REBUTTAL TO: Savvy, or Sucker?
Puttering around the forums, I stumbled across an old article that I had written. Normally, I don't write editorials (I'm more of a review person), but every once in a while it strikes me to do one for fun. For those interested, feel free to peruse the dissertation I wrote in early 2006. Interestingly, this was written before I attended E3 2006 which completely changed the way I looked at consoles this generation. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but it's my perceptions of the previous generations that guided my choices three years ago and what will invariably guide me when the next grade of consoles come our way.
I walked into E3 2006 convinced that I would be purchasing a PS3, and that I'd perhaps consider the Nintendo Revolution, as it was known then. Three and a half years later, I own a Wii (purchased first), as well as a 360. I spent the weekend strumming it out on Rock Band over XBLA. More influenced my decision then I thought would -- such as the attitude of the companies presenting the hardware. Prior to this generation, it wasn't something I particularly cared about, but looking back Sony's smug superiority did end up turning me off their product to some extent. So, I want to revisit my top three reasons for acquiring the consoles I have now:
1. Game Selection -- Three years ago, this was only ranked third in my list. Now it's tantamount in my mind. I will buy the system that hosts the largest amount of games I'm seeking. In the case of the Wii, this meant buying at launch was a safe bet. However, in the case of the 360 it meant holding off and seeing what was going to be released. I'm satisfied with both decisions, and in the future I'll be waiting 12-18 months before buying any new hardware, because having waited that long gave me a great perspective on the system's long term viability in the RPG market. At this point, what a system DID have has clearly shown doesn't dictate what it WILL have.
2. Ingenuity -- This is something I didn't even list in my previous foray. Now, it's something that's important to me. Not everything has to be new (nothing is new any more), but I like interesting games. I'm looking for fun over form; a game doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be neat.
3. Price -- I touched upon this to some extent three years ago, when I contemplated whether I was a sucker for wanting to slap down 500$ for the console alone. Now my concerns are not for the cost of hardware (which I've come to realize as much as I may complain or groan, when I want a system I'll suck it up and pay whatever I need to for it.)
Previously, I addressed two other concerns, which are no longer *quite* so important to me:
Backwards compatibility -- The Wii has it, the 360 has it, the PS3...not so much. Ironic, really. My PS2 still lives by the television, with the diminutive Wii perched atop it, almost in victory. I've played GameCube and GBA games through backwards compatibility, but I haven't played any Xbox games...and I doubt, looking back now, that I'd have played many backlogged titles on my PS3 were I to have bought one. I fully expect next generation's consoles (and handhelds) to not support the current generation's formats. I also expect that people will be far less bitter about that change if the companies are up front about the lack thereof; Sony's attempt to preserve only to give interviews stating "Backwards compatibility isn't a selling point" shows the problem may not solely rest in the lack of the feature, but have as much to do with how companies spin it.
Hardware reliability -- is it cynical to say that we'll never see hardware like we did 10 years ago? Pardon me, I need to go shake my cane and tell the durn kids to get offa my lawn! My Wii has been replaced, and my 360 was bought second hand from someone upset their original system died. My DS screen is losing sensitivity due to the number of scratches and grooves in it. I've come to the realization that when something gets used, particularly on a daily basis, it's going to break. I'd credit it to not being as careful as I was when I was younger were there not a distressing number of reports addressing a large number of failures in this generation's hardware.
In the end, all of this feels a little moot. During the course of 2009, between personal play and events my total games played approaches 40. Of those, I've completed about a dozen, which is split precisely evenly between DS and PC. In the end, to me there was no winner in this rounds console war. My handhelds get more invested time then my home units do, and when they're not being used I tend to gravitate towards PC games, which I've started playing with increasing frequency over the last four years. Maybe I'm a sucker for having bought the consoles at all, but I feel even if I don't finish games on them, they were money well spent.
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