[briHass]

As someone 4 years younger, I'd argue the 'good times' carried on until the early 90s, at least for a kid that didn't have any money to buy new games all the time. The games back then were all simple enough that a devoted kid with lots of free time would get bored/beat the game in a day or two, and then you have to find something else to do. Now, there are millions of free games on the internet, not counting pirate/emulation, and also plenty of other media content distractions.

I'd also say that era (88-92) was great for being able to pick up cheap used computers. Commodore 64s could be found at garage sales, and I was fortunate that my father would bring home old IBM PC XT/AT boxes from work that were destined for the dumpster.

[shric]

Agree, I did program on the Commodore 64 and later Amiga extensively and I too couldn't afford many games. However I'm not sure if I was the typical kid -- in the late eighties and nineties many of my friends had consoles and I had no interest in them because I couldn't program them.