The next console I get will be a Playstation 3, and I'll tell you why

A couple years ago, if someone had asked if I were going to get a PS3, I would have have said "no freakin' way, that thing is too expensive", but it would be my only problem with the system. Now that the PS3 is around $300 (and liable to go to $250 by the end of the year), I think this is the next gen system I'd like to have. Why not a X360 or (ugh) Wii? Here's why:

Red Ring of Death (or 3/4 ring of death):Why get an X360 when it has over an 80% chance of farting out. I've read of people buying multiple X360s when each one 'red-ringed'. It's their money, they can do what they want with it, but I can only afford one system, which I would hope would last longer then six months.

You have to pay to go online on X360. As of now, with the PS3, going online is free. Nada. Sure, everyone says that XBox live is awesome, but being online is extremely low priority for me. I don't see the fun playing online matches with potty-mouthed 16 year old males who have time to play games multiple times and win every achievement so they can utterly destroy people like me, who dabbles in most games. And pay for the privilage.

All the good games are cross platform anyway. The only game exclusive to X360 that comes to mind is Gears of War. And sorry, I could give two farts in a high wind about that series. Mountains of man muscle shooting all kinds of monsters, some bigger than buildings? Whatever. I'll play Resistance:Fall of Man instead, which actually looks far more interesting.

The Wii:where do I start? I hate this system with the heat of a thousand burning suns. It's a system for kids, or couples who have kids. Since I'm neither, the Wii can suck it. Nintendo is doing what they have done for three generations going:taking giant backwards instead of going forward (the waggle remotes are a gimmick, people, not an innovation), only this generation they are making bundles of money off of it, which makes me very, very sad. No HD, limited online (what's with the friend codes?), those stupid avatars that make everyone look retarded, 90% of games are pure kiddie drool or a bunch of mini games. Oh, and companies have tried to make interesting, adult themed games, but not a one of them sold well, so much so that it looks like there will be no mature (ie good) games for the system ever again. And Mario is a cmplete douche, I've always thought that. A fat, mustachiod plumber is gamings most famous icon and has sold the most games ever. Someone shoot me in the head. (Nintendo fanboys, ready your guns)

I do like the DS Lite, though, I have to admit. WAY too many games made for brain-impaired five year olds, which also makes me sad, but at least there are quite a few games I'm not embarrassed to play in public. Touch screen>waggle, also. Just thought I'd mention it.

So, yeah, Sony and the Playstation 3 may have some problems (which I'm sure people will mention), but right now, I'm going with them. Granted it won't be for a couple years, so my opinion could change.

But I will never get a Wii. Just the name makes me want to projectile vomit. Wheeee!

What is video game addiction?

I recently made a youtube video showcasing all the systems and games I currently own, which I consider is a lot...the link is at the end of this blog if ya wanna check it out. Anyway, I wonder if I am a videogame addict. I'd like to believe I am not...I only play 1 to 2 hours a day, and sometimes not for days at a time. However, I do enjoy BUYING video games, especially if they are cheap (one of the reasons I have not gotten any next gen consoles is the price of new games at 60 dolllars a pop...I can get 3 new PS2 games for that price.) I did get a DS Lite for Christmas, which I love, but I refuse to pay 30-35 bucks for new games. Hell no.
Regardless of my frugal ways, I still buy inordinate amounts of games, even though my total collection has exceeded the 300 mark, easily. I absolutely love buying video games, new or used, even though I probably have not finished 80 percent of the games I own. I love playing video games (any genre save for sports, and many games that would be considered 'crappy.') I have low standards for video games; I consider it a good thing.
My wife (quite rightfully and fairly) told me I could buy one game a week, especially since I am currently between jobs at the moment. Last week I got 4(!) games, all very cheap, and my wife was ok about it, but I still felt lame. I have dozens of good games I've barely touched, for cripes sake!
So my question is this:do I have an addiction because I buy too many videogames when I own a ridiculous amount already, or would I have one if I played video games 8 hours a day, every day? I don't do that, but videogames are a big part of my life...I buy them, play them, read a lot about them. Am I just 'hardcore'....or do I need serious help? I welcome any comments and observations on what constitutes 'addiction', videogames or otherwise.

I'm last gen and I like it!

I am the proud owner of a Playstation 2, XBox, Gamecube, Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance. I do not own a Playstation 3, XBox, Playstation Portable, DS, or (god forbid) a Wii, and I like it that way.
Maybe it's my advanced age; as people get older, they tend to resent change. I've been excited for each new iteration of gaming systems since the heyday of the Atari 2600. But this is the very first time an entire generation of consoles and handhelds have left me pretty much cold.
I love gaming as much as I ever have, goodness knows I have a huge collection of games that will prove that. And as I keep up with what is going in the current gaming environment, I have seen many games (several many years in development) that look really good. But no game that would provoke me to buy a next generation system. I have several reasons for this.
If I were to get a PS3 or XBox 360, I would (if I wanted to get the most out of the incredible graphics, which often seem a micro step up what the PS2 or XBox) have to get an expensive high-definition television. So if I pay 300 for a new system, I would have to pay at least 300 more for hi-def. I wouldn't HAVE to, but I suppose it would be highly recommended, as I would lose the inpact of the very slightly better graphics.
Games for those systems are also averaging 60 dollars, and I'm not sure why. Is it because every damn game has to have a multiplayer online option, or extra time is needed to put in achievements and trophys? Is that what the extra 10-20 is for? Of course, I don't give a shit about these things; in my day I just games didn't need all these extra bells and whistles, even as recent as the last generation. Maybe the kids today get hard-ons for online multiplayer or achievements, although they could simply bullet points on the back of the game box.
Games seem to have become much more complicated in the last 3 to 4 years, and so have the new systems. I had always enjoyed console gaming much more then computer gaming because you didn't have to be a computer expert just to get a game running. I always liked the fact that you could just pop in the game disk and bam! you were ready to game. Now you need patches and updates and DLC in order to enjoy many video games. Maybe they just get rid of the "video" and just call all games "computer" games now.
Let's not forget the XBox 360s 'red ring of death', which Microsoft swears has been almost fixed, but I have heard quite the opposite. XBox Live has been touted as the greatest thing ever to happen to gaming, but if wanted 16-year-old boys yelling and swearing at me, I would have taken a job as a high school teacher. The PS3 is now half the price of it's ridiculous original asking price of $600, a step in the right direction, but in my opinion, there are only a dozen or so games that I would waste money on, unless you are really into first person army games (I'm not), in which case you have about 200 games to chose from. Who says originally is dead.
As for the Wii and DS, there are thousands of games to chose from, if you are a child or soccer mom. And the amount of shovelware Nintendo has allowed to be put out for these systems could fill a suburban in-ground pool owned by a family with two and a half kids and a dog. Waggle a wii-mote or sqiggle a stylus, it's the in thing to do!
What do I know? I'm just a grumpy guy who doesn't like change, and perhaps the gaming industry has to change radically in order to keep with the young un's whose attention span has become shorter and shorter. Maybe games and systems need to evolve and add more and more extras or teens (and soccer moms) will go back to tweeting. Or is tweeting already so last week?

Lights, Quarters, Action:The Video Arcade Experience

The era of the video arcade was a great time, one that many young game players of today will never experience. Most video arcades are gone now, lost to the mists of time, and although they still exist (there is one a few towns over from), it is a pale imitation of the splendid places I frequented as a young geek.
There is nothing wrong with playing games on a console, far be it from me to argue against that. But I truly miss the magic, yes I said magic, of the video arcade when it was in its heyday. The demo screens of the upright cabinets flashing interesting bits of gameplay so they could steal your quarters away (sometimes 2 or 3 at a time), almost calling to you, come play me, it'll be fun. The smells, surprisingly in my memory lacking of B.O., although in my mind I may be romantisizing it; the smells were clean, maybe a little ozone in the air from arcade machines working 12 hour shifts. There was the matallic rattle of quarters, of course, and the omnipresent beeping and booping.
To me, each screen was like a looking glass into another world, a world that I, for the price of a shiny quarter or perhaps ten, could be a part of for a short while. This feeling still exists even now with the multitude of console video games I possess now, and is part of the reason I play them to this day. The feeling was much stronger then, either because of my youth, the relative newness of video games, or because I was surrounded by others who also shared my addiction.
Strange thing is, then, as today, I am a 'lone' gamer. I don't mind playing video games with others, even complete strangers in arcades, but I had just as much fun playing with myself (yeah, hardy har, snigger all you want), as playing with others. I never got very far in any one game, either because I did want to spend tens of dollars mastering one game, or the bright lights of other cabinets beckoning me. Or I have ADD, could be that. Squirrel!
Thing is, I spent as much time watching people play arcade games as playing them myself. And, if you wanted to watch most if not all of an arcade games gameplay, get behind an asian person and watch him play. I kid you not, I have seen the ending of games I would not in a lifetime finish. I don't know if they try harder or it's a cultural thing , but thanks to the nice asian fellows who allowed me to watch over their shoulders as they played. I would have missed a lot of cool stuff otherwise.
As a young man uninterested in sports and basically a friendless loner, the arcade was a wonderful place to hang out. I never found it to be a den of sin, as many adults may have thought at the time (and God bless my parents, for never thinking that.) It was, and always will, a great part of my life. I still love videogames with all my heart, but the loss of arcades took that bit of joy I got from wiggling joysticks and slapping buttons, trying to beat that end boss that just won't die, dammit. And I admit that this is painfully cliche, but it was a simpler time. Games have become too complicated,a subject I will rant on in a seperate entry, I assure you. Thankfully, a lot of this simple=fun equation has come back in the form of downloadable games (I know, I own none of the new systems and don't care to yet, but I still read gaming mags and internet gaming sites)and I always have retro compilations to fall back upon to get a little of that magic back (thanks Capcom! Thanks Taito!)
But seeing row upon row of arcade cabinets, worlds upon worlds inn which I could be a hero, for just one day...that day has long passed. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and I will never forget. RIP, arcades.

I'm Getting Too Old For This Shit

I went to Best Buy today (RIP Circuit City) looking for new XBox, Gamecube or Game Boy Advance Games, and noticed that there were very few of any types of these games left. There were only 2 Gamecube games left. Two! Of course, these games are being phased out for the current gen systems, but it still made me sad. All the systems I mentioned have been "dead" for years, so it makes sense to make room for all the Wii and DS shovelware so Nintendo can another 100 million. I still play those systems daily, however. And for the moment, I could care less about any of the current generation systems. The amount of games I would care to play of the current generation, I could count on one hand.
I guess what annoys me is that for the first time, I am pretty much ambivalent about current games. I love videogaming as much as ever, but the future of gaminbg no longer seems exciting to me. HD graphics, online gaming, DLC, and waggling a controller all mean dick to me. Is it my age, perhaps, as I look down the barrel of 40? Maybe. I am definately old school. The phasing out of the last generation feels like a great loss to me, and the future does not look bright to me.
I am sure I am in the minority in this, and if I want to get games, I can still get them used at Gamestop. PS2 is having new games made for it, but less face it, the system has one foot in the grave. It's one of the best systems I have ever owned with some of the best games I have ever played, but it's days are numbered.
The torch has been passed. I just wish it had been passed to something worthy. Maybe time will change my view, meanwhile I'll enjoy the past,and lament for it also.

Taking Turns and Grinding Away

Being the old fuddy-duddy that I am, and being a lover of RPGs, I'm really not sure what to think of the new crop of RPGs coming in. For instance, it seems that a lot of the new RPGs have done away with an overhead map, meaning you just go from place to place, town to town in a very linear fashion. This dicourages a lot ofr exploration, which is one of the fun factors of RPGs. I also don't care much for controlling the main acharacter and then having AI for the other characters in your party. Sure you can tweak the AI of the party members to do what you want, attck aggressively, heal or just stand around whistling, but that often seems like too much work forme, and besides I would rather control the characters myself.
Gone are the days where your party would take a turn, then the bad guys would take a turn, etc. I know RPGs need to evolve, as Japanese RPG makers are scolded for NOT evolving, and thus the boring western RPGs are taking over. By boring I mean overly complicated, as most western RPG are huge open worlds where you can tweak every damn thing in your character, party, weapons, on and on. it's too goddamn complicated. For instance, in the critically acclaimed Morrowind, there were a thousand different options for what you could do, I got completely lost within 30 minutes of walking around the land, and got killed by some pissed off bitch with a stick.
I stopped playing after that and haven't played since. I don't fucking care how awesome Oblivion is, if it's like Morrowind, I'm not touching it.
Basically, I miss the simpler days of japanese RPGs that had good stories but were not unbearably complicated. It seems that I am not alone in this thinking, as the Nintendo DS seems to have remade, or will remake, every Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, at least twice, as well as remaking many other old-school JRGs, many of which have never even made it overseas. As the DS is the most popular gaming system in the world, this is telling.
For once in a very long time, I could care less about a new Final Fantasy (number 13. Well, besides FF11. I detest MORPGs). The game seems to take every bullet point western RPGs have and place them in a Japanese setting. This may be out of necessity, but it still makes me yearn for the days RPGs were simple AND fun.
When I first played Final Fantasy on the NES, I was blown away and played it until I finally finished it. That will never happen again, and I am sadder for it. For myself, and for generatoins of video gamers to come.

Goodbye Old Friend

As many people who enjoy and play videogame already know, the magazine Electonic Gaming Monthly has ceased publication. I had been reader of this magazine for almost 15 of it's twenty years, and still consider it one of the best magazines about my favorite hobby. I was shocked and saddened when I found out earlier this year that EGM was gone. It actually felt like part of my childhood had been stripped away, even though I am almost 40.
No particular reason was given as to why EGM ceased publication, at least none I could find, but it's pretty easy to figure out. The horrible economy had much to do with it, I'm sure, even though by all indications the magazine was doing quite well. So much information now being now found on the internet is another factor. Magazines are becoming archaic. Of course I am also to blame;witness this blog. But I miss the feeling of a magazine in my hands and turning the pages. The internet is in some ways better than a magazine (you can show video of games,, for instance, and can get up to date information),but it's just not the same.
It's just not that I'm old and still getting used to getting plugged into the interweb, it was the simple fact that EGM was, since I started reading it, an excellent, well-done, and informative magazine cut down in it's prime. I believe the magazine could have lasted another 20 years easy.
And call me niave, but I never expected EGM to be there one month and gone the next. To be honest, I don't believe the writers did either.
RIP, Electronic Gaming Monthly. You will be missed.