at least 20 years. im not a huge gamer, but i do play here and there, especially puzzle games. started on a vic20 or a commadore64. still have an atari 2600.
Well lets put it this way...I have a Pong Game system in the top of my closet that I bought brand new when it came out! And for you who aren't familiar with Pong...it was the very first mass produced game system!
My first computer was a Commodore 64, wich I got when I was about 10.
However, I didn't become an active gamer until I got my Sega Genesis when I was 12. So I've been playing videogames for 15 years.
My dad has pictures of me playing videogames as early as at the age of 2...i'm only 19 now but for as long as i can remmeber i have been playing videogames.
I've got nothing on legsman or marbod (20+ years both) but considering my age i think 17 years is a pretty impressive amount of time.