I Grew Up on Atari. Now I'm Reliving My Childhood on the Gamestation Go

On Christmas Day, 1982, I unwrapped my very first video game console, an Atari 2600. Although it was released in 1977, it was new to me, and I'm pretty sure the reason my parents got it for me was because of a 2600 game released around that time: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. My parents knew I was obsessed with the movie, a transformative film that I almost missed because I was so scared to watch it.

Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

I was ecstatic. At 7 years old, with my gigantic brown glasses atop my nose and wearing a red ...