Going Down The Memory Lane

Ah, going down memory lane! This is one of the most joyful and satisfying experiences one can have if the memory is a good one of course.

If I want to recall my favorite memory, or should I say one of them, because trust me, there are many. But the one that immediately comes to my mind is when my Dad bought me a PlayStation when I was a teenager.

Let me give you some backdrop before you jump to any conclusions. As a kid, I was so fascinated by the world of video games, I mean I still am but back then it felt like what Alice would have felt in Wonderland.

It all started when I first saw someone playing Super Mario. I was with my Dad on my way back from school and I saw that inside a small shop a kid was controlling a cartoon character on a TV screen using a small box attached with wires.

I just stood there as I was so mesmerized. My Dad noticed that and the next day I found myself holding the controller ready to play it myself.

My Dad rented a Nintendo console for me. When I started playing for the first time, I felt like I was somehow transmitted into that virtual world and like I am living a fantasy.

So coming back to our story, when PlayStation launched for the first time it was a huge deal for gamers. The games were so realistic that it felt like some kind of cinematic. I was so excited for the PlayStation release, that I left no stone unturned to convince my Dad to buy me one.

It was expensive back then, well, the PlayStation is always expensive but I digress. The point is I really wanted to play the PlayStation, pun intended.

So my Dad finally agreed on one condition that if I do well in my exams, he will buy me the PlayStation console. I was on a mission, studying like there is no tomorrow. Finally, the exams ended. I did great, Dad was happy. It felt like I had completed an impossible mission, take that Ethan Hunt.

The day had finally come when we were going to the shop to buy my PlayStation. When we reached there, I was looking in awe at the pile of boxes. As the buying process was going on, I was eying the Game CDs, thinking which game I would play first.

The package was ready and we left for home. I was so eager to get back that it felt like it took ages to reach back home. When we finally reached home, I started unboxing the PlayStation console.

My Dad helped me set up the console with the TV set. And finally, I launched the first game on my own PlayStation. It was Gran Turismo, the first installment of an amazing gaming franchise. The cars, the environment felt so real, it was like controlling real cars in the real world.

Of course, if you compare those graphics to the current generation of games, the first generation will look like cardboard boxes. But back then they were a huge deal. I played for countless hours on my PlayStation for years.

I went on to buy the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 too. I was a Sony fanboy until I got introduced to PC gaming and that in itself is a great story. But I will cherish the experience of my first gaming console forever.

Maybe I still have it laying around in my storeroom somewhere. Maybe I will take it out and try it one more time. Maybe it’s dead, maybe it’s not.

I hope you enjoyed this story of my memory as much as I did living through it. So until next time, this is me signing off.

PS: You can buy me a Ko-Fi if you like.