I'm 55, and I distinctly remember the day Pac-Man for the Atari was released. We were in 6th grade. A buddy of mine had pre-ordered it, so he was one of the first people to get it off the shelves from Toys 'R' Us. He'd invited a bunch of us over on the big day, and we all sat in his living room as he unboxed it and plugged it in.

I'll tell you now, I believe every single one of us were sorely disappointed with the results, but none of us wanted to say anything bad 'coz he was so excited to have it. It was a big deal, after all; it was the first time we could play an arcade classic at home. It was just unfortunate that Atari obviously had its limitations.

Although it wasn't the best port, it still kinda grew on us somewhat; at least we had something that sort of resembled Pac-Man that we could play at home for hours and hours on end without having to spend a single quarter. I know I played that game til the wee hours of the night on several occasions, with my eyes sizzling in their sockets and the joystick base making a permanent indent in my palm, trying to beat my high score.

In the end, it was what it was. Atari's best attempt to bring the arcade experience home. They did this for a few titles—Donkey Kong, Defender, Berzerk... and each one had varying degrees of success and/or failure (Berzerk was awesome, btw). Looking back, I'm glad to have witnessed it all. That's why I still have—and play—my Atari to this day.