How old were you when you first heard the term, “Nintendo,” and what does the name mean to you now?

Answer 1

I don't remember my exact age, but when I was little my Uncle had a Nintendo. He had the original Final Fantasy and I used to play it for hours when we visited their house. My parents wouldn't let me get one, assuming (correctly) that I would want to play video games and do little else.

I still love the fantasy genre, especially in video games. When I look at the incredible CG, graphics and complex story lines I have to marvel that something so simple as the original Final Fantasy kept me enthralled. I used to love playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with my best friend in junior high as well.

I suppose to me Nintendo means something long-lasting and fun. I have a Nintendo DS today, and I enjoy playing it even though I'm an adult now. I also have an original Nintendo 8-bit system that a friend gave me when he no longer wanted it, and it still works perfectly. I love how something that old can still work after all of these years.

(Oh, and I had the original "brick" Gameboy, a Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gamecube and a Nintendo 64...haven't purchased a Wii yet but if there's an "Animal Crossing" or "Harvest Moon" I may not be able to resist.)

Answer 2

I believe I was 6 when the NES entered my life, thanks to a cousin loaning me his system and a few games (most notably the original Final Fantasy) while recovering from having my tonsils removed. About a year later, my brother upgraded my parents' house from the Atari 7800 to the NES.

Giving any sort of simple meaning to 20 years worth of joy is impossible to do accurately. The best I can come up with it "Fun". Over everything else that goes into video games, Nintendo has always focused on fun.

Answer 3

I was born in 1989 and I first heard of it when I was 4 I think. I have played Nintendo all my life and it is all I buy. To me, the name Nintendo means fun. Nintendo games are fun while playstaion and xbox only come out with the same old games with only graphics upgrades. PS and xbox games are all boring to me because they are only shooting and fighting games, which are all the same. Nintendo comes with all types of games and is for all ages.

Answer 4

I honestly can't remember when first I heard the term "Nintendo." I can barely remember what year I got my N-64, but it was in gradeschool...I'm a junior in high school now, so that was a long time ago, for me at least.

To be quite honest, I never got around to upgrading from a Nintendo 64, and I only had a few games on that, so whenever I hear people talking about a Nintendo system, the 64 is the first thing that enters my despite recent and not so recent developements. I mostly identify Nintendo with characters such as the Mario Bros, or with the Legend of Zelda games. I used to play Nintendo a lot with old friends of mine, so the term kind of brings back memories. It's just one of those things that's been there forever and seems like it'll always be there, though in newer and more advanced stages.

Answer 5

It was around 1987 when I was 12 years old and in middle school. That's when a friend of mine got the NES with Mario Brothers. In 1988 I finally got my own NES to replace my aging Atari 2600. I heard about Sega at the same time as Nintendo, prior to that I thought Atari was the only company still making gaming consoles. To me the Nintendo name means quality video games that are colorful and fun for all ages, Nintendo is timeless and classic.

Answer 6

I was 11. It was 1987 I had no Idea what the system was I had been used to the Intelivision and Comodore 64 (as well as the Atari) My mom brought it home on day and we broke into the box to see what it was all about. I loved the Duck hunt game the most. But we got more play out of Super Mario brothers. I remember looking at the box and wondering where I could get the other games listed on it. So Nintendo reminds me of a time in my child hood of a lil joy in a not so great time when my parents were split up and not everything was peaches and cream. I even have a Nintendo Wii now and enjoy gettingmy friends together now to have fun together.

Answer 7

I didn't grow up with a Nintendo in my home. We had an Atari 2600 (which my parents actually still have!). Even though many of the games we owned (including Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers) were made by Nintendo, I don't really remember hearing the name Nintendo until I was in Jr. High. I remember playing Super Mario Brothers in the coin-op machine, and loving it! It seemed like I never got past World 1-2, but I didn't care. It is still my favorite game. I always wanted a Nintendo, but never got one. A few years ago, when I was first married, my wife bougt me a Nintendo Gamecube. Ever sense the NES first came out, I have never seen the point of owning any other game system, at least not unless you already have a Nintendo. Nintendo means Mario. Nintendo means Zelda. Nintendo means innovation. More than anything, however, Nintendo means hours and hours of fun.

Answer 8

When i got my first Nintendo I was 6. I Started My nintendo Quest with the Gameboy Pocket and Still Continue to Get all the new systems. When I was little My aunt had the Nintendo Entertainment System with the Super Mario with the Duck Hunt. I fell in live With Mario. Now I'm downloading all my favorite old time games into My Nintendo Wii. To This Day I tell all my family and cousins about Nintendo. My Little Cousins Love Nintendo and Got there First DS Lites when they were 4!!! To me Nintendo Means a New Invated Way Of Gaming. The Wii Sure Made that possible. None of the other Video Game Systems like PS3 Or XBOX Can Out Beat a Nintendo Product. I see More Great Systems From Nintendo And Will Rule The Videogame World As We Know It.
Keep Up The Great Work With Nintendo, Take Care, The Cool Man

Answer 9

To me the word Nintendo is synonym for home game systems. You may be playing any other system but I will always say "wanna go play Nintendo?" It is kind of like calling any bandage a Bandaid, or any tissue a Kleenex...which I suppose is a pretty big compliment for you.

Big character associated with Nintendo is Mario.

When I first played Donkey Kong on Atari I was probably about 10. And then we got a Nintendo after replacing so many Atari joysticks...and played the Mario platform games. I played Yoshi's story on N64. And I played like crazy on Dr Mario both at home and at the arcade.

Answer 10

Nintendo means success over a troubling and controversial hobby. When the microwave was made, people doubted the success of that object too. Video games were new when Nintendo debuted it's top games such as Donkey Kong in 1981. Now that Nintendo has it's sauces over a dark time. Video games are now mainstream with billions of fans around it. Although it's complaints that it will never get far beyond it's opponents, Nintendo still becomes a multi-billion dollar franchise yet today.

When I see ignorant politicians blaming every single mental illness with video games, it upsets me, for video games were my only positive thing in my life. I circle my life around it daily. My innovation in video games is the reason I wake up in the morning. Nintendo has been an enormous positive influence in me, my life, and in lives of billions of Nintendo fans worldwide.

The label Nintendo is expected to be branded in fans for generations to come.

Answer 11

i believe i was 8 years old when i first heard of Nintendo. i owned an Atari 2600 & a commodore 64, my cousin had a Colecovision, and my neighbor had a Sega Master System. i really wanted a Master System, as i thought it superior to the NES in graphics and reliability. however, in the end i never owned an 8-bit console.

since then, i have owned a Genesis, 32x, Saturn and Dreamcast. i was critical of Super Nintendo at first, but i was won over by quality games like Mariokart and F-zero. i worked in a videogame store from 1994-96 and this exposed me to everything great about SNES, with games like Contra III, Street Fighter II, and more being released at this time.

i am a lifelong Sega fan but now that Sega is gone from the console business, i am looking at Nintendo much more favorably.

Nintendo is the last hope for gaming... one reason for this is that Nintendo is the only major console maker that was always a gaming company, while Sony and Microsoft ignored the gaming market for a long time, and now just want to make a quick buck, i feel.

Nintendo is the only company making fun the motivating factor behind games they produce, while the other companies try to sell the hardware with the most impressive specifications, even while no good games are available.

this focus on hardware over software is very discouraging, and is the reason i fully support Nintendo from now on. i have not tried the Wii yet, but it looks like the best system available today.

thanks!
jay