Everyone remembers their first time. The fumbling fingers, the nervous sweat and the way you can barely blink as you watch every move that’s happening in front of you, trying to keep up and make a good showing. But of course, no matter how hard you try, it’s over much too quickly, and you once again have to wait for another try.

Yeah, that first time playing video games is quite an experience. For me, it was Mario. Oh, I’d played games in the arcades before, but Mario was a revelation. It was at a friend’s house, and we played for hours - just because we were young, and had no idea where the warps were.

Now, of course, I can defeat that game in mere minutes. And besides, the days of Mario are, well, not completely gone - but hardly prevalent. Video games now have every flavor imaginable for anyone. Adults everywhere are playing them constantly, and no one can consider themselves a true gamer without at least two different game systems in their home.

And in college, video games are a must. Much like the small refrigerator or stack of beer cans, walking into a guy’s room and not seeing a PlayStation 2, GameCube or Xbox, or at the very least a PlayStation, is like looking into the homes of the Amish. Sure, they get by - but why would you want to?

Of course, there are connoisseurs, who have held on to their original Nintendo systems, perhaps even a stray Atari here and there, whose delicious eight-bit blips and garbled graphics, not to mention simple controls, are a surefire way to tug at a girl’s heart.

But as modern gamers know, you’re not in it for the girls, money or fame. Because if you play enough you’ll have no money, girls won’t like you and you’ll never get famous playing video games. No, you play because you love it. You love the strategy, the puzzle-solving and, of course, the fact you can do things that you can’t in real life.

Video games are a great escape, especially in an era when television stinks and most movies aren’t worth the money to watch. But games allow you to interact. Want to steal a cop car? Plenty of games can provide the thrills, minus the inevitable ass-whupping at the hands of police and time spent in jail.

Or playing basketball with your favorite players? Sure, and you don’t even have to grow another foot and do all that annoying practicing. In fact, you can do it sitting on your couch wearing sweats.

Some people don’t understand our addiction. My sister, for instance, wonders why there are games and controllers all over our living room. I wonder why she continues to read magazines that claim “best sex advice ever!” or “how to live your best life.” After nearly a decade of reading these things, you’d think she’d have it by now. I, on the other hand, have only completed two of the three “Medal of Honor” games. My continued playing is necessary, while her continued reading of such articles seems unfounded. Surely by now she’s got the best hair possible during great sex.

Besides, a night spent playing video games deters from other chaos. I don’t know anyone who got hurt playing “Mario Kart” drunk, but I know plenty of problems from driving drunk. And while a night out can cost an awful lot of money, a night in only requires a working system and television, a selection of games and, just maybe, a few beverages of your choice purchased cheaply at the local store.

Video games have become a part of our modern identity, as shared an experience as a popular sitcom and just as likely to be discussed the next day at work. It is, after all, a multibillion dollar business.

But why? Even I have to ask myself why I spend so much money and time on these damn things. The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day and yet there I am trying to unlock a new character on some racing game. Pathetic? Admittedly so.

Every gamer has his or her own reasons. We do it for the adventure, or for the escape of taking on the identity of a hero and doing what’s right with the aid of big guns and magic. We do it to escape, just like my sister and her magazines.

I started this column making video games sound like sex. Of course, most people know that the two have nothing in common. Well, except in some cases, like two-player games where you have to take turns. Extra points for anyone who gets that joke.

But for the most part, games are a solitary thing, where you get to extend yourself into another place where consequences are only too much when you have to resort to hitting “reset.”

We play games because it’s there. We play it to win. And we will keep playing it for the rest of our lives.

Or, when there’s actually something worth watching on television. Whatever comes first.