Why do people buy all three consoles?

Sometimes I see posts where people buy a X360, PS3 and Wii. I really don't understand it, I am thinking that this is very spoiled kids or people with way too much time on their hands. The price is always mentioned as a buying factor, but if you buy all the systems you are looking at $1000 worth of hardware and much more for games and accesories for all 3 systems.

I am 33 and have a great job and could afford to buy all 3, but it seems like a waste of money. I also have barely enough time to play now. So why would someone buy all 3 systems, how much money and time do you spend gaming in general? Just curious.

BTW, I have owned a Wii, enjoyed it for a time, and sold it to buy a PS3 recently. But I just refused to own two systems, because I knew I would not play enough.

I guess people buy all three because then thay can get any game they want that comes out.

I also think that the ones with all three are spoiled. Or they just have a job and got there own money to buy it, but why you need all three?

In time i guess they could buy them onne by one but let face it. I haven;t touch the wii for almost a year now, why, cause there arn't any games that i want to play anymore. This year there only two games I'm eyeing on for the Wii. Deadly Ceatures and House of the Dead-OverKill.

Well I don't own all three yet but the reason I do it is so I don't have to worry about not being able to play a game I really want because I don't own that particular system. I also don't have to always be playing on them either. Also no I am not a spoiled kid and no I do not have too much time on my hands. Just because YOU don't want to own all three systems at a time doesn't mean you should go around throwing labels on people that do.Archangel3371

Top 3 Reasons people buy all 3 :

1. Exclusive titles

2. Exclusive titles

3. Exclusive titles.

Alright, I own all three and I can totally explain why.

First off I'm 29, I work for a decent Fortune 500 company and my wife works for a Fortune 100 company. We are fairly well off and make over six figures combined.

The reason that I wanted all three systems is simple, exclusives. Sure, they are going the way of the dodo, but it used to be the only way to get the games you wanted. Did you want Halo or MechWarrior (a selling point for me)? You needed an Xbox. Want to play Mario? You need Nintendo's console. Square was a Nintendo 3rd party developer for the early 90's. So Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and the Secret games were all on the SNES. Sports games were better on the Genesis and they had some exclusives like Sonic and Toe Jam and Earl, so I had that for them.

Back in the day I owned all the consoles when I saved my money from jobs that I had. I've been working since I was 14 and when I had no financial responsibilities I would buy games with my money.

Currently I own all three for the exclusives right now. MLB 08 The Show is the best baseball game of the current gen and it is a PS3 exclusive, so is Valkryia Chronicles and Hot Shots Golf. The Xbox still has Halo and has some awesome games on XBLA. The Wii has the standards, Mario, Zelda and the likes.

So if you want to know why I own all the consoles I can say that it is just because I want to be able to buy any game that I want if I want.

That's why I am asking, I am wondering who this is and the motivation. I was wondering if this was parents lavishly spending on their children. if you earn your money, its your right to spend it how you like (for the parents too).

At the 29 year old, do you have any children? I play games about 10+ hours a week and it seems like I am letting down other stuff I need to do when I do it that much. So i was also wondering if it was worth it because you were able to use all three consoles enough to spend what you needed too. As you know when you work full time you only have so many hours in the day.

A the 29 year old, do you have any children? I play games about 10+ hours a week and it seems like I am letting down other stuff I need to do when I do it that much. So i was also wondering if it was worth it because you were able to use all three consoles enough to spend what you needed too. As you know when you work full time you only have so many hours in the day.

jameslangford

Plus when having friends over having multiple systems helps. If you have someone that is somewhat proficent in gaming the 360 is just fine, but if you have someone who doesn't play much than the Wii can be fun.

For the time constraint, gaming is never the priority, and really, if you aren't buying all that many games there really isn't a felt obligation to spend time with the consoles. Sure my Fable II game isn't complete yet, but that is in part because I am a perfectionist in games and I want to complete all of the quests. I play around 10 hours as well, most of it on the weekends or late at night, but again, I never let it be the focus of what I am doing.

I hear what everyone is saying, I guess when I am playing a new game it usually takes me a month or more to give it enough time to play through it and then I may pick up another. So I was guessing that people are buying these things and spending 100 hours gaming per week, or the systems just sit there collecting dust. For me when I stopped playing my wii because the games out were just not for me, I sell it and move on to the next one.

The retro gaming thing is pure hobby, its a little different. My brother owns every console since NES and doesn't actively play them all (except XBOX version 1 or 360).

Some people own all three consoles because there are great games that are exclusive to each (some examples: Ninja Gaiden 2 on the 360, MGS4 on PS3, and Mario Kart on the WII). It is up to the individual whether or not that is a worthwhile investment, and it is not up to others to judge the wisdom of the purchase. If my house didn't need some major repairs, I would buy an Xbox 360 to add to my PS3 and Wii.

Also, there are a lot of spoiled brats out there.

Because some gamers just want to play all games. And for some, to be a true gamer is to play as much games as possible.

Me, I just need one console per gen. I'm a gamer since late 80's (and yes I can afford all consoles per gen) but I think one is enough. I don't need to play all games out there. So what if I miss the great games of the other console? I don't see the point of "I don't want to miss anything".

[QUOTE="jameslangford"]

A the 29 year old, do you have any children? I play games about 10+ hours a week and it seems like I am letting down other stuff I need to do when I do it that much. So i was also wondering if it was worth it because you were able to use all three consoles enough to spend what you needed too. As you know when you work full time you only have so many hours in the day.

LOEAnubis

Plus when having friends over having multiple systems helps. If you have someone that is somewhat proficent in gaming the 360 is just fine, but if you have someone who doesn't play much than the Wii can be fun.

For the time constraint, gaming is never the priority, and really, if you aren't buying all that many games there really isn't a felt obligation to spend time with the consoles. Sure my Fable II game isn't complete yet, but that is in part because I am a perfectionist in games and I want to complete all of the quests. I play around 10 hours as well, most of it on the weekends or late at night, but again, I never let it be the focus of what I am doing.

Well said LOEAnubis. I'm the same boat as you (31 yrs old, good income). And I have 2 kids. Gaming is never my priority and I mostly play at night when everyone is sleeping.

Having the 3 systems means that I dont necessarily have to buy an "ok" game in between good releases. There's always a good game waiting for me.

When you're an adult with a job, buying three game consoles just isn't that big of a deal.

I like games, and I want to be able to play all of the best ones ... therefore, I bought all three platforms. That's not too hard to understand, is it?

Well, I'm in my twenties, I work freelance and do independant contracting in several fields as diverse as web design and glamour modeling. I also work out every day. My husband has a stable 40 hour/week job. We have two children, a boy and a girl.

I kept all the systems I have had since my youth, all hooked up into our television and ready to play, and when I buy new ones, I generally stick to Sony systems and Nintendo systems simply because I love the exclusives on both those labels but have no interest in XBox exclusives.

The kids do keep us busy, but several times per week one or both of us will wind down and play. It's entertaining, it's relaxing, it's something we do for the same reason we would, say...watch a television program or a movie, only more interactive.

I own all 3 consoles. I bought them about a year apart, not at one time.

I got the wii first (cheapest, innovative) I still love playing golf on it.

I bought the PS3 a year later when the format war was won. I wanted HD gaming and blu-ray to go along with my HDTV purchase.

I just recently picked up the 360 (price drop). The 360's library is quite nice.

All this time I kept up a gaming PC (upgrades) and still primarily game on that.

I can buy any game I choose, or buy it for the system it's best played on (Fallout 3 - PC)

I don't have to buy mediocre games to get me through dry spells.

I'm in my 30s and work for myself. My wife doesn't really mind me gaming at all. I may be distracted but I am at home instead of out at a strip club or worse.

I've also been gaming since Pong in the 70's. It's something I love to do. I don't really watch TV. I get bored. I'd rather be interacting with something instead of vegetating on the couch.

Oh, and I do other things besides gaming as well. :P

I never owned all three consoles. Hell, I've never owned two. Money is definitely an issue, but time is an even bigger one. I also never felt the need to buy multiple consoles. Like someone else said, so I miss out on some great games...so what? Playing them all was never my goal. In fact, I don't want to play them all. Years back when I started posting on forums and stuff I kind of got cought up and wanted to play as many games as possible just so I have something to say about them. I quickly realized that I was playing a lot of games that I could've easily never played and wouldn't have been any worse for it. So I decided to back away, play less different games, but really play the ones I have if you know what I mean.

Simply to get the best of all worlds!

I used to have all systems. I had to try them all out. I wanted to see what everyone was talking about. I'm not a big fan of the console war so I decided to get all the current gen consoles and their oh-so popular exclusives. THEN I decided which consoles to keep and which to get rid of because I still want to do what's best for my money (because money = more important than games I don't play often) so ended up selling one of the consoles.

I have tried everything of the current gen, made up my mind, did what was best for my money and now I'm all set.

[QUOTE="Archangel3371"]Well I don't own all three yet but the reason I do it is so I don't have to worry about not being able to play a game I really want because I don't own that particular system. I also don't have to always be playing on them either. Also no I am not a spoiled kid and no I do not have too much time on my hands. Just because YOU don't want to own all three systems at a time doesn't mean you should go around throwing labels on people that do.jameslangford

I am 29 years old, married with a child. I work 40 hours a week, have my masters degree will be going back for my Ph.D soon. I purchase my own systems. I purchased the 360 for games like Oblivion when it first came out and guess what, my wife played more than I. I then bought the PS3 for games that would be coming out including the blu ray feature. Guess what, my wife plays and watches more movies than I. I bought the Wii for the Nintendo exclusives and am not sorry I did because its the only way to play the Zelda's and Mario's of the world. So why did I purchase all three systems? Simple. Because I wanted to. I would say I spend maybe an hour a week playing games on the consoles.However I do not regret buying them and I would venture to say that my wife doesn't either.

Alan

I would say that's the same as complaining about sportspeople that dedicate 8-10 hours to their daily training, or people who have a car with ALL the extra features out there, or like any other serious hobby aficionados. Even so, remember that either (not necessarily all of the following):

-They have all consoles because they like general gaming

-They love many console exclusives they don't wanna miss out

-They want more variety and flexibility to share videogames with others

-They have a good amount of extra cash

-The 7th gen is dry in terms of amount of good games overall available (my case, even if I don't own all 3 systems). I happen to have a friend thatoriginally had a Wii and a PS3, and then bought the 360 Elite due to the game library.

-Maybe 3 TV consoles aren't that much (4 or 5 in a gen would be nice).

-They may be spoiled.

-They just want extra bragging rights.

-Maybe gaming is their only major hobby.

-Maybe they're videogame addicts.

-Other reasons I didn't remember when I wrote this...

Top 3 Reasons people buy all 3 :

1. Exclusive titles

2. Exclusive titles

3. Exclusive titles.

Alter_Echo

I only own a 360 and a Wii but I plan on getting a PS3, I don't feel I should have to explain what I spend my money on but I will anyway ;).

I got my Wii at launch with high expectations, it was good for the first year although it still wasn't keeping me that ammused, and after my bro inlaw played his 360 around ours on our old hdtv we wanted one lol.

Picked up an xbox 360 just over a year after I got the Wii and never regretted doing so, infact I could probably keep myself happy with just that one console, I will however not sell the Wii because it has some great exclusives.

As for the PS3 I do plan on getting one and its just a question of when, the main reason is my new tv is 1080P and I would like a BR player. The PS3 is still one of the best on the market, and with exclusive games as a huge bonus :D.

I see what you are getting at, if people stuck with one console they could have more games for that console and surely you can't have time for all the games across platforms. However looking from a different perspective while you hoard up on average and mediocre games because you are limited to one platform, those with more than one platform can be connessuir's only sampling the finest the industry has to offer :P.