Here's a section where I'll share my personal experiences in my youth involving the NES. Hope you enjoy!
My first memories of the Nintendo Entertainment System went as far back as when I was about 5. My uncle who lived in North Carolina and my cousin who lived in upstate New York (both places were 8 hours by car from Maryland, where I lived) had the NES system, and I would look forward to the holidays immensly, because they were always kind enough to bring their system to our house. I marveled at the fun of games like Super Mario Brothers, Excitebike, Pinball, and Burgertime.
Then in kindergarden, I had a friend who was --for lack of a better word-- spoiled and had an NES and over 50 games. Every time I visited his house we would play these games for hours, and my fondness for the system grew. After playing many future classics, I finally realized I should get one of these magical machines.
After months of begging my mother, she finally gave in; and on my 7th birthday (May 19th, 1989), I recieved one of the greatest gifts I was ever given: a Nintendo Entertainment System! I was overjoyed, and I played Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt for the rest of the day.
After a couple weeks, SMB and Duck Hunt started losing their charm; and my parents took me to the local video store (which, by coincedence, was Erols Video, who left the video rental business to enter internet sales, and are the server I am currently using). Anyways, I had played the Legend of Zelda for a bit at Ryan's (the friend I mentioned earlier), and it seemed fun, so I figured I'd give it a try. This game was unbelievable, I was amazed that the game seemed so big and you had so much freedom. I rented that game about 6 more times before my parents finally caught on and purchased it for me.
More later...