Goldeneye On The N64, Or How I Made It Through My First Year Of University Debt-Free
(Image via The Cartridge Strikes Back)
The year was 1998. Google was being founded. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was being read. And @nepd was hustling people at Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 in the dormitories at the University of Iowa.
I may have been born too early for the competitive gaming scene of Counterstrike, Smash Bros and Overwatch, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't able to cash in on my gaming skills.
Goldeneye, based on the James Bond movie of the same name, was one of the first FPS games to grace a gaming console. It featured a four-person split screen mode that was legendary at the time.
I had honed my skills against my friends - whom I allowed to use Oddjob, a character that was a more difficult target - during the summer months and was ready to unleash my prowess upon unsuspecting Iowa Hawkeye students who happened to venture onto the 3rd floor of Mayflower hall.
(Image via University of Iowa)
Luckily, my floor was inhabited by lots of cocky rich kids from rich Chicago Suburbs. Many of whom had friends that would come over for the weekend. These floormates and their friends were my literal meal ticket.
My suitemates would help act as matchmakers and roped scores of college kids into our room to play some Goldeneye. We played "One Shot, One Kill" mode with pistols on the level entitled "The Complex". We also occasionally played with proximity mines, but that was more for fun.
The trick was to rarely show how good you actually were. Don't win by 100 if you only need to win by 1. You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can only eat it once.
In true James Bond fashion, it is best to leave them shaken, not stirred.
On a good night I could rake in $100-200, losing some small bets before suddenly getting better and winning a bigger one. Some of these college students had more disposable cash than I do now. Eventually, they just wanted to say they had won, and we're willing to pay the price.
(Image via Cinema.com)
In total, I cleared nearly $4000 playing Goldeneye (and a little Mario Kart 64) that year, with the vast majority of it coming in the first couple months. Eventually I had trouble finding someone that would play me for money. With a few small scholarships, I was able to escape from my first year at University with no debt at all.
I don't play many video games anymore, but I do play my son in Star Wars Battlefront on occasion. I haven't had to hustle him... yet.
Did you enjoy video games from the late 1990's / 2000's? I'm looking forward to making some posts on Wave Race, Tekken Tag Tournament and NBA Jam.
Too funny!
Man, Goldeneye brings back some good memories with my basketball buddies. Playing the N64 nearly every weekend in between tournament games and late at night.
Madden 2003 was my jam though. I enjoyed franchise mode more than the game, haha. My goal was to build a super bowl team in 2-3 years.
Great sorry! I used to hustle people playing Madden in 2004 - 2005. I used to love a lot of the older game. Like Sonic and Mega Man. They were a bit more challenging to me, even today they still are and I found that a lot fun. A lot of the new games hold your hand the whole time and makes it boring!
hahaha, awesome man! I played the heck out of Goldeneye too. Never won any money playing though. But Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country were other top games of the time. Nothing beat Goldeneye. Hands down, me and my friends played that game the most.
Bringing back some good memories this morning lol
Nothing quite like scurrying around as Oddjob with double fisted Klobbs
KI Gold was awesome as well. Donkey Kong Country made me so frustrated.... those mining cart levels...
For sure. It was a tough game. Blockbuster video did a nationwide gaming competition with Donkey Kong Country, so me and my brother literally spent HOURS trying to get our skills up to par. We didn't make the cut though . . . but we were close!
Impressive stuff! A tip of the hat to you good sir.
hahaha
Well played.
@nepd The year is 2015 @kiv and his roommates expose unsuspecting party goers who visited our abode to an old N64 we had in the basement. Then we would proceed to take bets and have a fun old night paying for rent :P This kind of culture still lives on! SteemON friend
This is an awesome story! Some of my friends still play golden eye! I think N64 was one of my favorites, if not the favorite! There was just something so special about it. I was never that good at it so I preferred to watch others play.
$4000 back in the 90's is at $10k now I would guess!
That is great. Never thought about playing for money. Me and some friends would play Golden-eye all the time. We also played a game called Perfect Dark. Same controls and similar characters and weapons. It had a weapon call the laptop gun. You stick it on the wall like a prox mine but it shoots anyone that comes close. Fun times.
If anyone want to relive those games, use mega64 emulator on android or project64 on pc.
I played wwf no mercy using it haha
Thanks for this. My N64 still works actually!
Oh my god... that game brings me a lot of good memories. I have a Nintendo 64. Omg, that's a relic.
That game... The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time, Super Mario... love it. Great post. Loved it. Going to follow you, and I hope I can read some posts of this relics again. Keep going!!!!