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» MEDIA (4) Gaming PC PS3 360 wiimote

I must confess! On November 17, 2006, I came to the dark side. I did something I pledged I would never do, and most important of all - I I failed myself. But damn, does this failure feel sweet and satisfying. As you might have already guessed, I let go of $599.99 plus tax and purchased a Sony PlayStation 3 on the day it launched in the United States.

For the most part of my gaming life, I have been a die-hard PC gamer. I only played video games which were on a computer. Technically, these are actually called computer games (gee, you think?), and not video games. I chose to overlook all the consoles mainly due to the fact that they were weaker power and graphics-wise than most average computers. Don't get me wrong, I didn't ignore console gaming, I knew it existed, heck I enjoyed playing many of them when I visited my friends, I just thought that they were inferior.

I myself own a couple older consoles - the SEGA Master System (1986)and Genesis (1989). As you can see, I used to be a SEGA man... I say used to be mainly because SEGA stopped producing hardware after the Dreamcast. My love for video games is mainly accredited to SEGA, since the first time I have ever witnessed a video game was on a SEGA platform. In fact, when SEGA announces that they are coming back into the hardware industry, I will be among their first customers. (Hey, don't laugh at my dreams!)

From the years 2001 to 2006, I religiously followed PC gaming and all forms of entertainment that had to do with using a computer. And I mean RELIGIOUSLY - I subscribed to a bunch of magazines, visited and started my own tournaments, and always touted the PC as the superior gaming machine. And why wouldn't I? With the PC, you could play games free of charge against other players. With the PC, you get the superior keyboard and mouse scheme. With the PC, you get instant updates and downloads which include user made game modifications which extend the life of a game to unbelievable heights. Clearly, the PC was the superior gaming machine... at the time. Then why did I shell out 600 bucks for a console that will be obsolete in 5 years?

It was shockingly scary for me at first. Suddenly, I got dumped into the battle of consoles where everybody hated each other. In PC gaming, we were all on the same side - we all loved playing games, ANY game that was fun held our interest, thus we were all one happy community. In the land of the consoles, things were completely opposite.Everybody was out for blood. I still don't understand where all this hate comes from... who cares if you think that an Xbox 360 is soooooooooo much better than a PlayStation 3 or that the Wii made every other console obsolete? It's great that you think that, and we're all happy for you, but don't start a flame war about it. During the time I spent on the PS3 Amazon.com forums, there was a PS3 hate thread started every half an hour. Jeez people, how more childish can you get? The 360 allows you to play music in games, and the PS3 doesn't. The PS3 is surely worse than the 360! Yea, right.

Why can't people simply be proud of the consoles that they have and most of all, be proud for others who own the same or different consoles. After all, we all like to play games, then why can't we just get along? I think it has something to do with jealousy. The 360 and PS3 owners can never play a Zelda game, so they get all bitter and annoyed by this fact, and start hating on Nintendo and the Wii. The same can be said about any popular first-party video game franchise out there.

Another reason why the console owners are so rabid at defending their console of choice (also called fanboys) is because they want to see their investment win. And it makes sense. If you invest your hard-earned money in something, wouldn't you want it to succeed and trumpet the competition? If this doesn't happen, then many people feel like they've made a bad choice, and that decision will forever leave a stale taste in their mouth. The worst things that can happen out of this is that some people may even reconsider purchasing another console again for fear of 'losing' once more.

To me, it's a risk that we all have to take, and the funny thing is that we already do it on a daily basis. Burger King or McDonald's? Black or White? Toyota or Ford? Microsoft or Apple? You get the point. We already make these decisions, we just don't realize it. Choosing a console is no different.

I'm not telling you to shut up about how awesome the 360 or the Wii is compared to the PS3, I'm just asking you to consider what you say when you start a conversation with others regarding the topic. And remember that logic is always a better solution than "360 pwns the PS3!!!!!11111". Show intelligence and others will do so accordingly.

As I mentioned above, I decided to go with the Sony PlayStation 3 after doing some copious research on what my next-gen console was going to be. The PlayStation 3 IS basically a computer. The PS3's specifications are pretty amazing for a console - 3.2 GHz processor, RSX graphics processing unit (closely related to Nvidia GeForce 7800 graphics card), 60 GB removable hard drive, and built-in wireless internet.

Unlike the older consoles, the PS3 IS more powerful than most people's computers. It also allows you to do many things that normal computers can do - play games, music and movies, view photos, and browse the internet. It even allows you to download free games and game demos from the PlayStation Network... And the control scheme? You can easily connect any USB or Blue-tooth keyboard or mouse to the system, and use them to play games if the game developers allow you to do so.

So do you know what all this means? It means that the PlayStation 3 is now on the same level as PC gaming. There, I've said it. Believe me or not, but it is. Now I could go on and on about how cool and PS3 is and what it can or can't do, but I don't want to bore you. (I haven't yet, right?)

Why didn't I go with an Xbox 360? After all, it's built by Microsoft, a company who basically made computer gaming possible and widely accepted. It seemed like the logical choice, no?
Because to me, 360 is not on the same level as a PS3 or a PC. Now some may argue with me how it has more features right now and games, but you know what? The PlayStation 3 will have the exact same things, if not better within a matter of months. I don't want to turn this into a flame war, and maybe some of you 360 fanboys may give my article a lower rating just because I chose a PS3 over the 360, but I could care less. To ME, the PS3 is more superior than the 360. And I don't even want to go into the whole HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray thing.

I also chose the PS3 because it was brand new. Knowing how fast electronics become obsolete in this day and age, I wanted something as recent as I could get. And while the 360 is a good gaming platform, it's already more than a year old, and in the world of electronics, that just doesn't cut it anymore.

One thing that the PC has always had over the consoles is the online connectivity. You could easily play games against someone else across the globe. Older consoles did not offer this option, but newer generation consoles started offering this. SEGA Dreamcast was the first console to allow online play, and even though it was through a slow dial-up connection, it proved to the world that consoles can also provide connectivity and most of all community to the players. The PlayStation 2 later offered some games that took advantage of online play like Socom, but it was still clunky and not as easily functional as PC gaming online.

This all changed when Microsoft introduced their Xbox Live service for Xbox (the original black brick with a green 'x' on it. Yep, that one). It was a rocky start at the beginning, but steadily it started picking up steam. Look at it now. The Live feature is one of the best reasons to own a 360. You can easily download TV shows, game demos, and other bonus content. Why is Microsoft so successful in the same field where other companies have miserably failed? The answer is simplicity. All you have to do is press a couple buttons and bam! you're online, ready to frag someone else in Halo or download some demos to enjoy. The interface is clean, easy to read, and does what you want it to do. Seamless inter-connectivity with the rest of the Xbox community literally at your fingertips.

My only gripe with Xbox Live is that you have to pay a monthly fee for it, and I just think it's unfair to charge someone to play online when they already paid for the the console and the game. Sure, it's only $49.99 per year, which I'm sure anybody reading this could afford, but it's not the money that matters here, it's the principle. In the future, I really think it would be amazing if Microsoft offered Live to people free of charge. I know that's not going to happen, but we can all dream, right?

The PlayStation 3 offers completely free online access to all of this. Dubbed the PlayStation Network, it is only at its infancy stages and does not offer as much downloadable content as Live does, but Sony is expanding the content on a regular basis.

With online play available on both the 360 and the PS3, the consoles have overcome another barrier that previously worked in favor of the mighty PC.

Wii? Aside from the fact that I hate Nintendo and that dumb plumber mascot of theirs with a burning passion of blue, spiky needles, I wanted a machine that could rival my PC, and the Wii doesn't even come close. I have played the Wii, I enjoyed it very much, the controller is truly remarkable, but that is not enough to get me hooked. I wanted a system that could give me something else in case I needed a break from gaming. Maybe I would just like to turn up some music and just sit there, relaxing on the couch.

And do you know what the funny thing is about the Wii? A lot of people that I know bought a Wii don't even play it anymore. They mention how much fun they had when they got it, and how they got their entire family swinging, jumping, ducking, laughing... but when I ask them what game they're playing on it now, they stare at me with blank faces. If Nintendo didn't ship Wii Sports with the Wii itself, I doubt that this many people would have praised the system.

There was only one console left. It was made by a company that consistently delivers high-tech technology, no matter how expensive it may be. This company is considered to be one of the best electronics manufacturers there is, and have put their products in many people's homes. The choice was clear - hello Sony.

After reading all of this, a close minded person may call me a Sony fanboy who despises Nintendo and you know what? They may be right. That is one way to look at things. Another is this:

All that matters is that an individual is happy, right? Happiness is all that we have to live for, and it only comes in short bursts. With that in mind, I'm very happy with the choice I made (pft, for $600, it better be the right choice! Just kidding!), and I am looking forward to games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Assassin's Creed, and Grand Theft Auto 4.

Because in the end, just like all of you reading this, I am a simple person who likes to come home from a busy day at school and work, curl up on the couch, and forget reality for an hour or so, instead enjoying being the hero who saves the world.