I think it was about 80/81 when I first got hold of a space invaders rom. I was undergoing further electronics training in Swindon for a relatively nearby Government facility. Me and a guy (Steve Sheppard) from Telford fashioned and built an eeprom reader/programmer and slotted the rom into a Sinclair ZX81. Helped pass the time at night as I lived 80 miles away and it was a residential course only going home for the weekend.
Then about 88/89 I bought "the kids" a Sega Master system with Sonic the Hedgehog and Alex Kidd built in, after that I got the Megadrive. Used to have the bro-in-law round on a weekend till 4 in the morning playing pga tour, he was a sore loser but we thought that game was the bees knees, lol.
A friend of mine bought a Sega really cheap from a second hand shop in 2004 (I think it was). I think he said he could complete Golden Axe without losing any energy bar LMAO.