John was 11 years old and in the 5th grade when he appeared on Starcade. He gauged his game playing ability by the money he spent in the arcade, "video game days are getting better for me. In just about a week I spent about 4$ on them. I used to spend 7$ a week. I'm getting better!"

He went on to say, "I like competition ... I play a lot of sports. Most of my friends know me from football ... but they also know me from the Zaxxon game ... I am excellent at most games like driving games and space games..."

In 2005 and again in 2011 we received emails from John saying, "Thanks for preserving a very profound moment in my life and (preserving) the dawning of the computer/information age!! I vividly remember and cherish my STARCADE Experience! As if it were yesterday, I remember losing the lead to Brian by by-passing the fruit bonuses in the Donkey Kong Jr. in an attempt to collect the round bonus; but succumbed to one of Mario's flying mouth traps right near the very end of the level! In subsequent Nintendo Franchises (Mario Kart, Mario Hoops, etc.) I strictly played Kong Family characters vs. Mario in a reminiscent attempt to settle the score from 1983!"

"Unfortunately, I do not have the ColecoVision anymore. However, it did get years of daily use of us by myself, my brother and host of neighborhood kids. In hindsight, it filled the void in my neighborhood after the Atari 2600 and prior to the release Nintendo ES."

Thanks John for checking in. Glad to hear you ... and the neighborhood ... had some fun with the ColecoVision!