That is one of the saddest thing I've ever heard. Did your parents just not know it needed games, or was it a budget thing?

I was extremely poor growing up but I did get lucky and get a Gameboy Color for Christmas with a copy of Pokémon Gold at age 5, right before my guardians went insane and forbade any non-Christian media such as "Pocket Demons" or any fantasy content. That game expanded my mind so much, introduced me to a lot of things I'd never encountered before. It seemed so mysterious and huge, especially with the entire extra Kanto campaign. Still one of the greatest and most complete games ever made.