I recently took a trip to see some old friends. I went from Chicago to Saint Louis and then Springfield. It was an unusual trip because I went for a wedding but It turned into a much needed gaming trip.
History: I have always been a gamer. My first gaming system was the Sega Master System followed by the Nintendo Entertainment System. After the NES I bought a Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64 and XBox. In the playablilty scale I rank them as N64, Xbox, NES, Sega Genesis and the Sega Master System. I am not loyal to any one brand (because the brand is not loyal to me) so I have always tried to buy the system I thought was the best.
In this new generation the choice for me has been difficult. Not only due to cost (my budget is very tight) but also due to choice of different technology.
Now back to the road trip: Chicago: In Chicago I hung out with one of my oldest friends. I spent about 2 days with him and played games for about 15 hours. The console of choice Xbox 360. I am not going to talk about the games I played or the graphics or anything. I am only going to talk about one thing and that is why he bought the 360. His answer Halo 3 and the fact it came out first. Ok, Fair enough. So I asked him if he had played other consoles and he said he had played all three. So I asked him, if he were to buy another console what would it be? To my surprise he said the PS3. I thought he would say the WII, but to him that isn't even a console. He Plans on getting the PS3 possibly as soon as the Killzone 2 launch...depending on if that game is as good as advertised.
Next Stop Saint Louis: In saint louis I visited two of my college friends who still room together. Here I spent 4 days. Gaming time- Wake to sleep. I have gamed more with these guys then anyone else in my life. In college their console of choice was Xbox and PS2. Now they own the WII and PS3. When asked about the Xbox 360, it was referred to as a "Piece of Sh&T." No explantation was given.
When asked which console was played the most the answer surprised me...PS3. I thought with the lack of games on the PS3 it would be the WII but that was not the case here. In fact, as the guest I was given the choice of which console to play and I immediately choose the WII. I had to see what all the hype was about. I played it for about 6 hours and then It was not touched the rest of the time. It was exactly what I suspected...a Gimmick.
Finally to Springfield: Here I visited many friends from college. All of whom I used to game with. I stayed with a friend with whom I have had a non-stop 20 hour marathon of Golden Eye on the N64. To my surprise he owns no console. He has completely switched to computer games. When asked why, he replied that there was only one console he wanted and it was the PS3. However there was no way for him to afford it. I visited three of his computer game friends and they had the same answer. if they could they would buy the PS3. ( FYI: one of them said he would never go back to console gaming)
Back Home: After coming home to a northern suburb of chicago I started asking my friends the same question and the answer was the same...PS3. It was on everyones mind weather they owned another system or not and the reason for it was always the same...the cost.
This made me come to only one conclusion: I cant help it but think if the economy was better or the PS3 was cheaper how many people would own it now. I know this was a small sample, but it was a sample of pure gamers and not fanboys. As I read all the love and hate for different consoles on this site I cant help but think its only a matter of time before the PS3 will wear the crown.
As for me, the decision became much easier. In the linage of greats- Sega Master System,NES,Sega Genesis, N64, Xbox, there will only be one to follow- The PS3. Long live the KING.
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At the bottom I think you missed out the PS2, because in my view they were as good as each other, but XBOX had the edge in the technology side and PS2 had the games.
Great post, very nice to see actual gamers' opinions instead of fanboy rants. The price really is the stumbling block. Once Sony can lower the cost to 300, even 350 dollars it will start doing very well, not to say that it's not doing well as it is. But it'll do even better.
Okay this was my first and last time I check out these silly blogs.