1 of 15 Grandstand TV Console
The day my dad walked in the door with this was the day my gaming life began. I can still remember the "Bada-la-da-da-da" blare of the Gridiron game. It was just umpteen versions of Pong, yet we still played them all to death.

2 of 15 Galaxian (Arcade)
Not only the first really exciting arcade game, but also the first in which I could last any length of time on one coin. Mostly responsible for getting me addicted to games, due to the fact I could play it while my mam was waiting for our fish and chips.

3 of 15 Atari VCS2600
This was a revelation. Playing bright, colourful videogames at home was such a novelty that we'd have the whole family sitting around our heavy-sixer. It also taught me the value of money at an early age. Having to save forty quid just to buy a new game instilled an early discipline, and no matter what I bought, after all that wait it always seemed worth it.

4 of 15 Activision Tennis (VCS)
Visiting faraway relatives is a bit weird for any ten-year-old kid, even if you've got cousins your own age. My cousin also had an Atari, and any awkwardness was swept away by epic rallies in Activision Tennis. The cries changed from "I don't want to go" to "When are we going back?"

5 of 15 Guttang Gottong
I remember Christmas shopping in Newcastle with my grandmother. She dragged me into Toms, and I was bored rigid until I spotted this. She bought me it for Christmas, despite it being slightly more expensive than my usual present. I loved it and played it loads. It could be anywhere in my parents' house now, but is more probably lost. My grandmother passed away quite recently, and I was hit with a terrible urge to play this again. One day, I will.

6 of 15 Hyper Sports (Arcade)
Hyper Sports was a taxi office favourite, and was the first step towards getting past that awkward early-teen shyness. If you wanted to play, you had to take on someone else, usually a stranger. So, I had to develop a new set of social skills, all to play Hyper Sports. I still remember this kid having an amazing technique, which enabled him to get ten hits on the bonus parrot on the Skeet Shooting stage. Happy memories.

7 of 15 Whitley Bay
A typical seaside town, and in the eighties, home of what was surely one of the finest collections of arcades in the country. They had everything. Summer trips were frequent, long, and enjoyed with relish. The games may be more or less all gone now, but Whitley Bay will always hold a special place in the gaming corner of my heart.

8 of 15 Commodore C64
This was the single most important element in the development of my gaming life. It brought me more happiness than any other material possession I've ever owned. It also brought me new friendships, and was responsible for my declining grades at school. In my life, the Commodore 64 has a lot to answer for, of which I regret nothing.

9 of 15 Leaderboard
I hadn't played games with my dad for ages, and then Leaderboard came along. We spent hours of happy times in front of the telly, hooking and slicing all over the place. Every time we watched golf after that, if someone mis-hit his shot, my dad would look at me and say "He got his snap wrong there" and we'd have a good laugh.

10 of 15 Silkworm (Amiga)
I never owned an Amiga. My mate Reedy did. He wasn't always my mate, but our shared interest in computer games soon altered that. Although we played plenty of other games, the time spent co-operatively playing Silkworm was most influential in ensuring he went from being the lad I sat next to in German to my best friend.

11 of 15 FIFA Football
I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw an advert for this. At last, I thought a real football videogame, one that represented the game properly. It was also the first game I could really play with my youngest brother, and despite the pain of several last-minute 1-0 defeats, it was most instrumental in forming a real bond with him.

12 of 15 Sega Saturn
Ahh, my black beauty. This is the only console I've ever truly loved. It's also the only console where I could be arsed to finish all the games I bought for it. I was stunned by Tomb Raider, unnerved by Alien Trilogy, exhilarated by Sega Rally and overwhelmed by NiGHTS. The Sega Saturn was the first games system to really bring home to me the full emotional impact of videogames.

13 of 15 MAME (PC)
When I first discovered MAME, it just blew me away. It also came at a time when I was a new father, looking after a baby on my own as my wife worked nights. It turns out that a late-night session of Kung Fu Master is perfect for easing new-dad stress.

14 of 15 Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2
How do you know your wife loves you? When she buys you a game for Valentine's Day. My wife bought me this in February 2003 because she knew I loved it, and I still play it now. Talk about a defining moment in a relationship! Cheers, pet.

15 of 15 Bubble Bobble (MAME)
This brings us back to MAME. Bubble Bobble was never one of my favourite games, but it's now very special to me. It was the first videogame I played co-operatively with my son. For that reason, I'll always recall it fondly.