OU residence halls go retro with Nintendos

by Jessica Bartlett
Staff Writer

Most days after class, Ohio University freshman Melissa Roth can find her friends gathered around her television screen during an intense game of "Super Mario Bros." on her roommate's original Nintendo.

Roth and her roommate, OU freshman Angela Drook, are just two of many OU students living in residence halls across campus with an original Nintendo system.

"Our whole floor loves it," said Shively Hall resident Roth.

"They go in our room and play when we're not there."

Roth said she considers herself a die-hard Nintendo fan. She said she always played as a kid and never gave it up. She missed dinner many nights growing up and still does because she cannot stop playing.

OU sophomore Kyle Forstrom, also a Shively resident, never had a Nintendo when he was young. He now owns one and was responsible for getting his friends hooked on the system.

Nintendo of America, Inc. confirmed original Nintendo Entertainment Systems are no longer being made. Forstrom said he purchased an original Nintendo at Record Exchange, a store that sells used entertainment products in Cincinnati.

"I paid about $40 and got a Nintendo and a bunch of games," he said.

Forstrom said his mom never let him have a Nintendo when he was young, so he would play at a neighbor's house. Now Forstrom's friends stop by his room to try to beat their highest scores on Tetris.

OU sophomore and Shively resident Pat Donohue, who enjoys playing Nintendo more than the original Atari he has at home, said he often visits Forstrom's room to play "Super Mario Bros." on his Nintendo.

Roth used to play Nintendo in Forstrom's room almost every day. This made her and her roommate want one of their own, she said.

"The boys upstairs always let us play theirs, and then one day we got a package, and my roommate's mom sent us a Nintendo," Roth said.

Roth invites friends over for Nintendo parties, particularly to play her favorite game, "Super Mario Bros.", she said.

Forstrom's game of choice is "Bubble Bobble." But he has a collection of about 30 games that many other students come to his room to play, he said. He spends hours trying to figure out how to perform a jump in "Skate or Die," another Nintendo game.

"(I have one) because it's probably the greatest system ever invented," Forstrom said.