A Trip To the Nintendo Museum

Don't judge me, okay? Last week I was feeling the urge to treat myself to some retail therapy. I had been thinking about buying a Nintendo Wii for quite some time and finally bit the bullet and picked one up last Tuesday. Hey, I'm supposedly getting a $600 check from the government (or somewhere, I don't care where it comes from) so who cares if I just went ahead and spent it ahead of time. I'm helping the economy! This blog entry is not about the Wii, but I will say that it is an amazing piece of gaming equipment and you should stop what you are doing and go buy one immediately.

Now, in reality I didn't go to the Nintendo Museum (does that actually exist? Let's go!) but I did feel like I was traveling in time... both forward and back. Walking into the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center was a surreal experience. The store itself was pretty cool, but I was more shocked that I was 15-20 years older than half the people in the store, or could be the child of the other half. Yes, I'm aware that video games tend to be geared towards a younger demo than 25-year-old professionals, but I was shocked when I saw a large display of "antiquated" Nintendo systems under glass... preserved for future generations. The oldest system was kind of fun to see. It as a giant piece of hardware with a bunch of separate attachments.

What could you possibly need a keyboard for?

Unfortunately, my curiosity quickly turned to horror when I saw the very first system that I ever owned under glass like it was some fossilized mammoth tusk. I still remember the day I got my Nintendo. I was 5 or 6... in first grade. My mom had just come back from the store and I ran out to the garage to help her carry in bag (or see if she bought me something, one or the other) and I saw it there in the trunk: A Nintendo Entertainment System! Glorious. There was nothing quite like seeing how far to the right I could get in Super Mario Bros, or touching the laser gun directly to the TV screen to shoot that stupid, mocking dog in Duck Hunt. Those were the days! The sound of someone blowing into a malfunctioning game cartridge will always have a place in my heart. Now the Nintendo is kept away from sticky fingers, with assorted generations of Game Boy, like it was from some lost civilization.

The original Nintendo with Super Mario Bros 3

Various ancient Game Boys.

I'm not sure of the exact moment that I became old, but I can verify that it happened somewhere in the last month. Must have been turning 25 and a half. I was trying to buy dress shoes and left the store because the music was too loud and the teens working were rude, I went to the mall and couldn't find one pair of jeans without holes in them, and I tried to play a video game with my brother and was terrible at it. When did I lose my mojo?

And I just bummed myself out... I'm gonna go play Guitar Hero.

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