Cape Town, My City.

My hero.

I think about videogames constantly. As a child in Cape Town, it was not the tennis courts or the soccer fields which called my name, but the incessant beeping of my Famicon [Nintendo] console. From a very young age, my calling was the arcades. I remember my father having to hoist me up so that I could reach the greasy controls of my favourite game. Final Fight, Pac-man, Donkey-Kong and many more, were my teachers. The virtues they extolled on me were no less than “Be the best at everything you do in life”. As I aged, my lust for gaming grew into a typhoon of consoles; a whirlwind of the latest titles flooded my living room floor daily as I swopped between them. Super Mario, Mega-man and Final Fantasy were my friends and I needed no one else.

My obsession has not abated over my 29 years of living. I have had [in order of date] Nintendo, Game boy, a Mega-drive, Playstation one, Game boy colour, Playstation two, Sony PSP, Xbox 360. Many of these consoles drained my poor parents of money but as I entered into manhood I began to purchase them for myself, distancing my collective guilt and further fuelling my lust for the latest and greatest titles. Loves of my life have become ex-loves as I blatantly ignored them over racing cars or space-ships. This may all sound churlish and naive to you, but for millions of men and women around the globe [mostly men] this is a real and exciting world we live in and play in daily. Just this morning, I was wandering around the irradiated landscapes of Washington DC as my girlfriend slept peacefully in bed. It will probably be the most fun I have all day. And when online gaming captures me, there will be no release.