PSN Community Spotlight – A PlayStation Tradition

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PSN Community Spotlight – A PlayStation Tradition

It’s officially gift-giving season! My present to you is the PSN Community Spotlight. For the unfamiliar, this is where PlayStation gamers tell their unique stories/experiences/thoughts, as submitted to this section in the PlayStation Community Forums. Those that make it all the way to the PlayStation Blog will receive a $50 PlayStation Store voucher.

soldierone

Last week we asked for your PlayStation stories, and gamer soldierone wrote in to tell us about his family’s PlayStation gift-giving tradition.

A PlayStation Tradition

It’s amazing how times can change, and yet we all fall back on something classic for entertainment. Yet to me it’s the experience behind the entertainment that really makes it worth remembering. I still remember getting my first and second PlayStation consoles. From the very first glimpse of Vigilante 8 and Twisted Metal, I was hooked. Today, I share the experience of Call of Duty and Uncharted with my brother, while Metal Gear Solid has completely inspired my career.

My dad always had to surprise everyone when it came to getting me video games. I was young when I got the first PlayStation yet it’s a great memory because it has so much effect on my whole life. Its bulky silver design with Crash Bandicoot on the box, I had to have one and each goofy commercial made the want it even more. I can’t remember the exact occasion, but my dad started his trend of buying me a PlayStation game as a present. I opened up the wrapping, and out popped Vigilante 8, a game I’d be playing for years. I was super excited until I read “PlayStation” on the side. I was sad because I didn’t have a PlayStation console at the time. Then, when we were almost done opening everything, my dad pulled out one last present. A big box slid out and video games changed forever for me!

He continued this trend with the PlayStation 2, and this time it was for my birthday. I was opening presents and it was one DVD movie after another. I didn’t have a DVD player, so I was a bit confused during this. Then it came, a PlayStation 2 game, Smugglers Run. This time the “PlayStation” wording didn’t catch me off guard — I figured it was for my PS1. I went to put it in my PS1, but it didn’t work. I studied the box a little more only to be disappointed. “Dad you bought it for the PS2, so it won’t work….” I still remember my dad playing it off really cool, saying we will take it back and that he had to go get the receipt. Instead, he comes back out with one more present — a PlayStation 2.

I’m sure he would have done something similar with the PS3, but I created my own memories by standing in line and talking with fellow gamers for the release. The cool thing is I can see him doing it with my brother, and can’t help but remember being in his shoes. My dad bought him a PlayStation gift for Christmas and it’s a big secret, so I’m excited to see the unveil.

Memories like this really connect me to games. I remember staying up all night every weekend playing video games with my dad. We got our hands on Metal Gear Solid and the game has inspired everything I do. I became a writer because of that game. I remember my mother going to Gamers to rent SOCOM, and having to wait for days to get it. Buying extended controller slots so all our friends could play sports games, wrestling games, shooting games, the PlayStation had it all.

The coolest aspect of this is the ability to relive a lot of these memories with the PS3 and Vita. If someone ever told me I would be playing PlayStation 1 titles on my Vita, I would have laughed and said keep dreaming. Yet here we are playing Uncharted Golden Abyss, and almost the entire lineup of PS1 titles in my hand! I even have Crash Bandicoot on my Xperia Play, and it’s amazing how much interest the game still gets from peeking eyes. With the PS3 I have PS1 and PS2 titles, and yet Sony keeps churning out even more memories with games like Uncharted and Resistance.

I don’t think I will ever not buy a PlayStation System because I want to keep making new memories, and reliving the old ones. It is my hope to pass on the experience I personally get from video games to others. It’s nice to see that standing in line for a launch PlayStation is worth it because the experiences you receive will last forever.

Thanks for writing in soldierone!

Next week we want to hear more general stories about the PlayStation brand. Click here to submit your story.

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