When I was in Japan over the summer in high school (summer of '95) I stayed with a host family in which the younger daughter had a PC Engine, CD-ROM attachment, and Super System Card. This was the summer I bought Dracula X in a little game store in a train station (no place else seemed to have it). I was eager to play it before I got back home, so the younger sister let my try it in her system.
She kept it tucked under the TV, but pulled it out to play it. Japanese homes don't have lots of space, so you keep stuff stowed away until you need it. Systems were off until you pulled them out of their little nook and turned them on. And then when you were done you turned them off and tucked them back away.
Keep in mind that we're adult collectors, most of us, with room to store a half-dozen or more systems with many games and peripherals. At the time, there weren't even that many systems available to own, really. Collecting wasn't a thing, yet, not for games.
