Emulating Childhood: Vintage Gaming on the Swap.com Market

I’m a total geek when it comes to video games, and, like everything else in my life, if they’re vintage, even better.

When I was growing up, my brother and I spent every Saturday afternoon after sports practices and competitions playing and beating video games together — and still do when I go to his place to visit (much to the chagrin of our spouses). Our addiction started with Koleko Vision, then we moved on to our Atari 2600 (Burgertime! Frogger! Q*bert!), then Nintendo (Bubble Bobble marathons were. the. best.) and Super Nintendo (hello, Princess Peach, now kicking butt & taking names), and finally Turbo Grafx (Bonk’s Adventure was legit). When I got married a few years ago, my brother (fittingly) bought us a Wii as a wedding gift, and my gaming addiction was renewed, after more than a decade in mothballs.

This week, on the new Swap.com Market, I got giddy as a schoolgirl when I saw that community members have started posting vintage games and consoles, some even in perfect working condition.

Here are a few of my faves — and I’d love to hear what your favorite vintage games and consoles are, too:

Original Nintendo Game Boy + Games
Tetris, anyone? I think the hours and hours I spent playing this game alone on cross-country flights is the reason my own Game Boy bit the dust way back when. Can’t think of a video game quite as addictive that’s come out since, can you?

Sega Game Gear with Case + 12 Games
The only thing this set is missing, IMHO, is Fantasy Zone — but it does have Sonic, phew!
What was your favorite Game Gear game?

Nintendo NES Controller
Even if you no longer have an NES system, these controllers make great emulator hacks. I have two retrofitted for a USB port, though I still haven’t figured out how to get them to work (but I’m hot on the trail). Have you seen any cool NES controller crafts or hacks?

Super Mario Bros. 3 “Tanooki” Collectible Key Chain
I’m a sucker for bad puns, but seriously, giving Mario the ability to fly was off the chain. I would totally rock this on my current set of keys‚ actually, I’m going to make on offer on it now — see if you can beat me to it…

Jakks / NAMCO Plug ‘n’ Play Ms. Pac Man
It might be low-tech, but (much like the recent Muppets remake), can you think of anything more fun than introducing kids to the classic games we played in the arcade? The nostalgia freak in me loves that it’s a joystick, it includes not only Ms. Pac Man but four additional games, like Dig Dug (which I still try to beat on the arcade version in our laundromat), and it’s compatible with virtually any TV set.