Nintendo isn't going anywhere. They'll learn from this experience and move on. I don't mind a second analog peripheral, and I certainly don't mind Nintendo trying to give the 3DS more momentum, by whatever means is needed. I've owned the 3DS since launch, and I'm excited about it's future, and the amazing games that will come in time.

Video Game History Month missed a very crucial topic, and it's called The Arcade. Nothing was more crucial to the home console market than the video arcade industry, which was the origin, and the only reason there was a demand to have games in the home at all. I remember when the arcade was the future, something so expensive and elaborate, that one could only dream to bring that experience home. It was the PSX, or Playstation 1 that I hold responsible for making the arcade experience obsolete. Still, I have more fond gaming memories huddled around Street Fighter 2 arcade machines, and watching someone perform a Fatality in Mortal Kombat for the first time. Four player Simpsons, TMNT, anyone? Going out in public for thrills has become a thing in the past, now lets sit at home where nothing exciting happens. Let's not.

Considering the Wii is basically a GameCube with motion controls, I hope Nintendo puts effort into making the 3DS a more powerful (graphically) DS first, and focuses on the 3D gimmick second. I'm intrigued by the 3D prospect, but a more powerful processor and higher resolution would be nice for a change.

Sony has it's priorities backwards. As a PSP owner, the first upgrades I would like to see is longer battery life, and more control over the game. I'd be way more excited if Sony added a better analog control, and preferably a second control, to bring it up to 1996's standards. If the battery lasted 8-10 hours, I might even buy a new PSP to rejoice. Instead we get a more vibrant screen, a microphone (a little late on that one), and less battery life. Sony should wait until they have more revisions to release a new PSP.

This is yet another mistake on the long list Sony has been compiling since the PS3's launch. If anything, I imagine that PS3 owners are "finally satisfied" that a no-brainer feature be implemented into the existing technology. What comes to us now as a big story, should've been common sense on Sony's part; to include this rumble tech from the very start. As for the backwards compatibility, it sounds like it's poorly implemented. Rumble has to be programmed for every subtle nuisance of gameplay, in order to create a fantastic experience. From GameSpot's hands-on with Assassin's Creed, it sounds like the rumble feature is an afterthought. I really hope that Hideo Kojima has been programming MGS4 with rumble in mind since the beginning, especially since the original MGS pioneered the feature in it's infancy. One thing's for sure; by the time I pick up a PS3, and God of War 3, ICO 2, and other great games are available, the rumble feature should be intact. It's the early adopters (the people whom Sony should show the most gratitude towards) that suffer the most. Hopefully things improve from here on out.

I'm still baffled by Sony's actions regarding the rumble feature. While the gaming community knew that the reason was 100% due to the lawsuit over the technology itself, Sony maintained that the rumble would have negative effects on the sixaxis' gyroscopic controls. Politics aside, it's obvious that Sony settled this dispute, and "magically" found a way to make the rumble to work. Idiots are convinced, the rest of us are shaking our heads. With hot titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4 (a series that pioneered the rumble feature), it didn't make sense to ommit such a standard feature of gaming. I'm glad that the rumble is making it's way back, since I'll be purchasing a PS3 in the far future (when God of War 3 and other must have titles release). As for now, I kinda feel sorry for all the gamers that purchased hardware that is quickly becoming obsolete. Never before have I seen a company change it's system's specs (hard drive size, backwards compatibiltiy, etc.), as well as how the games are played, since the arrival of the PS3. Sony needs to find a structure and stick with it.

If the PS3 cost $300 and came with Shadow of the Colossus 2 packed in, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I know I'll own it someday, but only when I can buy a used system with my 35% discount. My purchase will net zero money for Sony, because I can't afford their high price tag. The sad thing is that the used PS3 system I will end up buying, will probably be stolen from the Target across the street by some ghetto street rat, and sold to my work. Well, sad for Target and Sony, but not for me.

I'm going to take a moment to criticize one of my favorite series of all time: The Legend of Zelda Even though I love each Zelda game that releases over time, there's something about each game that still annoys me to this day. I'm talking about the annoying "Explanations" that occur every time you find an item. When I find the map or compass in a Zelda game, I really don't need to mash the A button to skip the explanation for what the map/compass is, and how to use it. Apparently Nintendo is confused about our intelligence. You see, we are smart enough to find our way through the game's complex dungeon puzzles, yet we are so stupid, we keep forgetting how to use the map. These ridiculous explanations occur with many other items as well, and I think they should only be explained once. Another gripe is with my current playthrough of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii). Every time you enter a new area and pick up a rupee, the action pauses, Link holds the rupee above his head and you are informed "You Found A Yellow Rupee." This gets particularly annoying when you're fighting a swarm of monsters coming at you from all sides, and then the action screeches to a halt while you pick up a rupee. With all the amazing design that goes into a Zelda game, I'll never understand how the development team found this annoyance worthy of existing in the first place.

I think Microsoft and Sony made ridiculous choices by offering an inferior bundle to consumers. Each company should know that people can sniff out a better deal, and by the time anyone tries to upgrade the lesser model to match the upper, a lot more than $100 will be spent. If anything, the only people who will buy the lesser of the two are eager gamers who can only find the core bundle, parents who think they're getting a better deal, or complete morons. Most people who are willing to sink $500 into anything, would be more than willing to pay an extra $100 for approximately $200 worth of extra features. People who have no problem with paying over $2,000 for a HDTV probably won't flinch at paying $600 for a PS3. It only makes sense, since the Blue Ray movies will justify owning a HDTV. However, the majority of consumers still own a regular TV (something Sony hopes to change), which makes the PS3 an over-priced gaming system that they won't get to experience at it's full potential. I want a PS3, but the price is way out of my budget. I could probably screw myself over and buy one, but after buying a couple games and accessories, you're looking at around $800. There's nothing in the launch, or anything announced for that matter, that I can't wait to play. I already splurged for a 360, and most of the PS3 games will come out for my system, so I can't justify the purchase right now. When Sony is forced to drop the price, and there are better exclusive titles such as Shadow of the Collosus 2 and God of War 3, then I might think about picking up one. The last time Sony launched a system (PSP) I rushed out and bought it on the first day. I spent about $450 altogether, and when I look back on it, it was the biggest waste of my money. I've been a gamer my whole life, and never have I invested in something that turned into such an underwhelming, overpriced, disappointment. Perhaps that's why I'm left with a sour taste for the direction which Sony is taking the gaming experience. They really need to quit focusing on all this "new media" garbage, and focus on delivering a worthwile gaming experience.

I absolutely hate loading times, since they usually break up the continuity of the game. I wish that developers would put more effort into reducing loading times, and make it a huge priority. I'm baffled that such a graphic-intensive, and huge game like Resident Evil 4 (GameCube) has virtually no loading, and some the most basic games have outrageous load times. It just shows that there are ways around it, or to reduce it, but unfortunately only a small amount of games pull it off. As for portables, load times are a huge factor for me. I play portable games to kill a few minutes here and there, and ocasionally play for extended periods of time. If I want to kill ten minutes, I don't want to spend four of those minutes wondering where the fun went.