Iran during the 1980s was like a war zone and flooded with economic sanctions. If you were a gamer you had to either go to the bootleg market for your gaming fix or 'grey import' stores such as those in the relatively safer capital of Tehran.

Either way, we had to take our chances when buying from electronics stores (which is where we could get hold of imports), risking either being killed or that the store might have been reduced to rubble. Good gaming stock wasn't always easy to come by where I lived though, since transport trucks from other major cities could be hijacked by Iraqi aircraft.

When I was still just a small child, my father came home brandishing a brand new Japanese MSX console, including a complete boxed copy of the original 'Metal Gear' by Konami. Little did I realise that this humble beginning would develop into a lifelong passion for all things Metal Gear related.

Setting it up to run was difficult at first. A neighbour who happened to be a Commodore 64 wiz-kid had to help my father out in operating it. After much yelling at it, the machine did work properly, and the rest of my gaming life is, as they say, history. Unfortunately in later years, due to the conflict, my father threw away the box and manual to Metal Gear, fearing that if our house was searched by the authorities, they'd find them and be suspicious of the images and descriptions of weaponry. It seems silly now, but that was the climate of the time.

Today however, it's a very different situation in Iran. Japan is now one of the country's biggest trading partners, and no doubt where there's a way, there'll be gamers there to play.

External youtube link to a video tour of computer stores in Tehran.