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A friend of mine posted up two links in their journal recently that got me thinking. One was about less UMD movies being released, and the second was about How the PS3 might be delayed. It's an interesting topic, considering that I also work at an EBgames. If the PS3 was really on track for a spring release, why is nobody allowed to take preorders for the system? Heck, they just recently added the categories for PS3 hardware and software into the computers; we had Xbox 360 categories at this time last year and we know exactly when the 360 launched.
But I digress from where the actual discussion went. Eventually we began to debate on how some people were looking forward to the PS3 with mindless glee, telling everyone how it's going to be the best system with the best games and the best accessories. Oh, really? I'm curious where they acquired such information, I'd like to read about it myself! Oh, wait; it's all speculation and rumour. Someone in the conversation mentioned that these people were just suckers to the PlayStation brand name. That comment got me thinking.
Does that make me a sucker? I know that the first of this generation's consoles I purchase will be most likely the PS3. I've already passed on the 360, for a variety of reasons mostly centering around the current library of games. And yet I've more or less chosen to purchase a system I know next to nothing about? "I must be nuts," I said to my friend after consideration. But when he asked me if I had any reasons for my choice, I realized that I did have reasons beyond the "SQUEAL PLAYSTATION" that the diehards cling to so desperately.
1. Backwards Compatibility
-The PS3 as it stands will play both PS and PS2 games. That's a lot of RPGs I already own. That means when my PS2 eventually dies out, I'll still have a system I can enjoy those old games on. The fact that I don't lose the capacity to play those new games is a huge boon to me, since I already own half a dozen systems, of which I keep at least 3 plugged in at all times. Since my computer and my consoles share the same small space, that's one less piece of electronics I have to try to squash in here; it'll just replace one I currently have.
2. Hardware Reliability
-Rather than start a huge war over which piece of hardware lasts longer, is better used as a football, power cords that light things on fire, or any other broad topic I want to stick to one specific focus: disc scratching. Both the Xbox and the 360 at their respective launches had huge problems with carving rings into the discs that people fed into their hungry maws. While originally the PS2 sitting vertically would cause the same problem, laying the system horizontally removed the problem; it also seemed that this problem was corrected far faster in the PS2 than either of Microsoft's systems. The last thing that I want is to have one of my coveted RPGs ruined by the machine I was playing it on. My poor FFT disc looks like I've taken steel wool to it just by how much I've played it; I would hate to see what condition it would be in were I having it in a system that was infamous for gouging discs.
3. Past Game Selection
-The Xbox was known for it's excellent sports games and a large selection of first person shooters. The 360 currently has a library consisting of sports games, shooters, and some action games. Most years I could have counted the number of RPGs released for the Xbox on one hand. While the 360 is shaping up to have a better library, it's still hard to discount the fact that in past years there's been so many RPGs released for the PS and PS2 consoles that I can't even keep up. I love that, in a sort of masochistic way. Having more games than I could possibly play means I have selection. If I don't like the sound of RPG B, I can go out and buy RPG Q instead. That's a big deal for me, since I can get picky as to which games I want to buy; I have yet to find where I planted that money tree, you see.
Mind you, this can sometimes work against me as a reviwer. A large cross-section of games, and owning multiple systems means I sometimes have to play questionable titles. I'm still happy to revel in the fact that once I'm done those games I can eagerly snatch up any number of quality titles. So I come full circle.
So, after a long discussion it turned out that I did have some pretty solid reasons for actually looking forward to the PS3's launch. It might even make me a savvy consumer for considering my purchase ahead of time. Then again, I'll be dropping 500$ for the system alone, not counting extra controllers, memory units, and games. So...maybe I'm a sucker after all.
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