Your colecovision childhood stories

[colecoed]

We all know the colcovision, it's amazing story of birth, it's near perfect arcade ports, it's death in the crash of '83. But how did you and your colecovision become to be. My story starts when I was young. Our family was poor and was bearly making it. Most of our games consisted of just kicking the soccer ball. But one day I went to the the local video game store and I saw the colcovision for the first time. It was nothing like my friend's atari 2600, it blew away the graphics of the former consoles. I looked at the price tag, a hefty 159.99! I could never aford it so I walked out. A month later, my friend got a job to do yard work for his dad's friend. Togeather, we raised enough money to buy a colcovision. It was just as great as I thought it was! 20 years later, I saw my friend and he gave me a box. When I opened it, it was the colecovision. I hope you enjoyed my colecovision story. Share yours below! LONG LIVE COLECO!

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

The greatest console ever made is the Atari 2600, my son!

[jeremysart]

Well, first came the VCS or Atari 2600, which is what I grew up with, we had one when I was only 3 years old. Next came the Intellivision II.

 

I remeber the day very clearly that we got our ColecoVision. It was a warm sunny summer day, I was 6, my mother and I were garage sale-ing. I remember looking into a big box and seeing a bunch of 2600 games, so I got excited. When I dug in, my hands hit this gaming system that was neither an Atari, nor an Intellivision. I had to have it!

The whole box was only $35! Pretty good for the time. It came with the expansion module 1, several 2600 games, and about 8 Colecovision games, including Lady Bug, Mr. Do!, Cosmic Avenger, and Donkey Kong.

 

I grew up with the three best consoles ever made, and still have them in my colection

[Jordiway]

My dad was an arcade junkie, he came home with this system one day out of the blue sometime before the Christmas of 82, I was 9. My dad really loved pacman and Im pretty sure that's why he bought this was he thought it was going to come out someday little did he know it was going to take 25 years lol. I am glad we got to play opcodes pacman on the colecovision before he died, he was really amazed that people were still making games for this system and how good the graphics were. My dad was pretty cool when it came to video games he came home with a new game almost every other week so we had quite a collection of games. He was also amazed that I still had the same colecovision and it still worked.

 

I was the youngest so at first I was not very good my brother was 16 at the time so he caught on pretty fast and my sisters who didn't even play that much were better than me. But it didn't take long before I had the highest score on Donkey Kong.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Jordiway

[jblenkle]

Sigh...I have no childhood ColecoVision stories...I was 26 or 27 when it came out...I just remember the awesome graphics on it when I first saw it...

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Colecovision and several games is my happiest Christmas memory!

I have two consoles (though sadly not modded) Superaction controllers, module #1 & 2, AtariMax 128in1 cart.

[DoctorTom]

Got the ColecoVision not long after it came out. Apparently the local store marked it up way higher than the suggested retail price -- I am quite sure we paid well over $300 for it, which back then was a lot of dough.

 

The one thing I remember was how happy I was that I could now silence my friend who lived down the road, who as an Intellivision owner was always ragging on me about the 2600 graphics. Interestingly, I saw said friend about 1.5 years ago, after many years apart, and one of the first things he mentioned was the days of playing ColecoVision together.

 

Also, my best friend to this day became my great friend as a result of our mutual love of ColecoVision.

Edited October 9, 2013 by DoctorTom

[Manoau2002]

I was born around the time the Colecovision came out. I bought my first Colecovision with 20 games for about five dollars from a garage sale when I was 7-8 years old. My favorite games as a kid were gorf and smurfs. After a couple years I sold my first Colecovision and games to a friend for 10 dollars. I was happy because I doubled my money and we were poor so ten dollars was a lot to me. Now I feel dumb gor doing that.

[Crapahute]

A friend had an Atari VCS and my cousin had an Intellivision. I could compare both of them and I chose to go for Intellivision until I discover the reviews of Smurf and Zaxxon in Tilt, a French magazine, during summer 1983.

 

Finally, I got my CBS Colecovision for Christmas in 1983 with DK, Smurf and Zaxxon. I was 11 and it was on our Christmas wish list of my young brother and I (well, I easily convinced him as he was only 6 years old…).

 

Gifts were bought a few weeks before Christmas and my parents used to hide them in a room that was locked. I managed to peer inside by the window a few days before the date. I tried to guess whether the console was here by the shape of the gift packages. One of them seemed to be the one I was desperately expecting. But I was not sure until that exciting night.

 

I remember playing DK and Zaxxon a lot during this evening. Unfortunately, I%

[ColecoDan]

A friend had an Atari VCS and my cousin had an Intellivision. I could compare both of them and I chose to go for Intellivision until I discover the reviews of Smurf and Zaxxon in Tilt, a French magazine, during summer 1983.

 

Finally, I got my CBS Colecovision for Christmas in 1983 with DK, Smurf and Zaxxon. I was 11 and it was on our Christmas wish list of my young brother and I (well, I easily convinced him as he was only 6 years old…).

 

Gifts were bought a few weeks before Christmas and my parents used to hide them in a room that was locked. I managed to peer inside by the window a few days before the date. I tried to guess whether the console was here by the shape of the gift packages. One of them seemed to be the one I was desperately expecting. But I was not sure until that exciting night.

 

I remember playing DK and Zaxxon a lot during this evening. Unfortunately, I%

 

yeah my mom caught on to that. When I got my colecovision on christmas it was packed in a big hotwheels box and when I opened it I was like but I am too old for a new hotwheel. I was very surprised when sitting at the bottom under all the newspaper was a colecovision box.

[NIAD]

The greatest console ever made is the Atari 2600, my son!

You know what they say about opinions....... No disrespect intended seeing as anything that let's one play games is a pretty damn good thing, even if it was made by Atari.

 

I had the Atari VCS for a couple years already with about 30 games when the first news of the ColecoVision hit the videogaming magazines in the summer of '82. Suffice it to say that I was sold immediately on this new console "hook, line and sinker" even before I ever had a chance to play one mainly due to the lineup of games that were to be released for it... Donkey Kong and Turbo were two of my favorites in the arcades. So when my parents asked me what I wanted for X-Mas, a ColecoVision was at the top of the list... well, it was the only thing on my list. The only drawback was that my father made it very clear that I would have to sell my Atari VCS collection if I was to get the ColecoVision. I gladly agreed.

 

So on X-Mas moring '82, I received one of the best presents ever and it's been a passion ever since. Oh yeah, my Atari VCS collection was sold about 2 weeks later, but I never did see the money from that sale, my Dad pocketed that.

[65Gamerguy]

You know what they say about opinions....... No disrespect intended seeing as anything that let's one play games is a pretty damn good thing, even if it was made by Atari.

 

No disrespect here either but I busted out laughing at this comment!!!

[65Gamerguy]

I was 17 years old when the ColecoVision came out. Before then a friend of mine owned an Atari VCS, as it was called back then, and we had so much fun playing games on that console. But when the CV was announced and I saw ads for it I was blown away! I was working at McDonalds at the time and I saved up some money and bought my CV the next May, 1983 while I was still a senior in high school. I don't rememeber where I got it, possibly Montgomery Wards, but I remember it was a week night and I played Donkey Kong for hours and I had to go to school the next day. I remember telling my friend Darren in class the next day that he should come over to see my new ColecoVision.

 

My house kind of became gaming central after that. On the weekends my friends would come over to see and play the new games and we would take turns and play all the new games, staying up very late at night, and ordering pizza from a new company called Domino's. It was so much fun trying to get a better score than someone else while they were there, and vice versa. I am still great friends with all of them, though some have moved away, and we don't see each other as often, but who would have thought that a gaming console would be such a big part of a valued friendship that I still have with all of them to this day.

 

Granted it could have been a card game or anything else that could have created the same bond, but in our case it was mostly the good old ColecoVision that did it for us.

 

Sorry for the long story.

[H.E.R.O.]

Ok, don't know if I ever told this story here but what the hell. I grew up in Long Island, NY and the local Toys R Us was in a shopping center that was anchored by a Sears. The Sears didn't have anything I was looking for so I asked my father if I could run to the TRU to look for Colecovision games which he obliged. Closer I got to the TRU, I noticed a long line of elderly people waiting at the entrance. Above the entrance was a sign that read "Line begins here for Cabbage Patch Dolls". Well, that didn't apply to me so I head on inside...until one old woman grabbed me by my arm and started screaming "NO JUMPING THE LINE YOU LITTLE WEASEL!". I pulled my arm away and said "Do I look like I'm going to buy dolls, lady?". I've no idea what she planned to do next but all of a sudden, every old person on line ran as someone was bringing a trolley full of CPD's to the side entrance and knocked the poor guy over to grab dolls! I couldn't do anything but laugh for a few minutes then proceeded to go buy two games (Time Pilot & Galaxian).

[NIAD]

I've no idea what she planned to do next but all of a sudden, every old person on line ran as someone was bringing a trolley full of CPD's to the side entrance and knocked the poor guy over to grab dolls! I couldn't do anything but laugh for a few minutes then proceeded to go buy two games (Time Pilot & Galaxian).

If they only knew how good of a port that the CV Galaxian is, they would have been fighting over that game instead of those C.P.K. dolls.

[AtariBrian]

My childhood only had Atari ... until nes came out . I didnt even know what a colecovision was until about 3 years ago .

[AtariLeaf]

I'm not sure if I mentioned my CV cherry popping story or not. We were on vacation in cottage country in Northern Ontario in the summer of 83 (can't remember the name of the place) and it had these cottages dotted around this beautiful lake and there was the main lobby cottage which had this little family/living room area for people to congregate.

 

Well it had a tv in the corner and a colecovision - a system I had always wanted but never got as a child. Oh I'd seen the gameplay in stores and was amazed at how arcade realistic donkey kong looked. The lodge system had 5 games - DK, Cosmic Avenger, Mr. Do, Lady Bug and Zaxxon. Played them all and loved them all.

 

Unfortunately I never did get a CV back then although I do have one now. My collection almost exclusively consists of systems I actually owned and grew up with. The colecovision is the exception - its the one I always wanted but never owned in my youth. I'm just glad to have it now.

[AtariLeaf]

If they only knew how good of a port that the CV Galaxian is, they would have been fighting over that game instead of those C.P.K. dolls.

Hands down, best port of Galaxian from that era.

[playazclub]

Great thread everyone - So my story isn't as detailed since I was about 4 when it came out. We had a 2600 which I remember probably my favorite was Chopper Command and PacMan on that. Anyway, we got the Colecovision and the only 3 games I remember are Donkey Kong, DKJ and Venture. I was actually pretty good at Venture and I was always competing against my older brothers (3 of them) but honestly, I just remember thinking in DKJ, the birds always crapping on me - It wasn't soon after we gott it that one of my brothers got mad at another brother and in a fit of rage, threw the Colecovision off the deck. It would be nearly 2 decades later until I found another one again.

 

Side note - When I did buy Venture again, I didn't realize that the rooms told you the enemies you were to fight - So the troll room I thought were just fat rabbits and the two headed monster room, I thought were crabs. There were a couple others as well, but those 2 rooms stand out as a total shock to me once I realized what they were.

Edited October 15, 2013 by playazclub

[Dr Manhattan]

I never actually owned the ColecoVision when it first came out. (I got one later in my early teens.)

 

My best friend owned one along with the Atari 2600 adapter. I remember it taking both of us to plug in and remove the 2600 adapter.

 

We played tons of Donkey Kong, Jungle Hunt and Cosmic Avenger. He also used to have a copy of Smurf but I was the only one who liked that game. We would spend the afternoon playing games and eventually I'd say "let's play Smurf!" Everyone would groan... Too funny.

[slab0meat]

I don't have much of a story due to my memory, but I remember running downstairs EARLY Christmas morning to see if we (my sister and I) got a ColecoVision. We'd had an Atari 2600 for awhile and though I don't even remember where I saw a ColecoVision, I *really* wanted one.. sure enough, next to the TV, under a blanket, was a hidden ColecoVision. I do remember running back upstairs to wake my parents, but they said it's way too early, and I was forced to wait it out. Great Christmas morning!

 

Along the way, and I don't remember what games I got that day or whatever, we got the 2600 adapter, the Super Action Controllers, and a decent amount of games. I also remember towards the end of playing it, the "C O L E C O V I S I O N" colors being all wrong when being turned on, and games being a problem starting up. My system didn't endure very well.

 

However, I have great vague memories of owning it and playing it, and I'm very happy to own one again today.

[ColecoDan]

I don't have much of a story due to my memory, but I remember running downstairs EARLY Christmas morning to see if we (my sister and I) got a ColecoVision. We'd had an Atari 2600 for awhile and though I don't even remember where I saw a ColecoVision, I *really* wanted one.. sure enough, next to the TV, under a blanket, was a hidden ColecoVision. I do remember running back upstairs to wake my parents, but they said it's way too early, and I was forced to wait it out. Great Christmas morning!

 

Along the way, and I don't remember what games I got that day or whatever, we got the 2600 adapter, the Super Action Controllers, and a decent amount of games. I also remember towards the end of playing it, the "C O L E C O V I S I O N" colors being all wrong when being turned on, and games being a problem starting up. My system didn't endure very well.

 

However, I have great vague memories of owning it and playing it, and I'm very happy to own one again today.

Yeah I remember returning the colecovision like 3 times do to problems that started happening so we just kept exchanging it until we got the one that I still have today. It was still half way decent but I had it referbrished anyway.

[frank_c]

My brother and I had a 2600 and wanted a ColecoVision for Christmas. Mom said the only way we could get one is if we sold the 2600 and could get our dad to buy the expansion module.

 

We'd stay with some old neighbors on the weekends and take the Atari over there. Our friend really liked Video Pinball and would play it most of the night. He ended up buying the 2600 and we put the cash toward a CV. One step achieved!

 

Mom went ahead and bought the CV from a local (now defunct) department store, probaby around the release date. When Christmas Eve came we talked my dad into getting us the Atari module. We started calling around and found one on the west side of Cleveland, out near the airport. Drove out there in a snowstorm to pick it up, with the only stipulation being I stopped playing long enough to go to midnight Mass with my grandmother. Ugh...but I made it.

 

Got five games at Christmas (DK, Zaxxon. Venture, Carnival, and Smurf). Soon after a small video store near us started selling CV games so we'd sneak over there while mom was grocery shopping to see what they had in stock.