Call it genius marketing or just flat out fan favorite, the 360 is everywhere. From TV commercials to shopping centers, there's always someone there attempting to scarf one down your throat. Honestly, I'd call it a smart move on Microsoft's behalf, advertising this machine in every possible way, chopping the price so that even pre-teens surviving on their parent's allowances can afford one, and even nabbing former exclusives into multi-platform titles, much less siphoning exclusive downloadable content for major titles.

But...this is where Microsoft, from a gamer's perspective, has become more of a sellout than any other gaming platform: on Live, the first thing you'll see is something being advertised, be it a game, car, or movie. Hell, the only downloadable thing that is free nowdays is a theme or gamerpic of a Ford car or some movie being released in theatres or a phone network.

True, it is a smart strategy to get every little thing you can get your mitts on, but is Microsoft trying to monopolize the gaming industry? With 360s being dirt cheap, the competition's sole identity is the scant exclusives they have left, and the fact that they own a community so large, they actually have a calendar to remind you that you can play with Paramore (or some other band or developer) tomorrow.

Which...is kind of ironic: the Xbox was labeled as a hardcore gamer's machine, and now it carries more advertising and spotlight than today's rap stars. I'm not bashing on the system, hell, I love my 360, but I have to admit: what's going on is just making Microsoft's ameturish tread on gaming more obvious. From the Game With Fame to buying out a hell of a lot of companies, it feels more like a social toy than a serious entertainment machine.

But by sheer brute force, the Xbox 360 wants to be champion...and who doesn't? But just like how I like to see a fair fight in the boxing ring, I'd like to see all three systems duke it out using their brand of power instead of relying on dirty tricks like copying one another, paying out the ass to ensure the same game has exclusives on one system, or watch Kobe Bryant make an ass out of himself playing Guitar Hero and seeing that 360 loading screen at the end...I mean, where's the imagination in that? And aren't videogames supposed to be our imaginations come to life?

Whilst the competition for videogame supremacy becomes increasingly fierce, each company struggling to find an identity of their own: Nintendo making gaming easier and catering to those who know nothing about gaming, Sony playing the role of the monk, teaching us patience while we wait for their promises to come in effect, and Microsoft wowing us with stockpiles of games and expanding the social network of gaming with celebrities and new features catering to those who basically want their games to reflect their lifestyles...it's more intense than the presidential elections.

Nowdays, I still find it akward how I'm no longer labeled as a dork for playing videogames, but rather, another face in the crowd. And the only thing that will make or break my newfound image is what gaming console I pave my glory with. Hell, if I make it known that I own both a PS3 and a 360, I'm not a fanboy as if I were to own one, but rather someone who doesn't know a thing about gaming, and just someone jumping on the bandwagon. So...I guess in a way, gaming has reached their glory if little kids as well as 30-year old Koreans are telling me this.

I've owned a 360 since launch day years ago, and I've seen it grow from the first next-generation console I struggled to get in my grasp before Thanksgiving, to this machine becoming as common as a household pet. I'm not one to complain that gaming has come a long way from primitive one-button consoles to multi-billion dollar franchises as a bad thing, I'm just saying that the more casual oriented you make it, the less of our favorites will exist if the media doesn't find themselves attracted to it. And I've waved goodbye to more than a lot of old games I hold dear to this day.

I'm just saying, Microsoft is appearing to become a conglomerate, trying to take out the competition by acquiring everything unique about them. Which hurts me as bad as if you were to see your favorite liquor store shut down because of Wal Mart. I've been with Sony and Nintendo a long time, and I don't want to see either of them go down this way. While I still do enjoy my 360, I don't want it to dictate my gaming preferences by becoming the only choice available. As such, it hurts me real bad to see them driving themselves into the ground, and having me worry about the future of videogames going the way of Hollywood.