My earliest gaming memories are of playing Mario on the Nintendo Game Boy. It was a big thing at school, and then after that came Pokémon. My mom even has a picture of me playing the Game Boy while on the potty.
I don’t know how I got the Game Boy. I think everybody was riding the same wave and it was the new fad, but my parents weren’t really gamers. They are into sports and traditional games, such as badminton, volleyball, and cards.
I love gaming, but I also like sports, and I can see a natural correlation between the two. They’re both about competing and reaching your potential, and breaking down how the game could and should be played to maximum effect.
The gaming was just a generational thing I guess. All my friends at school were playing console games together, like connecting our Game Boys together to play Pokémon.
And we advanced through games together, going to each other’s homes to play each other’s consoles, working together to defeat difficult puzzles, and so on.
In my early gaming years, there was some concern from my parents about how much I was playing. It could get a bit extreme where I would cut into my sleeping hours, and I even developed facial tics, which often happens to people who play too much.
Johan
I’m the Highest-Earning Esports Player. But I Don’t Play for the Money
