Graduated Gamer Waits On Next Gen Consoles

It's that time once again when new consoles are announced and fanboys/gals take precious time away from their 360s, PS3s, and even Wii's to argue for the glory of their chosen gaming medium. It's been hammered out long and hard even though we've only known details about these consoles for a couple of months, and blood has already been shed. Sony took pot shots at the Xbox One, everyone and their mother moaned about Microsoft's questionable intent with their new console, and Microsoft (wisely, IMO) listened to it's consumer base and reneged on regular online authenticity checks and restrictions regarding used games. This is all old news, and although it added a lot of hilarious content for me to eat my popcorn to, it didn't really change my approach to deciding which console will be my next investment.

Despite what anyone is saying about the pros and cons of the PS4 or the XB1, I'm going to patiently bid my time before I buy my next gaming console. Perhaps it's the fact that I was raised by parents who made me earn everything I got in life. At the young age of 12 when I asked my father for a Nintendo 64, he bent down, put a hand on my shoulder and said "get a paper route". I was the last kid in my neighborhood to own an N64, but I think I was the only 12 year old to throw down $200 of his own hard-earned cash to buy his. Since then, I've looked at bigger purchases throughout my life with more scrutiny, and I certainly know the value of my money vs. what others tell me (especially when those "others" are corporations that see me as part of their quarterly figure). Even at the age of 26 and making way more than my 12 year old self, I find myself unable to preorder either of these powerful new entertainment systems on the opinions of others (and because nearly nobody has yet to play these systems, that's exactly what they are: opinions).

There's also what I like to call the "PS2 Effect" (I'm working on a trademark so don't try anything). The PS2 is arguably my favorite console of all time. With a massive game library, killer graphics for it's time, and exclusive tie-ins with some of gaming's all-time greatest franchises, it was hard not to love that slim black box. Possibly the best part about the PS2 was it's shelf life, which saw the storied console last for 10+ years on the market. Not only did sales of the console continue for over a decade, but the library of games continued to grow in that time, even when PS3 and Xbox 360 were slugging it out for space below Christmas trees. At that time, I was a poor college student who saw Subway as a luxury, and thus was in no financial position to buy a $500 piece of gaming glory. But I didn't really care that much because I still had hours of gameplay left with my PS2. Why buy hundreds of dollars worth of gaming when you have 40 hours left in Final Fantasy X, or lap times to beat in Gran Turismo? Why battle it out with the Chimera when you still have so much to explore in Vice City (also on my list of greatest video game soundtracks of all time)?

 

So as the end of 2013 edges closer and closer, I find myself in the same position as I did in 2006, except this time it's the Xbox 360 that still has a lot of life still to go (that, and this time I have more money and eat all the Subway I want). Even more so now because I made the terrible transition to adulthood (I don't recommend it, and college definitely doesn't count) and gaming has forcibly taken a  backseat in my life. Still I find time to play Minecraft and explore Pandora with my pals, but there are literally hundreds of hours of gameplay I still have left with my 360, and that's just counting the games I own and haven't played yet (seriously, why does GTA V have to come out this year?). So as the days continue to get shorter, fanboys/gals will continue to squabble, Sony and Microsoft will make their billions in preorders, and I'll grab another bowl of popcorn, because there is no way I'm going to drop hundreds of dollars on a new toy when the one I've already got still has a lot of entertainment to give.