PRESS PLAY ON TAPE ...CLICK!
I was born in 1972, with a video game controller in my hand.
1 9 7 2 . . . The year of the first home video game console... the year of baby VGO. I will continuously update this page to include anything, and everything, from my personal journey with video gaming.
I've been playing video games since 1978 (age 5), and buying/collecting video games since 1982 (age 9), with the ColecoVision. More to come. Please check back often, and tell your friends!
 

Our very first game console was the WONDER WIZARD SHARP SHOOTER.
It was an XMAS gift for my brother Greg, but it was more of a family gift which we all enjoyed playing. The (very realistic looking) gun was a bit strange. It would often register no matter where it was pointed.
I recall my mom having fun with that, pretending she was pulling off trick shots off of the living room mirror!
Also received that year was DIGITAL DERBY by TOMY. That crashing sound effect was horrible and will forever be burned into my memory.


1978

Here's an old drawing of Pac-Man, that I made in 4th grade. I was 9 years old.
I actually got in trouble for drawing this in class! The teacher actually made me write "I will not draw pictures of video games in class" 50 times! I obviously learned nothing from that.
(see my SMB pic from 7th grade) ;)


1981

This is an old photo, from 1983 (As it says above!). From left to right, we have ME (Matt), Anthony G. (our friend), and my older brother (Greg). You can also see the Family Truckster in the background. Classic!
My parents bought us these awesome video game tshirts. I'm wearing the PAC-MAN shirt, and Greg is wearing what looks like an ATARIAN shirt. If anyone knows what this is, send me an email.
I posted this on social media a couple years ago, and everyone was saying it looked like it was out of STRANGER THINGS... So I added the title to it. This will probably make no sense when people forget what that show was. It may not make any sense now.

1983

Here we have a PAC-MAN BIRTHDAY PARTY, thrown by my mom. She didn't do what a lot of people do and cut out the first slice to make PAC-MAN's mouth.. More cake for me! :)
My friend's and I all had some awesome "goodie bags" waiting for us. They included some most excellent PAC items, such as pencils, balloons, stickers (from Topps), and more.
Many of my birthday gifts were also Pac-related: Pac-Man bed sheets, garbage can, bulletin (cork) board, a tshirt, and a Pac-Man Fever vinyl record. Best birthday ever!

1983

XMAS 1983. We almost always asked for video game related items for XMAS, and my parents never let us down. This year I received the very fun Nintendo POPEYE GAME & WATCH TABLE TOP.
My dad is seen here next to it. He wasn't much into games, but he helped me assemble the Legoland Beta-1 Command Base (6970). We took some liberties from the directions, but isn't that what LEGO's were about?
Here is a recent photo of the POPEYE Table Top (recent as of this posting anyway). Still in great shape, working, and of course, still a blast to play! **ALSO! I just realized that if you L@@K very closely you can see a box for the ColecoVision Expansion Module #1 (Atari VCS Adapter).


1983

Showing off my homemade ColecoVision and Commodore Vic-20 dust covers. Not perfect, but they helped keep the dust out. This photo was taken during my father's 50th birthday (see party hat) in October 1984.
This was well into the "Video Game Crash" years (in the USA) so there wasn't a lot of new games coming out for these systems, but I found some great deals on older games.
Some 2600 and ColecoVision games selling for as little as $.25 each! As well as a brand new Vectrex system at Toys R Us for only $49.99, and Vec games for $5 each!
It wouldn't be long before I would meet R.O.B. and Nintendo would dominate my TV.

1984

Video Games Computer Games for Christmas was always an exciting thing to see as a kid! (December 25th,1984)
Peering beyond the Planters Cocktail Peanuts, you will see two Commodore VIC-20 games.  
Robot Panic, and one of my Vic-20 favorites, and blatant Namco Rally X clone, Radar Rat Race. Unfortunately I no longer own Robot Panic (as of this writing, but I do own RRR. Check out the Vic-20 page on VGO for more photos and box scans.

Here is an old drawing that I made while in school (7th grade), back from January 1986. I drew it from memory, saved to my memory, from my many hours of staring are the awesome
Nintendo 'THE GAME PLAN NES poster, which was packed in with the NES Deluxe Set.. I'm not sure what I was thinking when drawing the Underworld area.. Perhaps, it was  part Spelunker, and part Ghosts N Goblins. Who knows?!
I would finally get my copy of Super Mario Bros. (NES), the next month, from Kay-Bee Toys, in upstate NY. I was on a waiting list, and as soon as the store manager called me, I had my father race my butt over there!
On 4/1/2022 I took the original art and made a DX - colorized version of it. Aside from adding the Piranha Plant. I tried to stick to the original lines. Enjoy! I'm sure you will! :).
BEFORE (1986) AFTER - DX (2022) ANIMATED GIF *Click for larger version!*


1986

This was a comics panel that I made during a one hour 7th Grade Art Class. in 1986.
We were told that it should have an original title, so instead of just ripping the GHOSTS 'N GOBLINS Capcom game title I just dropped the H, and changed 'N to an &. Behold... GOSTS & GOBLINS™: with Bones
I first believed this was a horrible typo on my art, but apparently this isn't so, as I have it spelled as GHOST in the next panel. The arcade scene has the following arcade cabinets, from left to right: Asteroids, Golden Axe, Pac-Man, Sega's Turbo,
some pinball table, VS. Super Mario Bros.. There is also a hockey game, and another unknown arcade cabinet. I probably would have spent more time on this section, but we only had an hour to finish the entire project. It's not great, but
I somehow scored a 95 (out of 100) on it. Go me! :)


1986

The first picture below is my XMAS list from 1986! I'm not sure if my parents thought I was weird for providing catalog page numbers and prices for everything, but however
I certainly  recall them being angry that I BURNED holes through the page, along with singing the edges of this XMAS "Treasure Map"!
Onto the second page....I present to you, a 2023 XMAS list remake. I haven't burned the page just yet. Please stay tuned for the fire. :P
Here's an "aftermath" XMAS photo. I had a nice Christmas that year. Receiving the:  Sony SPORTS Walkman, TYCO Turbo Hopper R/C Car, Rechargeable "AA" Batteries, Perfect-A-Lite Aquarium hood,
Blank Sony VHS Tapes, Four NES games (Ice Climber, Ninja Kid, Pinball, Donkey Kong 3). As well as a few things I didn't ask for, such as CCM Ice Hockley skates, a clock radio, and a few other things I'm sure.
 My awesome parents spoiled us as usual!


1986

The photo on the left was the start of my video game collection. If you look closely you'll see not only NES Black Box games w/ Nintendo sticker seals,
but also a boxed Vectrex + games, Nintendo Game & Watch Popeye, Nintendo (non Deluxe) pre-release NY NES Set, Atari 2600, Colecovision, and Vic-20 + games as well.
The 2nd photo shows my original GAMING SETUP. A local video store here in New York used to give away those Nintendo Game Plan posters (see 2 here), as well as some mini movie posters such as RAMBO First Blood Part II.
The 3rd photo was taken on my father's birthday, October 5th, 1987. It just happened to be the same day that I received ISSUE #3 of the NINTENDO FUN CLUB NEWS newsletter. One of my favorite photos. My dog Bo also makes an appearance. 


1987

The Legend of Zelda, for the Nintendo Entertainment System, is a very special game for me, and I have many fond memories of playing it.
I first read about it in late June 1987, while reading the Nintendo FUN CLUB NEWS #2.
I bugged the manager of Kay-Bee Toys so much, calling each day that he finally put me on a call list and told me he'd call me when it came in stock, which luckily he did!
I can still recall seeing the row of boxes above the register at Kay-Bee Toys. That was in August of 1987.
The gold cartridge showing through the top corner of the box let you know right away that you were in for something very special!

I drew these Level 7, 8, and 9 dungeon maps while playing in 1987.

1987

Here is a notepad with the NES games I owned in 1987. JANUARY 8th, 1987
I apparently had a rare game known as "GOSTS & GOBLINS"...Lucky!
I believe I had them in order of: First Party Nintendo, Favorites, Third Party Games, and Accessories...maybe?


1987

Here are some screens from a home video. My dad drove me to Toys R Us so I could pick up the "HOT NEW GAME" The
Adventures of Bayou Billy by Konami, for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I am heard describing it to my dad as "Double Dragon meets Rad Racer".
It gets a lot of crap for being a tough game, but as a kid with only a handful of games and a lot of time, I eventually beat it.
I also enjoyed using the Zapper light gun with it since there were very few games that supported that.

1989

Here is my Sega Genesis line-up + some Super Hang-On, Tommy Lasorda Baseball,
and World Championship Soccer gaming way back from November 1989!



1989

1990

1990

NES High Score Sheet from my brother Greg, and I, from 1991
My brother Greg, and I, used to play a lot of NES games together. One day we decided to keep track of our scores, in an all out NES game war! This is our story...
or at least a few scores/stages, jotted down on an old sheet of paper.
Unfortunately, the original sheet of games, before we started this new one, was lost to time, but this is better than nothing. Lucky you!. **The front of the page was a Tips & Tricks sheet, given away as a bonus to Multicart customers.

1991

The "Original NEO-GEO BIGGER, BADDER, BETTER T-Shirt"" from the SNK Neo-Geo catalog/flyer insert in EGM Magazine 1991 (A slightly different 1992 flyer ad is shown)
It seemed like an awesome deal, and the right thing to do to show off my love of my SNK console.
Unfortunately, the original sheet of games, before we started this new one, was lost to time, but this is better than nothing. Lucky you!. **The front of the page was a Tips & Tricks sheet, given away as a bonus to Multicart customers.

1991

Here is a complete log of SNES games, which I had rented, from December 19th, 1991 to August 1993.
I'm not sure why I kept track of them, but I suppose so it was so I didn't accidentally rent them more than once? Nobody in their right mind needs to rent R.P.M. Racing, more than once!
I was able to rent quite a few of these for only $1 each, from our local mom & pop rental store, in Saratoga, NY. They would sell you a 10 for $10 coupon book. Not a bad deal!

1991

Compact Disc (CD) Music collection, in our living room. My favorite room in our old house. This CD collection belonged to my brother and I. This is around 400 music Compact Discs, and 23 Philips CD-i titles.
How did we amass so many CD's? Skip down a bit for the lowdown! ;)
I first got into listening to CD's in 1986 when I purchased a Sony DISCMAN. I believe it was $299.99 MSRP, purchased from Service Merchandise. The manager was really cool and he gave me 10 vouchers for..
"10 FREE CDs with the purchase of any Sony portable DISCMAN player. With no additional fees, or purchases required". This was a pretty amazing thing! It was 100 free CDs, roughly $1600 worth of music.. for FREE! :)
 We were already familiar with the Columbia House CD Club, where you could "8 Compact Discs for the Price of 1 With nothing more to buy ever!", The one disc you had to buy was usually $16.99 + $4.99 S&H.
So, you were getting 9 CDs for $2.44 each. This was only a deal if you were able to buy the music you REALLY liked. So, we did this... 1. We called Columbia House's 1-800#, and we requested a complete CD music catalog of all of their listings.
This included the ever important 5 digit catalog numbers for their THOUSANDS of music CDs! 2. As soon as you've fulfilled your club duties, which in this case was to Buy one CD. So the very first invoice to buy one CD, we'd pick one that we liked (from the huge catalog ;) enclose a check, and
then, and this is important!, write on the card, PLEASE CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP, AS I'VE FULFILLED MY CLUB PURCHASE, THANK YOU, MATT". And that was that. If you DON'T do that step, get ready to receive unwanted discs in the mail until you cancel. This is how they make their big money!
A friend of mine used to get in over his head. I remember he had a pile of CDs that they sent him, and he owed them something like $100+.. They would charge you $16.99 - $18.99 + $4.99 for each of those discs! Not sending them back within a short period of time,
meant that you wished to keep them.. Oops! 3. We continued joining again, and getting out, (for those $2.44 CD deals) as much as we liked, and we collected quite a lot of CDs this way.
 Soon after, in 1986, we got our first component CD player, an Onkyo model. It had a busted CD tray, which I believe was literally caused by a "fall off the back of a truck!". He bought it for a song.
Since the CD tray (and gears) were all damaged, my other brother, Greg, and I, decided to remove the metal housing, and we fitted some cardboard, wrapped in duct tape (fancy!), with a hinged flap on top, in which to play a disc.
Essentially turning it into a top loader. This worked out well. Also, upon opening the player, we found a copy of Paul Simon's Graceland.
**This photo was developed as a Kodak Photo-CD image, on a disc. As you can see the quality is actually very nice for 1992.

Back again in the living room. The very same room where my brothers and I first started playing video games, going all the way back to 1977's PONG clone!.
Here is my video game system setup from 1993.
A GRAIL and a FAIL... I purchased both the SNK Neo-Geo Gold System, as well as the Philips CD-i in December 1990.
The SNES games have been figured out and reprinted in legible text next to the original titles. This took some time to figure out. A waste of time?... Of course!
The brave dog you see posing here is none other than the world famous Bo! Be sure to check around this webpage for more info and photos of him. He was an awesome pup! I had Bo from age 13 to age 29!
**This photo was developed as a Kodak Photo-CD image, on a disc, to be played on compatible systems, such as the Philips CD-i. Original photo, without enhancements (click here)


1993

My Video Game Magazine Collection as of March 3rd, 1993.
This is also from an old Photo-CD image from 03/03/1993 (according to the PCD date).
The oldest magazine here is a March 1983 issue of Electronic Games magazine. This was the very first all video game magazine that my brother and I owned.
We bought it from a Babbage's store in Texas while visiting from relatives. The newest magazines in this photo  would be: EGM #44 (March 1993), DHGF Vol 1 / Iss 4 (April 1993), and Nintendo Power #46 (March 1993).


1993

Here is my PC setup from 1991-1994 :)
It's a IBM clone PC tower, with a 486 DX2 66MHz, upgraded to 16MB of RAM (cost me $600 at the time, but I needed it for CorelDraw!).
The sound card is a Sound Blaster AWE32. The modem is a 56K Sportster, which I would upgrade in 1996 to Road Runner Broadband Internet (beta) + PCI NIC.

1994

This was my basement video game setup from about 1994 - 2002. I had roughly 22 video game consoles connected to a single 35" CRT. Many of them were connected via Svideo.
The following photo was sourced from my old Personal Webpage, dated 1998. It's entitled "Matt's Budget Audio Videophile Webpage".
It shows some of the deals I had found, both on the net, and at a local store, called Hippos.
I had spent quite a bit of time looking for deals for A/V equipment, in which to populate my video game consoles with. I knew I needed a large CRT, for those 4 player split screen games!
Svideo was also a must. I found a great deal with the JVC CRT, which I really loved. It made games, such as Mario Kart 64, and GoldenEye, such a blast to play with my good friends. It was also perfect for some Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast too.

1998

My gaming setup from 2000 - 2001
18 Systems connected to a single 35" JVC CRT, model (AV-35750), connected through two RCA VH920 powered S-video switchers
Here are the plans of the "VGO Rack Setup", made during some downtime, while working at Babbage's. A video of this setup on YouTube

2000 - 2001

2000 - 2001

 

My living room console gaming setup from 2002. The second picture also includes labels for back-up methods & devices.
18 Systems, via two 6x port RCA VH920 powered S-video switchers and connected to my JVC 35" CRT, model (AV-35750).
Pretty much the same setup from above, but moved into a new house, out from the basement.
Here's a video... 18 systems connected to one TV


2002

My (Living Room) console gaming setup from 2008.
We had recently moved into a new apartment, and this is the start of reassembling my original setup, which I had to dissemble in September of 2004.
I was slowly bringing all of my collection, from a large house, with full basement, to a much smaller apartment, with no suitable basement. So this was certainly a challenge to
get everything to fit. As of 2022 I still have not set up my N64... I know... I know..


2008

I've finally taken the step to put my cardboard boxed games into clear box protectors.
It's a pricey decision, but considering the value some of these boxed, CIB, and factory sealed games, are going for, I think it's wise to invest into them.
I've started with my GB/GBC/GBA boxes. I think they look a bit nicer than my previous method, of putting them into 5" CD jewel case cellophane baggies. Some day I'll add pictures of the complete collections in these.

2021

=-= Here are some various magazine interviews and other related stuff =-=

 

Here's a letter of an Easter egg/trick that I submitted to Video Games & Computer Entertainment Magazine in January 1990. To my surprise they actually printed it in their April 1990 issue! The trick allows you to play a single screen version of Fantasy Zone within Arnold Palmer's Tournament Golf for the Sega Genesis. I was pretty amazed to see this pop up in the game, and even more surprised to see it show up in the magazine. They also sent me a check for $20 for sending the trick in and having it published in their magazine.
Letter from January 1990	Printed in VG&CE - April 1990 Issue

Video Game Collector Issue #9
(Collector Spotlight Interview)


Spring 2007 Version with better resolution photos

Games TM "THE GBA COLLECTOR" Interview


October 2018

Game On (Super Mario Odyssey) "Meet the Superfan" article.
They gave me Dragon Ball Z hair. :P


April 2018

Retro Gamer Magazine (#199) Collector Corner


October 2019

Photo of my 11th Birthday "Pac-Man Party", thrown by my mother, (Marla Henzel), printed in the Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon book (2022)


January 2022

My Homemade Legend of Zelda Fleece Blanket was printed in the new Gamemaster: Classified sbook, by Matthew Taranto and Howard Phillips. (2023).
Here is a copy of the email I sent to him on April 2022:
 

Apr 30, 2022, at 6:29 PM, Matt Henzel <@gmail.com> Hey Matthew, I'm not sure if this is something that you could use in your book, but if, so I'd love to see it in there. I'm a KS backer, and can't wait to see how it turns out. Back when Nintendo Power was about to wrap up, I made a 50x60" fleece blanket from an edited scan that I had made of the Zelda issue (Fall 1987 Nintendo Fun Club News). It was one of my favorite video game magazines as a kid. I'm a lifelong fan of both FCN and NP (and Howard is awesome too of course). I've been subbed since issue #1 of FCN, and had been subscribed until Oct 2016, which as you know, is a few years after they stopped production, (Future actually sent me a refund check for the remaining issues, which was nice of them). Anyway, I sent these photos to Nintendo Power, and I was told that they would have printed them if they had the time, but they already had the final issue wrapped up by then. So here are the photos. I know it's not as impressive as most other submissions, I'm sure. The hardest part was creating Link's Sword handle, and removing some text, as I'm not an artist! It's far from perfect, but the blanket texture helps hide it. Thanks! Matt

April 26th, 2023

 

Extra Photos
Custom made 50" x 60" Fleece Blanket. Warm fuzzy memories + warm fuzzy blanket.. A great combination! 2010		1-2-3-4 Before&After Final Image Comparison It's Dangerous!

=-= Here are some various magazine interviews and other related stuff =-=
 

HIGHSCORE: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games - by Rusel DeMaria More photos and info here..
(I submitted 1,000+ video game box, flyers, magazine covers, Hundreds of game screenshots, game info, suggestions, and photos of game systems to Rusel)



2001-2002

Credit from 'The Video Game Revolution' 
DVD Video ~/~ Credits on PBS Webpage


2004

Credit from Rise of Nintendo from PlayValue/OnNetworks
(Multiple episodes)


2009

German video game magazine CHIP.
(I submitted photos of the Dr. Boy + information for their article)


March 2010

Credit from Double Fine's Massive Knowledge (Multiple episodes)


June  2015

Credit from Retroware's The Video Game Years (Multiple episodes)


June  2015

Credit from the excellent YouTube channel
Classic Gaming Quarterly
 

June 6th, 2017

SNES Omnibus Volume 1 A-M - Brett Weiss Copies available for purchase here!
(I sent various SNES box cover scans, + submitted Insider Insight for Contra III: The Alien Wars)


July 2018

NES Omnibus Volume 2 M-Z - Brett Weiss Copies available for purchase here!
(I sent various box, and Nintendo Power cover scans, + submitted Insider Insight for Track & Field)


January 2022

Click for larger resolution images