What Got You Into Gaming? - Game Talk With Mike Matei

[@SeanShank87]

I love when you guys make videos of y'all just chatting about games

[@teamhex]

Always enjoying hearing Mike talk about games. Knowledgeable for sure.

[@serbonkers4130]

Id likento see him talk games with the nespuck and the oil up and hit the gym with me guy.

[@deuxforever13]

Mike Matei and Pat Contri are like 2 walking video game encyclopedias.

[@bojackson3073]

the nespuck is fine, just dont invite Pat. Frank & Ian can come though.

[@mojebi3804]

P.K. Jerkoffowitz Please tell us how exciting your life is bro. We'd all love to hear about it.

[@mojebi3804]

The fuck does that even mean Oh I'm really slow. I just realized your alias. Brilliant. Trolled.

[@Piranhaheat]

I really like these casual conversation videos! You should def do more with other youtubers!

[@Dara321AAA]

PiranhaHeat I came here to comment this same idea. Either a podcast style conversation, or just go to a random video game store for the day, hang out, and just shoot the shit all day.

[@bigcrackrock]

^ Yeah that's what I was thinking. Just going to video game oriented businesses and going down memory lane with some of the older heads would be a fun little series.

[@SnipingIsFun]

Agreed

[@jmay8204]

Went to Classic Game Junkie this past weekend to check it out and pick up some games. Frank is a really good dude, he seems to care about his store and customers.

[@linkmaster6486]

Note to Billy: Do more of these types of Videos with the crew once a week with Dodongo, Melvor, Jay, Chris and Wood and then do more at cons. You want to keep the channel alive with content then here you go.

[@retroislandboy9708]

i grew up in the 80s playing Atari occasionally at my uncles house but what cemented me as a gamer was Zelda 2 . that just blew me away as a kid. cool to see Mike chillin with the Game Chasers . i love James and Mike mondays . always entertaining to watch lol

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

zelda 2 is my fav zelda of all time. i know twilight on switch is great but i hate 3d games.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

What got me into video games was the artwork on the labels of cartridge based games. The first two video games i ever played was Zelda Links Awakening and Paperboy on the original Game Boy in 1989 or in 1991. My dads friend at the time lent us the Zelda game and Paperboy i played on my cousins Game Boy at my aunts house. Just typing this brings back those incredible memories. These are some great stories!

[@ganggreen1983]

Mike breezes through Holy Diver. He is king.

[@FatherDragonMusic]

Go game chasing with James Rolfe

[@28Pluto]

James is just too busy for free time with chodes... Unfortunately.

[@FatherDragonMusic]

he isn't old or retired.

[@trentbergin3776]

+VideoGame Polak have you ever had a kid? let alone 2 in the span of 3 years? He completed a movie then had a newborn, as the newborn was finally getting to the age of sleeping through the night he now has a baby and a pregnant wife and now he has 2 kids under 3...I would guess its lack of sleep and not old age.

[@FatherDragonMusic]

and even despite that, he's still doing nerd videos, as well as working on another movie right now as he recently announced. He's more calm and laid back in his lets play videos because that's his personality, he isn't in "the nerd" character which is what we're mostly used to, so it's weird, but you have to respect the fact that he pretty much invented the gaming-video genre as we know it, and is still working his ass off despite being older and having a family. If you can dis James Rolfe, you kinna don't belong on this part of youtube

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

well his earthbound avgn video was spot on. very very well done. i don't care for that game but it was well written and acted out.

[@calvinmessick9406]

The game chasers brought my childhood back and I have over 500 retro games thanks to you guys

[@ColinOrJames]

Mike Matei is a legend! Great and chill interview!

[@mornstar5514]

ColinOrJames hellya he is a legend known for kissing Avgn asses haha

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

not really. he does good work and is an excellent secondary opinion on games. his gaming reviews are pretty good i'd say. i'm not his fan but give him credit. he doesn't suck.

[@mornstar5514]

i still remember the nick that thearchfiend gave him a few years ago on a video disclosing the truth between avgn and irategamer " THE FUCK FACE MIKE MATEI" hahaha

[@bio-plasmictoad5311]

The C64 was my first gaming set up, International karate and Last ninja of New York.

[@ordoveritas]

Same for me. Played the shit out of Gianna Sisters, Arkanoid, Pirates etc. Couldnt complete Last Ninja 2 thou cause the second disc was corrupted and the store refused to give me a new copy. They sold mostly cameras and didnt understand how games works ... tards.

[@ClassicContagious]

Close for me. Atari 65XE was my first gaming setup. World Karate Championship, Bruce Lee and Rescue on Fractalus. Then I was introduced to the RPGS on said system and i've never looked back. Few years later I got a C64 and was able to play tons more amazing games.

[@bio-plasmictoad5311]

ordoveritas mine was on tapes.

[@ClassicContagious]

Crap forgot about the 2600 that's my first but the Atari 65xe was the first that I was able to play more advanced games.

[@nonamealienfrommars]

The c64 was my first gaming set aswell. I got it with the hollywood games pack. Shortly after that i got international karate,commando and a game called silkworm.But my fav system still is the snes that came with street fighter 2.

[@Grvy_Bread]

This makes me miss my group of nerd friends. We'd spend hours discussing games just like this. Then as we got older we moved away 1 by 1.

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

nothing lasts...

[@ryanpollon123]

gaming was the best and only way for my bro and i to chill together in a civil manner

[@Jolinator]

Mike Matei just recited my childhood.

[@weepingwell]

Obviously he did. It was all of our childhoods because it was a stupid question.

[@Wheels8504]

TMNT 2 on NES has always been my favorite game of all time.

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

incredible arcade game port. i still find it difficult to believe how well it plays downsized to an 8-bit cart. tmnt 3 was better but it wasn't the arcade game we all loved.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

I had the exact same experience. My first game was the original Super Mario Bros. The gold packaging made me beg my dad to get it at Toys R' Us. We took the ticket to the counter and bought Zelda. I knew I was a gamer for life after I played that one.

[@bengotagun]

WHERE IS THIS STORE? IT LOOKS MAGICAL.

[@IvoPoblete]

AVGN got me back to gaming! Retro and 90's gaming, that is.

[@Ostnizdasht206]

I could listen to these guys talk about games all day.

[@Nesty9]

My dad got me into gaming back in the early 80s,he came home with a big box with colors everywhere ,it was an odyssey2 and when he puts a game in i am watching in awe and im like wow he playin in a computer lol, video games been my passion since then

[@PixelGameSquad]

First game I loved....Mario 2 ♥️

[@supergeoff]

Pixel Game Squad Dude mine too and Super Mario Bros.+DuckHunt

[@AmbiguouslyBrown]

Same here! Some people argue it's not a "true" Mario game. Those people are chodes.

[@MapleJames76]

Pixel Game Squad I LOVED Mario 2! First game beat all the way through .....Bionic Commando, and still a major favorite

[@bullfrogjay4383]

My favore NES Mario. It was my top Mario till Mario 64 but still has a specail spot in my heart.

[@krillen64]

I think my first game to love was Super Mario Bros. 3 but it's not my all time fave though.

[@codexnecro3917]

You should do these Q&A videos more often, it's very interesting to hear the subjective history of what got people into gaming in the first place.

[@Shantaro25]

I feel like I would get along with Mike really well. I've been watching him and James for years on Cinemassacre.

[@shortbus1127]

James Rolfe (AVGN) is the Mecca of all the video game channels. He started it all. Salute to you sir

[@greenlanternhg5141]

🤣🤣🤣 never gonna look at Qbert and Birdo the same way ever again 🤣🤣🤣

[@Stinger2578]

I remember games like Pac-Man, Galaga, and Elevator Action at different bowling alley's, but the first game we had at home was Canyon Climber on a TRS-80 computer in '82. I mostly remember 1987 as the year I played a lot of Black Tiger and Commando at the bowling alley and we had Jeopardy, Police Quest and Wheel of Fortune at home on our Tandy 1000. A few months later I saw Double Dragon at a cousin's house, and that was the first time I heard of playing games on a TV and Nintendo. March of 88 I got mine with Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and at that time it had the gray zapper.

[@joeparagon]

"Mega Man 3" and "The Legend of Zelda" got me hooked.

[@willdpj]

Best combo ever here The Game Chasers and Mike!

[@StarscreamvsMegatron]

Their standing in Retro Game Junkies in Glenside, Pa. I LOVE this store!

[@8ByteBrian]

I would never have guessed Billy is 40! What got me into video games, was either Pac-Man for my Atari 800XL, Legend of Zelda, or Super Mario Bros...I used to love playing Zelda, I didn't have a NES growing up with an so I played these games every chance I could at my friends houses.

[@b5audis4life24]

First game I loved has to be Castelvania 4. That soundtrack has been etched into my brain. Classic game 👍🏻

[@BikerBenny]

Great music! Loved cave level theme

[@TranzparentMethods]

Great conversation! I could literally watch these guys talk for hours. Yeah, I have no life...

[@ggary04]

You guys are the best kind of gamers. Keep up the gameing/ collecting boys👍

[@TooFurious4]

My first games were The Lion King and Super Mario All stars on SNES

[@skybluerob8850]

Playing Manic Miner and Hungry Horace on my dad's old Dragon 32 micro computer is what got me hooked on gaming (back when games were all on cassette tapes), did this system even get sold in the US? After that it was the original gameboy and the PS1 when I was a kid.

[@TheCsaxon128]

I love that he just throws out the Warcraft II Tides of Darkness. Such a badass game.

[@Retrorevelations]

The first games I liked and really remembered, at like 4 or 5, even though I didn't fully understand how to play them, were Pac-Man and Dig Dug in arcades, and Astroblast on Atari 2600. First game I LOVED, that made me fall in love with gaming and become obsessed as a kid, was Super Mario Bros. 1. That was shortly thereafter replaced by SMB3, which became, and remains, my favorite game of all time.

[@dondraper3898]

I remember when Toys R Us had those tickets underneath the covers for video games. I remember getting M.E.R.C.S. for Genesis that way... goddamn

[@williambourque926]

Hell ya. I remember birthdays and having to wait at the window with the tags. RIP Toys R Us!

[@dondraper3898]

William Bourque R.I.P. I'm blaming The Last Jedi for that casualty. It wasn't enough to destroy the memories of our childhood heroes, they had to destroy the store that provided us with so many joyful childhood memories

[@pedrochevez2090]

I remember being too young to really remember the first video game i saw, for sure was one of those old wooden-like pong consoles with the square joystick controllers which one of my relatives gave my dad back in the late 80s. Then my uncle gave me and my siblings a NES because he had bought my cousins the SNES which had just come out. So my actual first memory of actually playing something was Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt when i was about 3 or 4 in the real early 90s. But i will admit i didn't get really into gaming until the late 90s and early 2000s with that same NES and of course the OG Playstation. I was finally hooked to gaming.

[@400KrispyKremes]

It's crazy how similar my story is to Mike's. First game I played was Pac-Man in the Arcade, and the game that got my hooked for life was Legend of Zelda Gold cart.

[@oldmanhogan2668]

400KrispyKremes what a unique experience with 2 obscure games

[@MPCB-oj3hh]

Great info. here. TMNT on the NES got me into gaming.

[@daniellikahong]

The best moment of my gaming experience I played extensively was the ARCADE game of Street Fighter 3 Next generation with Ryu against the end Boss, with a "super" used in the end with low health (one yellow sprite left) on the 3rd round, double K.O. for both. Then there was the judges coming into play in that game. Never before seen that in my life. Only seen this happening once. It was like a goddang Shining Force in me that got me through this game at that moment.

[@RaceToNowhere]

You should have asked Mike to sign that copy of Zelda

[@Night-Jester]

Give Mike Zelda 1 and Kaboom w/paddle controller he will be set for life!

[@bradmickelson9769]

The game I remember most growing up with and left a lasting impression with me is Resident Evil 1 (PS1) renting from blockbuster and playing with my 7 year old brother scared as all hell

[@BikerBenny]

The best! I remember being scared as hell too! Some of the best memories with that game

[@MrLandale]

I was a proud Master System owner back in the days but I must admit that Nintendo had more to offer than Sega, but Phantasy Star really got me into gaming. The greatest 8-bit RPG of all time...

[@Beldryn]

I love classic game junkie. It's a hell of a store

[@JebberGamingJaws]

Awesome, love these little extras 👍!

[@smoothSnake23]

Awesome vid! Thanks for the upload, G

[@16BitPete]

Wtf..how did i miss this?

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

street fighter 2 the world warrior, arcade, jan 26, 1991. blew away every kid/friend i knew (if you loved beat 'em ups or action/fighting games in the arcades). those machines were making hundreds of dollars a week easy. that game right there got me heavily into gaming as well as fitness because i saw the shoto boys' bodies and got motivated to work out.

[@optimysticquest]

Grew up with games of all kinds, but Final Fantasy on NES is what made me.

[@lightshadow121]

Ocarina of Time is what got me into gaming watching my brother beat Ganondorf was the coolest shit ever as a young kid

[@jaxnean2663]

Mike is so good at playing games, games that are easy for him are difficult for me! SMB isn't an easy game for me but then I'm not of a good gamer

[@realtime4559]

Wish this was longer!!!

[@jrowand]

What got me into gaming was Donkey Kong Country man that game was fun back on the SNES the music the levels so many memories on that game.

[@gamesnotover1576]

wow that took a turn at the end with Q-bert and Birdo..

[@bullfrogjay4383]

Metroid is the first game I can remember playing and I loved the NES. It was A Link to the Past and super Metroid though that turned me into a life long gamer.

[@7thangelad586]

The Dragonlance series of books 😏

[@josevcp1]

Dragonlance books are AWESOME. Glad to see someone else remembers them.

[@Shannonbarnesdr1]

1st person shooters also sidescrolling run n guns, , i got into with contra games, the doom series and quake series and it took off from there

[@alanblyth9730]

It's amazing how Mike actually seems to know what he's talking about in this video. On his own channel he's constantly talking rubbish.

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

mike is knowledgable on games as well as putting together a good video. he isn't a scrub. i am not his friend but his productions are pretty good. not great but good.

[@Shaewaros]

Mike is actually 37? He looks not a day older than 25. I guess it's because he looks healthy and has a lot of youthful enthusiasm.

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

full head of hair and no receding hairline. the body however shows age due to sagging muscles and skin.

[@mojebi3804]

Sagging muscles and skin is not a thing at 37. That's just being out of shape.

[@mojebi3804]

How am I being an asshole by stating facts. I personally think Mike looks youthful.

[@thadonis.]

5:20 There's not 99 levels in Mario World there's *96.

[@skabcat242]

Wow Mike..I am never gonna look at Birdo the same again.

[@dimensiongamer534]

This was super interesting.

[@JUSXTREME96]

My first game system was a Genesis model 3 w/ 6-Pak. Best combo to get into gaming. lol

[@TheSillySteveShow]

Q-Bert is a good one... Zelda on the NES !!

[@redmist78]

Pandemonium? OH man i loved that game. Totally forgot about it. Great vid, guys.

[@bensabourin3464]

first games I had were batman, punch out, dr jekyll, air fortress mario etc... and these games made me love videogames forever even dr jekyll

[@williamjurgen1141]

RIVER RAID on the Atari 2600 i loved that game i still do

[@Mr_x_19922]

7:37 wow that's Burning Rangers in the back, such a great and rare game

[@camron2674]

I know that's not a Game Exchange store cause they are only in Texas. But it sure does look like one.

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

classic game junkie is the store

[@ForenObjex]

BOOM BOOM BOOOM, every body say Mike Matei-OHH wayyyooooooo!

[@kaguth]

For me, I went to my friend's house and he was playing the original Super Mario Bros on the NES. He asked if I wanted to play and gave me the controller, then half an hour later he was complaining to his mother because I wasn't letting him play. Later I got my own console.

[@LindaTheGAMERGal]

Great discussion

[@EternalReplicant]

Dang, what store was this filmed at? Just that small area looks incredible to be in!

[@sgtpatton]

"we know, this is the shit" lololol

[@GazOutbreak]

Game Chasers, Age 39 & 40. Just goes to show age is just a number and doesn't mean jack shit. Keep it up boys.

[@battousai0083]

The Nes playing Super Mario seeing my Dad trying to save the princess and the Mario 3 I never had but when I would go over to someone’s house and they had MARIO 3 seeing that yellow label was always like 😳 whaaaat you got Mario 3

[@CapnPicard]

Awesome video, just shootin' the shit love it.

[@draculaman]

Is this Game Junkie in Philly? I visited here when I came over from London and it was such an awesome place, the staff there are really cool

[@ghiblifanta8634]

Mike the legend!

[@Jarod_Schultz]

Since they are on the subject of hard games, I feel good about beating the mine cart stage on Donkey Kong Country for SNES. It's considered to be one of the hardest levels in video games. In order to beat it I used the 50 life code and used dozens of lives before beating it. This is before I learned about the warp. It's so hard I had to memorize some of the graphics or objects in the background to time my jumps. I haven't beaten the rest of the game yet, because I haven't been playing it lately.

[@indiaalphanovember8217]

I got into video games as a 5 year old watching my neighbour playing Treasure Island Dizzy on his Amiga.

[@Wykesidefruitmachine]

India Alpha November That was one of my first games on the spectrum. I got my mum to tell the guy by the river off because he wouldn't let me past lol

[@tekkennerdable]

Hey Mike you should play Asterix and Obelix on Snes!!

[@gamesandmoviesentertainmen4259]

Awesome Store

[@supergeoff]

Mine was The Sega Masters Rambo III and Rocky and more

[@Shannonbarnesdr1]

nes super mario bros games and the zeldas got me into gaming gaming

[@benbehzadpour1177]

For me it was DuckTales on the NES. I was in love with the cartoon back then so seeing not just a video game but a GREAT video game based on it was too much for my 6 year old mind to handle. Then I got into ninja turtles and played the arcade game... Gamer4life after that!

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

that cartoon was incredible. i learned about inflation from that show actually. the clip is on youtube.

[@LilGamez21]

It seemed like the conversation was shorter, but no it was a good long conversation.

[@Boaconstrictors]

Mike is awesome

[@sufamidan1006]

This was fun.

[@tekkennerdable]

I have Pandemonium both for pc and PlaystationOne and theres a sequel i think

[@gameboypunk660]

Super Mario Bros was the first game I played in 1986 I was four 'nuff said.

[@MultiCrustie]

Someone needs to make an uncensored Qbert.

[@Malacefire]

love it, miss the days of sitting around shooting the shit about random game crap. don't get me wrong adding online play to games does make shit easier play wise but it kinda kills the hole social part of it..... every once in a blue moon i can convince a few guys over for some drinks and fighting games which is great but don't happen all that often. anyway great video.

[@raymundocastillo9933]

Malacefire It’s fun when that gets to happen. I’m 26 now but when I was in highschool we would all smoke in the alley behind my house and then go to a friends house to play Smash Bros for hours. Same thing with halo 3. We played online but we had 3 controllers and a mic and we would pass that around between 6-8 of us just Tbagging, talking shit and having fun. Last year my neighbors family was out of town for a couple of months so every few days, especially the weekends, we were able to get together and we would just sit around the tv smoking and drinking playing Tekken 7 against each other. We would even bet money and have little tournaments between us. Grown ass men gathered around the tv jumping up and down with excitement talking shit to each other lmao!!! I’ve created great memories around playing video games with other people in the same room. Nothing online compares.

[@Malacefire]

ya it is fun when it happens cracks open some captin morgan privat stock, slap on anything from the arcade releases of old fighters to new shit like you said tekken 7 sf5 mkx, if it ends up going into late night somehow it always brakes out into stupid shit like guitar heros/ rock bands just anything strange that more then one person can do with odd prefreals lol ....... that came out really wrong ahahaha. but sadly those times are getting less and less, now most ppl's idea of fun is to watch tv play games alone and drink or smoke up to forget ^^; stuff that should all be done with friends. and i'm sure theirs lots of you out there who still do get together and good on you for doing it. i think a big reason i got into "the game chasers" is because they still basically live that life having fun hanging out, and still manage to be sensible enough to make sure there life priority's are in check. I like they drag all kinds of other people from other channels into all this and there family as well lol...... anyway i think i got cought up in the moment and rambled on like a blathering idiot have fun all.

[@raymundocastillo9933]

Malacefire Aah dude I forgot about guitar hero we used to play it in highschool too. I still remember looking at the wall after being done playing and the wall looked like it was moving in a waving motion from looking at the scrolling screen for so long, I felt like I was hallucinating lol. Yeah it’s all about balance. Some of us are single, married, have kids, etc. but we all take care of our responsibilities first before we enjoy whatever vices we may have in life. I actually just found this channel and have been enjoying it. This and I’ve been binging on beatemups channel which made me want a switch. I have a ps4 and xbox1 that I hadn’t played in forever but just bought the nintendo switch and it’s slowly getting me back into gaming again. Even hooked up the ps4 in my 9 year old sisters room so she can enjoy crash bandicoot. I used to play it for hours with my mom on ps1. Glad to see her enjoying it too. Anyways, cheers to making many more memories playing video games with loved ones.

[@atranfanatic]

I have never been a fan of online gaming. If I am playing games with someone, I want them in the same room with me. Or I will just kick back and play solo on my consoles. lol

[@MasterRoshi8974]

I have to go to this store.

[@acidburn7683]

Never played Pandemonium! do you even game!? ;) Great game.

[@upinsmoke06]

I havent beaten Mario 3 without the cloud either. Always used it in world 8 too. Too hard for me