secret12
The NES was, in fact, an important social possession. Children gathered at the homes of those who had them and those who didn't had no time to cultivate their NES skills in private. Despite its popularity among today's adults (many of whom grew up with the NES), the NES was very much considered a child's toy. Parents sometimes played with their children (usually parents who shared the same gender identity as their child--fathers played with sons, mothers--and sometimes even grandmothers--played with their daughters), but rarely played alone. As such, the NES was almost always kept out of the family room where parents and children would gather together to watch television. Though it did not necessarily interfere with the family's ability to watch television or videos, the NES was almost always kept wherever the second television was kept--the kitchen, the play room, or the child's room.