Maybe this is a good time to talk about any memories of getting the NES.  I remember being 8 years old in 1988.  My brothers and I wanted it so badly.  Of course, we asked for it for Christmas, but were told it was too expensive.  Christmas morning came and there was a box from our grandpa.  My dad told us it was a popcorn maker, and not to get too excited.  You could imagine our elation when we ripped the wrapping paper off and discovered it was an NES.  What a joyous morning.  Sadness only returned when we couldn't get through 1-1 because we didn't know how to B-dash.  My dad had to read the instruction manual.  Haha.

So... the original Japanese release of the Famicom in 1983 doesn't count towards the system's age? ???

My NES is 23 years old and still works as good as the Christmas morning i opened it. I cant say that for any other system ive owned and there is something to be said about that.

I remember the very first time I ever saw a Nintendo. I was 5 years old, visiting my cousin of the same age. This wasn't anything new because we always visited each other. I walked through the door and saw her sitting on the floor making some character jump around, grow big and then spit fire. My jaw hit the floor, I was dumbfounded as my five year old brain exploded at the concept. It was far advanced than my Atari 2600- the graphics and sound were so vivid. We played all day long and that day went on to become years because I'm still playing and enjoying the same games that captured my heart- maybe my soul. Sweet sweet anniversary- I almost feel old.

I never had an NES.  Boy, did I want one, though.  I can't think of anything as a kid that I dreamed about getting more.  I remember my church had a Christmas raffle and second prize was an NES.  First prize was some bullshit quilt of some sort.  My Mom entered the raffle and I stressed about whether or not we would win.  Or even worse I was worried that we would win first prize.  Luck has never been on my side so I figured that the ONE time I would ever win first prize it would be this specific raffle when I wanted to win second.  Well we didn't win any of the prizes so it didn't matter.

My Mom was clearly not going to buy us an NES.  She came from a pretty poor upbringing and I think to cope with that her parents really drilled it into her head that anything convenient, easy or enjoyable is somehow bad.  She has mellowed out a lot thankfully but I look back at my childhood as mostly my Mom being a killjoy.  Anyway my brothers and I decided to save our own money to buy an NES which was pretty hard since we had no allowance.  We finally got a SNES in 1994.  That's how long it took.  We were aiming for an NES and ended up going with a SNES, which was already halfway through its life cycle.

When I grew up and got a job I started collecting SNES games but I never got around to getting a used NES due to the reliability issues associated with it.  I don't have the sort of nostaglia for it that most people have.  It's weird how I thought about this all the time as a kid but by the time I could get one it no longer made sense to.  The NES wasn't just hardware, it was like a scene.  Every kid at school had one and they talked about "playing Nintendo".  I got the SNES the same year I started high school and it really didn't mean as much then.  It wasn't just about owning a videogame system it was about having one during my childhood when the thrill was at its highest and when that was what kids were doing.  My Mom never realized she wasn't denying me a Nintendo, she was denying me a big chunk of my childhood and a big chunk of what was special and unique about being a kid at that period of time.

I have a great relationship with my Mom so it isn't like this caused any serious problem.  It's kind of weird that my look back at the NES specifically revolves around me not having one.  But I think that shows how important this system was.  If you were in elementary school between 1985 and 1991 the NES was ingrained into your life whether you had one or you didn't.

It's the 25th anniversary of the NES, not the Famicom.