect to it. I played games alone at home, but I was also able to connect with friends growing up who also had their own experiences with gaming. This often led to hanging out at a friend’s house, playing multiplayer games together, and even just talking with other people.

Having a game console at home was a catalyst to connecting with others. Not everybody is capable of putting together a powerful PC setup to play on, but many were able to pick up a console and get in on the action.

Owning Only One Console At A Time

As a child, you have little to no means of saving money. Which often meant you probably had one game console at home that your parents got somehow, and chances are that’s all you got for a long time. Even with the holidays opening up the chance to get a new console as a present, there was a long period where all you had was that one game console to play on.

However, it was this kind of limitation that would cause friends to visit one another and try out the games they didn’t have, or even get exposed to consoles they never knew about. The social aspect of console gaming became a big part of the experience, as much as playing a specific title was.

Having A Reverence For Consoles

Those same limitations were also a blessing in disguise. Having just one console let us explore and fully appreciate what a game console had to offer. There was a reverence for the console you owned, as opposed to the fleeting excitement of something that you might replace shortly after.

While owning just a SEGA Genesis for a long time, it gave me the chance to play most of the console’s library, as well as explore the many accessories and add-ons it had available. And it was easy to do so without getting over any hurdles to try something new. I might have occasionally rented a new game from the video store, but I was able to get the most out of playing the console for many years.

When Video Games Changed Forever

Much like any consumer technology, things change pretty quickly. And gaming was no exception to the advancements of new products and capabilities on consoles. Features like online gaming and streaming are a bigger factor, which drastically changed the way gaming was viewed as a whole. And yet, games themselves were also changing in both how and where we played them, for better or worse.

PC Gaming Is Different From Console Gaming

• Console gaming is a lot faster to start playing different games, while PC gaming requires more preparation beforehand.
• PC games require minimum specs on different PC setups to run correctly. Console games run on the same hardware specs.
• Console games often only use a controller to play, while PC games require a mouse and keyboard or other peripherals.
• PC games often need regular driver updates to work correctly. Console games don't need to update any drivers before playing them.
• Console gaming is cheaper and easily accessible in stores, while PC gaming is more expensive or sometimes requires assembling a computer

Gaming on a PC has always been around, even before the rise of home consoles, but it’s fundamentally different. The majority of people who avoid playing games on personal computers do so because of how complicated they feel it can get. Whether it’s updating drivers, having the latest graphics card, or being on the right digital storefront, some grow intimidated by it.

It’s just not as simple for them as putting a game into the console and playing it. In some cases, things have gotten more or less complex with different platforms over the years, but it just doesn’t feel the same. I would rather put a disc into my PlayStation 5 than spend time worrying about whether my PC is up-to-date so it can run the latest Call of Duty release.

Mobile Gaming Just Isn’t The Same

Playing games on mobile devices is also an entirely different scenario. The idea of gaming while traveling around sounds exciting, but the experiences are definitely not the same as what you see on home consoles. The amount of content in most releases on mobile won’t match up to what you might see in a big budget release for a PlayStation or Xbox console. And for a lot of people, it’s just not worth it.

Mobile gaming has definitely grown in popularity for how convenient and unique it can be. But gamers who are used to playing games on consoles have an expectation for the quality of experience they are looking for. If I’m going to play a Kingdom Hearts game, I would want to on a PlayStation instead of a mobile device, where the experience might be watered down. It won’t have the same production value or general experience that I associate with the series on consoles.

I’ll Never Stop Being A Console Gamer

Part of it may be stubbornness, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop playing video games on a home console. It’s not for a lack of appreciation for new ways to play games,the advancements made, or how games are viewed by the public. But video games, to me, will always be intrinsically tied to playing something on a home console. It's what I grew up with and what I witnessed evolve throughout the years, and that won’t ever go away.

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same

As time goes on, the landscape of video games will continue to change. New home consoles will be developed, along with a barrage of new features previously unimaginable. But the one constant throughout all of it will be the desire to get home and just boot up a console to play on. It’s a core aspect of video game culture that all people in the hobby will experience at one point or another. And because of that, I’ll always be a console gamer at heart.