I've made a major personal gaming decision. Barring any deal breaker issues like the controller not working properly or the game munching monkey biscuits (both unlikely) I'm going to buy the PS3 Metal Gear Solid Dual Shock 3 bundle when it comes out in June. I'm not 100% sure but I'm close enough to post it. You see, while the bundle was announced over a month ago the details are sketchy. GameStop and Amazon do not have it listed yet and I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer on the phone. I got the familiar "duhhh (pages shuffling in the background) you can preorder the game" as the generic sales pitch began to spew fourth so I just cut the conversation off. I'll cruise down to my local EB next weekend and speak with the folks I'm used to dealing with who helped me score my Wii before Christmas and get the real scoop. MGS4 is not due until the middle of June, assuming its not delayed, so it's not any big rush. I am on the fence about pre-ordering and if I do that I'll wait till the last possible moment. I think I can swing the cash but it should go without saying, if funds are tight in June there might be a change of plans.

The four primary things affecting my decision have transpired. I've been waiting and watching for almost a year now to see if Microsoft would solve the Red Ring of Death issue on the Xbox 360. They have not.
I'm not interested in any debate on this. Its not fixed, not even on the Elite, end of subject. It's a shame because if the RRoD did not exist or had been solved I probably would have purchased an Xbox 360 long ago. I have been waiting for the format war to end. It has. I've been waiting for the PS3 controller to be improved. This still remains to be seen but apparently it has. I've been waiting for the price on the PS3 to at least match that of an Xbox with comparable equipment. (larger Hdd and HDMI for the Xbox is included in this) It's fuzzy math at best because of the possible configurations. The price has been close enough for a while but that alone has not been enough to prompt a purchase. It looks like everything is coming together so it's time. For those of you who feel I'm joining the Dark Side by picking the black box over the white hopefully everything above will at least show that I have not taken this decision lightly.

With all that said I think it will be interesting to see what effect this has on me as a gamer. I now own an HDTV and with the purchase of a PS3 there will be no hiding the fact that I have moved into a This Gen console for the first time in many years. I have not owned a console since the Sega Genesis even though I have purchased a PS2 and a Wii for the kids and have some games that are "mine" for both. Still, I have always been, and still do consider myself, a PC gamer. I always go back to my PC, in my darkened room, with my headphones on and X-files or a Schwarzenegger movie playing on the TV. It's here that I find my relaxation, my zen if you will. When I play a game on the PS2 it's more of a mission and the feel of the controller often limit's the amount of time I spend. Sweaty palms, cramping fingers and an intense sense of urgency to get on with it. Gaming on the Wii invokes all of the emotions associated with childhood and play. It's great fun. Some games get me going and bring intensity but I still get the feeling I'm playing. Don't get me wrong, I think the Wii is a fabulous system and I have logged some of the longest non stop gaming sessions on record since the first Tomb Raider while playing Super Mario Galaxy but it's just not the same. No, I always come back to my PC. Gaming on the PC pulls me into the game no matter what type of game it is. The world around me melts away and its just me, the PC, and the TV. I'm jumping out of a plane into enemy territory and bouncing my KX-250 off a berm. I'm hitting the lip just right to darkslide all the way down that rail and sneaking into the mansion to make the hit. I'm ditching the cops and fragging one more alien before I dock my starship and call it a night. No, I don't think a PS3 will do that for me but we will see. I have a feeling at the end of the day it will be just me and my PC, in my darkened room, with my headphones on and the X-file on the TV. Or perhaps that Schwarzenegger movie.....on Blu-Ray DVD.

That's all for now.