Well, there IGN goes once more thinking we actually give a shit about their daily lives (Since they seem to believe we hold they're game reviews in such high regard). Now, about a few years AFTER all this generation's consoles have come out, head honcho Hilary Goldstein (no I don't care about spelling his last name) decides to come down from his roost and enlighten us on why he believes there is only one true good gaming device this generation (here's his post, http://www.ign.com/blogs/Hil-IGN/2010/12/30/why-i-switched-to-ps3/). Well, since he decided to grace us with his opinion, let me counter with another argument, "Why I still game."
Why I still game
I've been playing games from most of my life, hell when I was a kid the nintendo 64 was still (and still is) a fucking great console and still new. That was my first generation of video game consoles. Since then I have seen the playstations 1-3, the failure of the sega dreamcast (market failure, not game failure) the Xbox and Xbox 360, and nintendo's N64, Gamecube, and Wii. So I think I can say I have a good idea about what is or is not a good console, and which one will keep one entertained for the longest stretch of time.
With that said, I have an Xbox 360, and very much enjoy it. Why? well for a few simple reasons, all having to do with content, timing and overall commitment by the developer/publisher/owner of the console.
Achievements
What's better than playing a fun game? Simple, getting rewarded while doing so. Enter Achievements. Each one of these has varying scores, difficulty, and sometimes makes you go out of you're way to do something you would never think of doing. For example, in Red Dead Redemption there is an achievement call "Dick Dasterdly," which requires you tie up a women, place her on train tracks, and have her get run over. Gruesome? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. But let me ask you a simple question, with everything to do in RDR, would you have thought to do something like that?
Chances are, probably not.
The one problem with achievements that I find is that eventually it comes down to "Who has the biggest E-penis of them all." Yes, I play games, and yes I got out of my way to get achievements. But do I do it to flaunt it in front of people are brag about? No. I'm not going to mention that of all my friends and all the people on my friends list I have the biggest gamerscore, but that's not because I'm a compensating bitch, it's because I consider myself I hardcore gamer, and I want to do as much as I can in a game. That's it, not to brag about how big my E-penis is, because you know what? It doesn't fucking matter.
But really, achievements are there for people to explore the game, and after doing something difficult or cool (beating COD: Black Ops on Veteran, or taking out all the villages in Just Cause 2 for example) and getting a reward for it. It's that simple.
Online
I'll admit I'm not really an online multiplayer type of guy. I enjoy just sitting back with a good single player game (ME2 for example) and playing that instead of going online. But, hey, it's still a good thing to have if occasionally the planet's align and I decide to take a crack at it. And you know what it's still a........ God fuck this.
Why am I reminded of the ultimate cop-out argument, "God moves in mysterious ways"?
Look, it doesn't fucking matter what console you play a game on, you know what does matter? Playing the game. That's it. Sure some consoles have something different from the others, but guess what? That's what makes them good, differences make things sell, if we were all buying the same thing, the console player800 and buying random generic shooter 4, would that be fun?
NO!
The only reason the PS3 has gotten some flack is because it came out a year too late and cost too much, while the 360 came out sooner and had some hardware issues, but both were still good well rounded consoles. And arguing about which one is pointless, because they're both good, they both have great game libraries and have gotten their shit together.
"Oh, but they're different, so we have to choose a favorite. Dur-Dur." Yeah, say that to your twins and get back to me. You forgot one thing, they were both developed by two different corporations, so of course they're going to be different, and why do we complain about differences? If we ate the same gruel every damn meal, every damn day we'd be bored of it.
Listen, Microsoft and Sony are big kids, they don't care what people think, as long as they buy their products and make sure those products are still good so people will keep buying them. Do you think they care about console fanboys? NO! So acting like a snob to another different console user just proves you're the bigger douche bag. And guess what Microsoft and Sony think of you? Absolutely nothing.
It's not about the fucking console, it's about playing the game and having a good time, the console is just an intermediary for that. I have a 360 and my friend has a PS3 and we play both all the time. Why? Because we know it's not about the console, it's about the game, not to mention both consoles are really good.
I dream of a day when console fanboyism ends, and we all realise, consoles don't matter, the games do. Where you don't have to defend why you got console A or B, because good games are on both.
So if you just want to be a PS3 elitist, or a 360 addict, or a Wii fanboy, fine. But I would expect you to have many friends outside of those online whinny, screaming, high-pitched 13-year-old douche bags who make you feel awesome because you're better than them. Stay with them, because no one else with actual friends will want to play with you. Now, if you excuse me I think I'll go play Infamous with my friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment