Later the next year my mother bought her own console. That's right, not for me or my brother, although we played Mario Brothers.

Weeks went by and little by little a pile of scraps of paper built up around the TV. Scrawled on them were numbers and letters....N?WO dVue08. I didn't quite understand the connection at the time or what this might mean.

Everyday she sent us off to school and preschool, worked a full day, came home and took care of us. Loved us and did everything in her ability to raise us right. But after we were in bed...She would play Metroid. When she would let us stay up on weekends we would watch her. Jumping here, shooting brains...It was all so colorful and exciting. Not only did she play it, but she beat it. The only video game I think she has ever beaten.

To this day I have never beaten the Original Metroid game. I think part of me wants to keep it that way. The memory has this special place inside. She didn't get a babysitter and go out with friends, get bitter, or complain that she had to raise two young boys on her own. She found some comfort and enjoyment in video games. I'm proud of my mom for beating Metroid and thankful that for a short while video games were something that we could use to help hold us together.

MasterSauce

Majorasblaze

It's nice to see so many nice stories being told about people's moms. My son let me sleep in and is letting me use the TV for Lost Odyssey instead of me watching him play GTA IV (which I'm really enjoying btw).

Aside from having a bunch of educational games on the Odyssey2 back in the late 70's or early 80's, I actually didn't start playing video games until I was pregnant with my son. (My ex-husband gave me a SNES and Super Mario World since I was bored at home.) This was 15 years ago. I'm 34 now and have every console and 4 computers. I am totally obsessed with games. I think I'm making up for the fact that I never played them as a kid. I go to midnight launches and stuff, too. My son loves it. It's not embarrassing to hang out with me, you know? ;-) Makes me feel good.

My mom is 61. She never actively goes seeking games or anything, but whenever I give her one, she LOVES it. I bought her a GBA several years ago and she played the hell out of it until it got stolen. She plays with the Wii now and I think I'll get her a DS Lite for Christmas.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all the other moms out there! :-)

hatsumi

Parsifal

homeskillet81

My fondest moments in gaming with mom is watching how amused she was with Guile and his sonic booms, and then proceeding to rip into my brother with E. Honda. She liked the fighters with easy left right moves.

There's the Rampage sessions, balloon fights, even that mario game with the POW button that I momentarily forget the name of. My mom can also beat B mode of Tetris on the 9th level just to see the little people dance and the rocket fly.

Ah mom.. when I get the money, you're totally getting a Wii or at least a DS...

MelodyKitn

It's nice to make mom's happy, they complain less about 'expensive game equipment'.

Kawaii-e

The only game my mom played was Ms. Pac Man. Unfortunately for mom, she has to work today(I guess a nurse's job is never done). We ate out yesterday, to make up for it.

KM91

Communist_Gamer

My mom bought me my Atari 2600, as well as my NES with light gun and R.O.B., as well as my SNES. But she NEVER played a single game, ...ever.

Now, after about 24 years since she had bought me my first video game console, she finally picks up her very first controller to play: none other than Wii Bowling! I was totally flabergasted...! Of all the games that have come and gone through the last 24 years, ...Wii Bowling? wow...

onomeister

She also convinced my Dad to buy a 386mhz IBM (!!!) so that she could play Prince of Persia. That's the original, 2D one, kids.

She's not so much into newer games - she did watch me play the ENTIRETY of Windwaker. She was so involved that when I died fighting Ganon the first time she had to have a little break, she was so upset.

I know you're definately not reading this, Mum, but happy mother's day. You rock.

yummygrubs

Chuco

-Soul-

Sadly, although she went to medical school for umpteen years, she still seems to have the electronics IQ of a member of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe. I recently tried to show her what World of Warcraft was all about, and she asked me, "So, is this a Nintendo?"

Off to brunch with the old dear!

mycroft2000

It was later replaced by Super Mario Brothers on the NES, equally terrible, but so addicted.

Sent the youtube link to Mom just now. She'll be 70 next year.

+ Watch video

Caduceus

Back in the day, my sister and I would get her to play Bomberman 64 multiplayer with us, and I can remember more than one instance of her accidentally throwing a bomb toward a wall, so it'd bounced repeatedly on her head, knocking her out again and again, until eventually exploding, taking her with it - was always good for a hardy laugh. That remains among my fondest memories.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Esplosion

Now I gotta go call Mum

kidko

I'm a mother, reading kotaku and playing video & computer games. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one.. Mind you, I'm not old enough to be any of yours mother- but the fact is that I am one indeed. My son is 3 years old and already a full time gamer. My mother never bought me any games/consol's or showed any interest in my passion for gaming when I grew up, but that's just life. I'm so happy that my son is already so into gaming. I buy him every game he wants and spoils him rotten when it comes to this. We play with him as often as he wishes and he's a pro on his Mario kart DS :D It makes me so proud! Ofc he watches us play our games as well, but that hasn't worked out so good with GTA4... He starts crying every time we steal a car because "that's someone else's and stealing is bad mommy!"

Mizuki

Other than that, she mostly stuck with Tetris. She never really got back into games.

Go moms!

ninjafetus

Bal-Cleric

Demaar

My dad plays spider or something like that.

I remember my dad won a Atari 2600 and like 5 games as a door prize at a supermarket grand opening. Since we already had an Atari, the new one went in the top of the closet and we only got to keep one of the games (Yar's Revenge). I don't remember my mom or dad ever playing a console game past a home Pong-clone we had when I was like four years old or something.

Eltigro

now turn off the pc and your 360 and go cook mom something nice

dgxxx

:s

Oh, wait. Checked the calendar. Mothers day is on the 25 of May in Sweden =D
Phew!

RageW

Zwei Voltage

RageW

I can only remember my Mom playing an old school NES game called Trojan. She tried it with me and my bro. She actually beat me - at the time, I was pissed (and a little brat), but I'm happy she won and hope she remembers it.

I can probably get her to play Wii. I'll try to make it happen.

-Soul-

Cozwic

OldManGaming

dude49

[clicks follow button for Jet Force Gemini reference.]

karasu is my homeboy

Aethyr

Seriously though, my mom surprised me loads of times with gifts. Usually she'd pull the trick of not putting that ONE gift under the tree. The one she knew I wanted to most. I would always fall for it too. The NES. Super Mario Bros 3. That ridiculously huge GI Joe vehicle.

Even today she still manages to trick me. Absolute Watchmen. Who could have see that coming from a mom? Absolutely great.

Quilt

I wouldn't exactly call my mom a gamer, but she LOOOVES arcades and always draws huge crowds when she plays FPS's like Timesplitters there. Not only is she good, but she looks young despite being 42, is a beautiful woman, and gets REALLY into it. Sometimes people follow her around the arcade just to watch her play. XD

She introduced me to gaming, she was a street fighter addict, and that's where I got my love of fighters from.

I luv my mommy.
[img.photobucket.com]
^_^

YUYU

The only other time I got my mother to try a game was multiplayer in Jet Force Gemini. I think I let her kill me. I love my mother that much, I let her beat me. Nobody else ever gets that pleasure in JFG multiplayer.

Phazonmasher

Achievement Unlocked: Get your mother to try this game

Komrade_Kayce

Knight-Zero

stryker1800

As for mother's day, I'll copy and paste what I'd written when Brian wrote about his father picking up GTAIV, since it's relevant, and in case it amuses anyone:

"I've always wanted to play video games with my parents. I've got friends whose parents would at least play like Tetris and stuff with each other (!) or other people whose parents were pretty good at games like Counter Strike.

My brother and I and another pair of brothers we were friends with tried to get our moms to play Thunderstrike on the Sega CD. They were extremely hesitant to take the controls... they felt scared they would crash and stuff. We kept telling them, "it's only a video game! It's not like if you die you REALLY die... just try it!"

So, finally, my mom worked up enough courage to try it. She was playing through the canyon level, banging into the walls and stuff, and then she finally started to get the hang of the directional controls, but altitude was another story. I think she wound up being shot down... can't really remember.

All I do remember is that it was the only time I remember my mother playing a video game. My dad, as far as I know, has never played any.

Oh, well. At least they were good enough to buy my brother that first NES when we were kids. Despite their reluctance to play video games themselves, they started us on what has been a life-long love story with little plastic boxes."

PlayerX

What a basta...loving son!

Shocky

OwensMom

Hyperlite

RebelGood

okenny :)

Eventually she stopped gaming, except for casual PopCap games and Freecell / Spider Solitaire.

...until I brought a DS into the house! Now at 61 y/o my mum's a gamer. Granted, it's still casual gaming, but at least you see she has a passion for it and checks the new titles coming out. ^_^

Northern Cat

My mom was a serious Atari fiend. She played nothing but Pitfall and Space Invaders while she was pregnant with me.

Other than the occasional responding to my rally cry of 'HELP MOM!' with the NES (on Ninja Gaiden II of all things. good luck.), she never really bothered with most video games past that.

joerocks1981

Now go play GTA!

karasu is my homeboy

You have to understand, my mother is unfortunately one of those people who listens to the opinions of pieces of shit like HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED when they manage to squirm onto NPR, and until I set her straight, she believes the bullshit she hears. So getting this woman to play a videogame is nothing short of a monumental achievement for mankind. I should win a Nobel Peace Prize in...I dunno, Chemistry I guess. Nintendo, for enabling this achievement to occur, should also win a lesser, smaller prize too.

Atheist Jew

Malvolio the Magician

InsolenceAndHeresy

Like, for example, some idiot says "FIRST", the response would be, "You're gonna get OWEN'D.

But only if he's the author of the post. Dont want to mess with the banhammer's legacy :(

On topic: I had to wake up extra early today to make breakfast for my mom. I wanted to play GTA that entire time. I feel so guilty about it.

Ichidou

This eventually died off until Dr. Mario came out. Last week she picked up a Wii for Wii Sports...I'm hoping to gift her a copy of Wii Ware Dr. Mario when it comes out.

SixDemonBag

My mom hadn't bought me any consoles, I don't think, ever. Bought my dad did, up until this gen, when he'd make sure I had every one because he didn't want me to feel like I was missing out on anything.

So, that's pretty awesome. But my mom is awesome, too. Doing all that mom stuff that we don't realize, like cooking, etc.

Happy Mothers Day. I wonder if any moms are reading Kotaku. Make yourselves known!

karasu is my homeboy

Banzored.

Owen, thanks very much for reminding me it was mothers day. Maybe I'll finally get my Mom that copy of Grand Theft Auto shes neve... ALWAYS wanted.

Komrade_Kayce

Bicro