When I was around 7-8 years old I’d get up early some Saturday mornings and do some simple chores around the house. Things like vacuum the living room and clean my room. Then I’d ask my parents for some money to go rent a Sega Master System and a couple of games. The console was around 5€ and the games 2€ each.

There was a gas station around a kilometer from our house that rented out games. So I’d walk there on my own, ask for a console, pick a couple of games, some candy, give them my personal details and hand over the money. Then carry the stuff back home.

I rented and played a bunch of different games like Psycho Fox, Ghost House, World Games and Alex Kidd. But the games I really fell in love with were games like Wonder Boy III, Miracle Warriors, Lord of the Sword, Spellcaster and Phantasy Star.

My older brother and me would take turns playing. For RPG’s I’d go to bed early and get up early while he’d stay up late. So we would essentially play in shifts. The console and games needed to be returned at 18:00 on Sunday, so we’d try to get the most out of it.

My brother fell out of gaming and doesn’t remember half of the games we played. But I still treasure those weekends and remember all the Master System games from my childhood.

For digital indie games sold on the e-shop it often tends to be the other way around. During sales the price is knocked down more on Switch than on Playstation and Xbox.