Like so many others, I was one of the hopefuls who headed out early yesterday morning to evaluate the lines at the local stores to see if I could possible get my hands on one of the elusive Xbox 360 systems…needless to say, it didn't turn out exactly as I had imagined it.  Let's just put it this way; I saw the lines in front of the stores and instantly counted myself out of the running of getting one based off of what I had been reading and hearing about quantity issues.  There very well may have been enough consoles for everyone at this particular store but I was unwilling to wait around to see if that was the case, so I left. 

Talk about your typical diehard fan, huh.

It’s been hard trying been to explain why it was so easy for me to turn and walk away from something like this, but it definitely got me thinking about a time not so long ago when I wouldn’t have given up so easily and joined the diehards in that line… 

For those who experienced it, was there ever a better time for supporting a reason for waiting in line for something like this, or for that matter, even playing video games than when you were in college?  No other place did I experience raw competitiveness when it came to video games than in college while playing the game Super Smash Bros.  Staying up until 3 AM playing team battles; turning it into a competitive drinking game; challenging the smash players down the street to 1 on 1 matches without really knowing who they were, getting probation from the RA for taunting the other team too loud at 2 AM - this was undoubtedly my heyday of video game playing. As one could imagine, when word got out that they were making one for the Gamecube, the buzz for this game in my circle of friends was so extreme that it made waiting in line with my friends for a new Gamecube almost desirable.  I wanted to be there; I wanted to see how others were reacting to it as well; I wanted to experience that competitiveness with something new.  

The Xbox 360 just doesn’t do it for me.  Perhaps because the launch titles are mediocre at best.  Perhaps because I don’t see a multiplayer game out there that I’m looking forward to playing with my buddies (Perfect Dark Zero is close).  Perhaps because it isn’t college anymore – I’m really not sure.  Maybe all these reasons culminated into why it was so easy for me to turn and walk away yesterday.  In any case, video games are a very large part of my life today, but certainly not to level of my college playing days.  However, with the eventual release of the Nintendo Revolution and Super Smash Bros Rev. only time will only tell if I ever reach that level again.  Until then, here’s to hoping!