Videogames have made me superficial
I've recently made a very sad realization about myself. I'm a console hardware whore.
It didn't used to be that way; when I bought my first console since my Atari 2600 two years ago, I got a GameCube, despite its homely appearance and lack of power compared to my friends' XBoxes. I was drawn to the games, and I put up with the purple lunchbox and its Fisher-Price controller. Makes sense. As a bespectacled, gawky guy, I can relate to those that aren't the most outwardly appealing but that have a lot to offer regardless. I was actually raised to mistrust those with too much superficial appeal (yes, I'm a second generation misfit).
But then the next console generation rolled around. Its emergence, unfortunately, was concurrent was a pay raise for me. Suddenly, those flat-screen, hi-def TVs that I spurned as excessive seemed a lot more sensible. Sure, I only had a Wii, but even then, I wanted to take advantage of the wide screen and the progressive scan.
But that wasn't enough. I had to get higher (resolution, that is). The logical purchase would have been a 360. More games, more people online... But the oppressively expensive (even after that first price drop) PS3 was calling me. I rushed to buy the 60gig, telling myself it was a sensible buy, because I wanted to play PS2 games, and it'd be nice to have a ... Who was I kidding. It was nice and shiny and apparently it was the future and I had to have it. Sometimes I found myself just admiring its shiny, bulky body. I'd take great pleasure in dusting it (thank God, 'cause that's an hourly task). I'd turn it on just to admire its orchestral opening and the elegance of its hi-def menu. It was like I was taking a hit... calming, soothing, and expensive.
And now I find myself feeling that same draw to the PSP slim. I know, it makes no sense. The games aren't there yet; the UMD isn't a viable format ... but it's nice and shiny and has so many features that it's got to be the future and I want it. I just know I'll remotely access my PS3 and feel an oddly creepy shudder of pleasure.
Thank God I haven't yet been drawn to PC gaming. I'd bankrupt myself.
Is the pleasure of acquisition a key component of gaming for anyone else? Or am I alone in my misguided admiration of these toys for their technological merits?
Wow, so my only question is: do you actually play your PS3??
The chatter about the PSP seems to indicate there are some good games available for the system now. From what I've seen of them in action, I love the screen...just wish the whole package were a bit smaller for carting around. On the other hand, I suppose my portable gaming is a DS Phat, so who am I kidding.
XBox Live/X-fire: firesloth
Yeah, I play it. Right now, it's an Oblivion machine (I held out until the GOTY edition), much in the same way that my Wii was, for a long time, my Zelda box.
And as for the PSP's size, I don't yet have one, but its shape seems to be more suited for the subway than the DS, which I find a little fussy when using the stylus. Also, it's pretty.
I would say that you are most definitely not alone in your "misguided admiration of these toys for their technological merits." New & shiny is always a draw for the geek crowd. My occasional pangs for a PSP are directly related to the technological specs and have nothing to do with what games are available (I'm perfectly content with my DS).
If you're looking to combat the "new & shiny = must buy" mindset, you've come to the wrong place. GWJ is a bunch of enablers, and most of us (except Danjo) know it =).
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Marketing plant!
Xbox Live: CrankyBaby
baggachipz: Who cares about Japan, let them have their silly pointless dog games and countless re-hashes of anime-based dragon princess super lucky crapitty crap.
Hey now, I'm not an enabler, but the only remedy I have for the "ooh, shiny!" disease is to call you a stupid-face. Is that what you want, someone on the internet mocking you for how you spend your excess income?
Danjo Olivaw Lives
I gotta be the worst marketing plant ever. "Er, not really many games to play, but purty." Hardly a compelling sales pitch.
(Note to Sony HQ: Subject Podunk has jeopardized Mission Fetishize. Subject will be dispatched post-haste.)
No, you're the stupid-face. See, two can play at this game of wits. And I've still got the shiny. Who's the winner now?
I kid, of course. (don't kill me)
Xbox Live: CrankyBaby
baggachipz: Who cares about Japan, let them have their silly pointless dog games and countless re-hashes of anime-based dragon princess super lucky crapitty crap.
I see your point, especially since Certis doesn't put up with stupid-face comments. So I'll amend my comment to "most" instead of "all".
But I think my life will be complete only after a positronic robot tells me I'm a "stupid-face" =).
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Zyblorg-- 2005 called, and it wants its definition of the PSP back.
The games "aren't there yet"? This list and many of us on the forum can tell you otherwise. UMD smack-talk? Not only do UMD movies make more sense than ever (they can be output to TV from the slim), but the slim also has better battery life and more memory cache for games. That doesn't even talk about the influx of PSN store downloads (or ripped ISOs on the CFW) being saved directly to the memory stick.
Did I say "homebrew" yet?
Seriously-- owning a PSP makes much, much more sense these days than owning a PS3.
xbox LIVE: NatsuMatto
That's What She Said -- A Podcast About NBC's THE OFFICE
Follow me on Twitter: SommerMatt
I'm a hardware whore, as well. The PSP has been calling me for a couple of months now, because that will complete my collection of current generation machines. I feel bad, because that is the main reason I want to buy it. Though Matt has some good points as to the merits of a PSP now-a-days.
I really screwed myself too, I just got into WoW... I am so hooped now.
Xbox Live : Aries GWJ PSN : AriesGWJ Spore : Ariesgwj
To me, you should spend money on what you love. If you are really into gaming and you would derive pleasure, satisfaction or actualization in buying consoles, do it. What else should you do with your money? At some point, you might achieve entertainment saturation where your entertainment options far exceed entertainment time available. But that's not a bad problem to have.
Yes, you are...whatever hooped means. WoW is digital crack.
More like digital meth. Crack can be quit cold turkey. You typically need to substitute a lesser game in for WoW withdrawal.
IronClad Online: PurEvil
I got a PSP for my son for his last birthday. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'd say get one if you want one. It's pretty cool for the price. We don't buy the movies for it, and game rentals are kind of spotty at blockbuster. But my son has played a lot of Madden, Star Wars Battlefront, and the baseball game. I played Jeanne D'Arc for a while, too.
PSP is great if you love strat RPGs. Plus I'm fairly convinced that some of the most fun you can have right now is playing Lumines, Loco Roco, etc. So the PSP is a worthwhile purchase. I don't have one anymore, because I eventually couldn't take the loading times anymore. It made it a less than ideal train system. By the time I got into a game I'd be a couple minutes into my short train ride. Plus I felt like I had to baby the system much more than the GBA or DS.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
"When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things." I Cor. xiii. 11. Your tastes are just evolving. There's nothing inherently good or bad about it.
PSN: Kurrelgyre | Raptr | Spore | Steam | Xbox Live
Wisdom.
Prederick wrote:
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis.
I'm not really sure how this quote applies to a thread where the OP is saying he buys consoles mostly because they're "shiny and new."
xbox LIVE: NatsuMatto
That's What She Said -- A Podcast About NBC's THE OFFICE
Follow me on Twitter: SommerMatt
Luster knows no age.
XBox Live|Tshirts|My Music|GameFly|xfire
I wonder the same thing. I tend to see the verse as potentially being more appropriately used to call the OP immature, or insinuate some sort of reversion to immaturity.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com