PS3

So, I guess it's time I admitted that I've finally entered the next generation of the video game consoles. I bought a Playstation 3 last week. It's funny since as recently as a month ago, I would have told you that of three consoles, the last one I was considering was the PS3.

And, well, it's not hard to see why. It currently has no good exclusive games. It costs more. It typically gets the crappy version of games that come to both the 360 and the PS3. And, it's not made by Nintendo.

But, then something happened. Something that I couldn't have foreseen, even a month ago. I bought a super awesome big HDTV (okay, I could probably see that one coming, but bear with me). Upon buying this beautiful TV and watching stuff on it, I realized something. I really wanted to watch Blu-ray movies. And, with that tiniest of realizations, the PS3 was suddenly the only option I was considering.

So what if it had no exclusive games I cared about. I could watch Terminator, in HD. So what if costs more, I could watch 3:10 to Yuma, in HD. And, hey, it at least gets a version of most games that come to the 360, and, if it comes out months later, who cares since they typically make up for it by adding content (and it's not like I was going to buy it the day it came out anyways...it's not like these games are Super Smash Bros or anything).

So, maybe, Sony's strategy isn't crazy. Maybe they made the right call. Or, more likely, I just hate Microsoft and was looking for any excuse not to buy their console, but whatever. Seriously, Sony's strategy is totally misguided. It's not like I'm ever going to actually buy a Blu-ray movie (although I'm happy to rent them from Netflix). And the same can be said for someone who's buying the console just to watch movies, too. We're different markets and Sony's hoping to capitalize on both of us with the same box. Good for them, but that's not going to turn us into the same market, no matter how much Sony wishes it were true.

Admittedly, Microsoft's brilliant idea of releasing the HD-DVD add-on for the 360 is significantly stupider (Aah! Every time I type the word "stupider", I feel even more stupid...er). They are basically trying to reach the fraction of the console gaming audience that also really wants to watch movies in high definition, which probably isn't non-existent, but it gets a lot smaller when you realize that it's only the fraction that already owns an Xbox 360 (it's only of value for those who already have a 360 and decide they want a high-def player, since a consumer could buy a stand alone player for only slightly more than the cost of the add-on). This means, of course, that the add-on can't help them sell more consoles, but I guess it does at least help them reach more HD-DVD consumers (potentially).

But, to make a long story short, I have a PS3. And, my thoughts? It's pretty decent. Graphics are nice. DVDs look pretty beautiful on it. It's quieter than my ancient PS2. The controller is really nice. I think I like it more than the Wiimote. The Wiimote is cool because it let's you sit basically however you want while playing a game (since your hands aren't tied together by the controller). This controller almost feels the same way since it's so light you barely even realize you're holding it. And, since I primarily play nice, slow, turn-based RPGs, I can get away a fair amount of the time with just one hand on it. I like that.

So, yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. We started off on the wrong foot (since it takes forever to get this thing actually ready to do normal things, like play games or watch movies). But, once all the set-up was done, it's been pretty satisfactory.

And, well, Disgaea 3 comes out soon. And, well, let's be honest here. I'm pretty confident that trumps all the 360 exclusives I can think of (Halo 3, shmalo 3, Bioshock, Bioshmock, Mass Effect, Smash Effect...hehe, that was fun). Admittedly, I'd rather be playing the new Fire Emblem game for the Wii, but I'll get around to it. Seriously, I will. It's just a matter of time before I break down and buy one of those.

And note that this matter of time is entirely dependent upon the release date of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which keeps getting pushed back. I have to admit, it does just boggle my mind how much money that game is worth to me. Pretty much, $300. I mean, Rock Band is struggling to convince me to fork over $170 and then smash bros can just kind of walk down the street oblivious to me and I'll still drop whatever I'm doing to worship it. I'm honestly not sure what my price cut off for that game is. All I can say is that I'm glad it's not 2000 dollars, because I would hate to be forced to choose between my rent and that game. Or, more accurately, I'd hate to try to explain why my rent was late whichever month smash bros. finally came out if it was that much.

Sigh. I sit here with a PS3 in front of me and all I think about is my dream of someday owning the next smash bros game. I think Nintendo owns my soul.

That is all.

Francis