I must preface this blog. I am not a Nintendo fanboy. I am not a Microsoft fanboy. I own all the current-gen consoles (soon to be last-gen) and I love all the systems. I am currently playing Final Fantasy XII on my PS2 and have not touched the other consoles since its release. But paying $600 for a console is not my idea of a good investment, especially considering what games are coming out for it. The fact that Sony has and continues to have a superior attitude when dealing with anyone outside of their own company is not something you want when you console is vastly more expensive than any other main console released to date (yes, I do remember the Neo-Geo and the 3DO, but they were not exactly on the forefront in their day). I have seen several screen shots of both the PS3 and the 360, and to be honest, the 360 graphics look better and cleaner than the PS3. I know you cannot tell everything from screen shots, but I also know people that have played both, and they have consistently told me that the 360 plays, looks and just feels better than the PS3. A couple have said that the big launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man, looks marginally better than a PS2 game. The fact that the 360 has had a year head start on the PS3 means that those who are programming for it have gotten better at it, and as a result are producing better games, with better graphics. The PS3, however, is harder to program for, meaning that the learning curve is much higher. Sony is doing nothing to help developers create games easier, a problem that they have had since they began making consoles. Because of this, many developers are either abandoning the PS3, or converting many of the former "exclusive" titles to multiplatform titles. In a year, the PS3 graphics will have improved, certainly, but so will the 360. While the PS3 developers create better and better looking games, the same is happening with the 360 developers. What this means is that it will take Sony about 2-3 years to catch up to where Microsoft will be at that time. True, the PS3 has better graphics capabilities, but having the capabilities and using them are 2 different things. In order to persuade people to buy something, you must first offer them something worth their money. That is the basics of retail. However, the PS3, while many of the games look great when they show them off, the games they are actually releasing during the launch window are really not nearly as impressive. The same problem haunted the 360 launch, though. Though it released several games, there were really no mind-blowing games. The same can be said for the PS3. That is one reason why I am not buying a PS3 at launch, and why I did not buy a 360 at launch. System problems are another decision-making factor: the 360 had several problems at launch, and while somewhat slow to react, Microsoft did eventually move to correct the problem, and now the systems released onto the market are virtually bug-free. While the PS3 has not yet been released, I imagine that many of their systems will have problems as well. The PS2 was not without problems at launch, though many people will deny it. You always have problems when trying to combine many new elements into one machine. The PS2 proved it, the PS3 will prove it as well. Many people have claimed that Blu-Ray will be boosted by the PS3, and vice-versa. While this may be partially true, you must consider all the facts. The PS2 did help push the DVD format, but this was fairly easy, as it was the only format at the time poised to replace VHS (yes, LaserDisc was out there too, but they were so expensive they were not worth the effort). Today, the PS3 will help push the Blu-Ray format, but there is competition from HD-DVD, which is cheaper both for the players and the movies themselves. The Blu-Ray players are currently running at $1000, with the movies ranging from $25-50. The HD-DVD players, on the other hand, are currently running at about $500, with movies going for between $20-30. While the Blu-Ray discs may hold more than HD-DVD (50GB compared to 30GB), most consumers think about the price before they consider the detailed differences. I see this battle as very similar to the BetaMax/VHS battle. BetaMax, while a superior product on paper, was simply too expensive to end up the winner. The Blu-Ray/HD-DVD battle, in my opinion, will probly have a similar outcome, with HD-DVD the winner. We are already seeing this happen, with more movie studios releasing movies on HD-DVD than on Blu-Ray. Sony has notoriously been difficult to work with. This attitude will not help them in the console war, especially with a system as high-priced as the PS3. They will need to either change their attitude, or change their price, they will not be able to maintain both and hope to be the winner this console cycle.

It amazes me how many people out there will buy a game simply for a name or because it is affiliated with something they happen to like. Take 50 Cent's game: a horrible game that has no place on any console, ever, and yet there are people out there that think it is the best game ever made! The only people who like this game are ones that really love 50 Cent and those that like to think of themselves as "gangsta." These "gangsta" people more than likely have never held a gun, or shot a gun, or probably even committed a crime, but they like to hold up an image, and so they buy this game. We need to take a stand. Rise up against bad games. Give them horrible reviews, yes, but do more than that. Send something to the publisher, or the developer telling them how much you hate the game, and how bad it is, but beyond that, give them tips as to what would make the games better. And then, we must go out and buy games that are truly worth our money. Games like Psychonauts. This game is absolutely amazing! It doesn't rely on blood and gore and extreme violence and strong language to be a good game. Now I am not saying that no game should have them, but games should not rely on them. Sure, games can have all of that in them, in fact many of my favorite games do, but they are not my favorites because of those features. They are my favorites because they are really good games. But Psychonauts was a wonderful game that got passed over by so many people. It did not sell well, and because of this, the developer and the publisher don't want to make games like that. It really is a shame to see such talent go to waste because the populace doesn't buy it.

So I say to you: go out and take a chance! Find a game that you have heard good things about, but never really had the time or the chance to play. Buy these games and get their sales up, because unfortunately in this day and age, it is the sales numbers that count more than whether or not a game is good. The companies look at the numbers and games that sell well will get sequels or spin-offs or more games released just like it. The games that don't sell well, regardless of the high reviews, will eventually end up in a bargain bin, collecting dust. We must not let this happen. Rise up! Support good games! Support innovation! And above all, have fun!