GEX, the charming green chameleon and star of the video game series of the same name, is a true icon of 90s gaming culture. With his cheeky mouth and love of TV shows, GEX has played his way into the hearts of gamers and is as memorable as the TV shows he loves so much. And his likeness immortalized on a unique console gives it real collector’s value. GEX, created at a time when 3D platformers were taking over the gaming world, brought a unique twist to the genre. Instead of the usual straightforward levels and simple background stories, GEX offered a world full of pop culture references and humor that was somewhere between ironic and completely absurd. Each level was an adventure in itself, inspired by different television genres and filled with witty one-liners delivered by GEX in his unmistakable voice.
What made GEX so special was his ability to adapt to different environments. In a world where television and reality merge, GEX used his chameleon-like abilities to navigate crazy television landscapes, from cartoon worlds to horror settings. This approach made each game in the series a surprising and entertaining experience, where you never quite knew what was coming next. In retrospect, GEX stands as a symbol of an era when video games started to not take themselves too seriously and found fun in their own absurdity. GEX may not have achieved the same notoriety as some of his fellow platformers, but his uniqueness and charm make him an unforgettable character in the history of video games.
The “TV Spiel”, one of the few TV game consoles produced in the GDR, is a fascinating piece of technological history. At a time when access to Western games consoles was extremely limited, the “TV Spiel” offered (not only) East German children and young people a rare insight into the world of electronic entertainment. This console, which was produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was a simple but revolutionary invention. The design was typical of the time: functional, robust and no frills. This console offered basic games reminiscent of the early Atari classics, such as Pong variants and simple shooting games. These were controlled with simple rotary knobs or buttons, which made the gameplay very direct and easy to understand.
What made them special was not necessarily their technological sophistication, but rather their significance as a cultural phenomenon. In the GDR, where Western products were often hard to come by and expensive, the “TV game” represented a form of technological progress and leisure activity that was otherwise largely unattainable. It was a symbol of the pursuit of modernity and at the same time offered a welcome distraction from everyday life. The games themselves, although technically simple, were a source of great enjoyment and fascination for many people. They offered one of the first opportunities to experience interactive digital entertainment in the comfort of your own home. The whole thing was therefore not just a games console, but a piece of living history that awakened curiosity and enthusiasm for technology in a generation. And almost everyone had a television.
The Playstation 1 and the typical Nokia tube TV – a duo that defined the glorious 90s, when “high-tech” still meant that you could play a game with more than three colors and “flat” was just a description for lemonade. The Playstation 1, affectionately known as the PS1, was the console that transformed gaming from a childish pastime into a serious leisure activity for all ages. With its distinctive gray design and magical “Brrrrrrmmmmm” sound when switched on, it captured the hearts of gamers worldwide. It brought us classics like “Final Fantasy”, “Crash Bandicoot” and “Metal Gear Solid”. These were all games that taught us that it was okay to sit in the dark and stare at a screen for hours on end.
And then there was the Nokia tube TV. With its deep “boom” when switched on and picture quality that was somewhere between “impressionist painting” and “slightly blurry”, it was the perfect partner for the PS1. This TV was so heavy, even in its small format, that once placed, the idea of moving it was tantamount to a complete living room makeover. The combination of PS1 and Nokia tube TV was like traveling back in time to an era when graphics weren’t everything and gameplay was king. You learned patience here. And not just because the games were sometimes brutally difficult, but also because you had to wait for minutes until the TV finally warmed up and the picture appeared. Deceleration, in other words.
The PlayStation 2, or as I like to call it, the “Unbreakable”, the console that simply refuses to retire. Released in 2000, a time when Y2K was still fresh in the memory, the PS2 showed the world back then what it really meant to be a true long-runner. With a library of games so vast that you’ll probably still be discovering games when the next ice age hits, the PS2 offered something for everyone. Whether you wanted to sink into epic role-playing games, prove yourself in nerve-wracking shooters or race down virtual tracks in racing games: The PS2 had it all. And the best thing about it? The graphics were just good enough to stimulate the imagination, but not so realistic that you had to worry about the distinction between game and reality.
But the true irony of the PS2 lies in its longevity. Not only was this console relevant in the early 2000s, no, it even outlived the announcement and release of its successors. The PS2 was like the older brother who just won’t move out and instead decides to live in the basement forever. After all, the PS2 wasn’t just a games console, it was also a DVD player. That was revolutionary at the time – a console that could also play movies! It was like killing two birds with one stone, although at the time you weren’t sure whether you had bought a console or a DVD player.
But it can also be older! Super Nintendo, the legendary games console of the early 90s that turned an entire generation into pixel-loving gamers. With its revolutionary 16-bit graphics that made us all believe we had actually arrived in the future, the SNES was more than just a games console – it was a portal to other worlds, all of which looked suspiciously angular. Super Nintendo gave us classic games that are now so iconic that they are still imitated today. The endless hours of Super Mario World are unforgettable, where you learned that the solution to almost any problem is simply to jump on it. Or The Legend of Zeld : A Link to the Past (we just had), a game that taught us the importance of searching for hearts and coins by smashing pots and cutting grass – a skill that, surprisingly, isn’t all that useful in real life.
And who could forget the revolutionary Mode 7 graphics that made us feel like we were actually experiencing speed in racing games like F-Zero and Super Mario Kart, although looking back it looked more like the track was spinning around us as we stood stoically in the middle. The SNES controllers were another milestone back then. With more buttons than their predecessor, they offered incredible complexity in control, which of course meant you had to operate them with the elegance of an octopus. The directional pad and the colorful buttons became every gamer’s best friend – at least until they inevitably became enemies in the heat of battle. It was also the beginning of a wonderful friendship between gamers and the concept of “blowing into the game modules” to get them running in the first place. An absolutely scientifically sound method that worked 100% of the time (or not).
- 1 - Record-breaking CV
- 2 - Office, office and even more incoming things
- 3 - Cellar paradise and monitor heaven
- 4 - A different kind of home theater
- 5 - When and where the man becomes a basement dweller
- 6 - The great collecting - When the floor becomes a shelf
- 7 - René On Tour - Nostalgia on wheels
- 8 - All hands on deck: the little marvels
- 9 - Collecting mania and real rarities
- 10 - We play a round...
- 11 - We play another round...
- 12 - Played out, conclusion and a cool event idea
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