Wired Magazine is running a story about the Electronic Entertainment Expo that will hit Los Angeles in the upcoming week. Although the article doesn't provide a lot of info about the new consoles coming out, it does re-invigorate a discussion I had with my son recently.
The two of us went to a local book/video/music store. He was looking at the Nintendo DS. I had recently seen a PSP and I must admit that I was pretty impressed with it. He would like to have a Nintendo DS. He already has a Game Boy and a Game Boy Color, but of course, he needs a Nintendo DS too. I asked him what he thought of the PSP. I remarked that I thought it was a better machine given the things it can do ( at a considerable cost over the Nintendo DS ). He disagreed. But I think his opinion is a bit biased because many of his friends have a Nintendo DS and if he had one he could join in their games.
The two of us went to a local book/video/music store. He was looking at the Nintendo DS. I had recently seen a PSP and I must admit that I was pretty impressed with it. He would like to have a Nintendo DS. He already has a Game Boy and a Game Boy Color, but of course, he needs a Nintendo DS too. I asked him what he thought of the PSP. I remarked that I thought it was a better machine given the things it can do ( at a considerable cost over the Nintendo DS ). He disagreed. But I think his opinion is a bit biased because many of his friends have a Nintendo DS and if he had one he could join in their games.
Our conversation turned to the other consoles. The Playstation and Xbox dominated for a bit. He said that he was looking forward to the next Xbox. He just got an Xbox for his birthday ( less than a year ago ). I informed him that he would not be getting a new Xbox. "The one we have is just fine, there is nothing at all wrong with it," I told him. If anything, I would be interested in a new Playstation.
I bought a Playstation2 quite some time ago and we have problems with it quite frequently anymore. It practically refuses to play any Playstation games and sometimes it is difficult to get PS2 games to play. My primary motivation regarding relaying this whole discussion is this, however.
Why do we need a new Xbox? For crying out loud, the Xbox hasn't even been out that long. There are lots of great titles for it. Like I said earlier, I would be willing to replace our PS2. I have always liked the Playstation platform for gaming. The only reason I bought an Xbox was because my son asked for one. I will admit, some of the games for the Xbox are pretty cool, but not significantly cooler than the same games for the Playstation2. Each of these console makers seems to want to replace my dvd player and music player with their game console.
Why is this? Why should I want to integrate everything into one system?
Take for example, my Playstation2. As I said, it will not play any Playstation games and getting PS2 games to play is very difficult. It is as if it just pretty much quit one day. So, if I had my dvd player and music player and game system invested in one little box, well . . . I would be SOL now. And wouldn't the execs at SONY/Microsoft/Nintendo be pleased to hear that? That would mean I would have to go plop down $300 - $400 again to replace my integrated entertainment system. And yes, that's right $300 - $400 bucks! The price of these systems keeps going up and up and up. For what? Better graphics? Big deal. Personally, I think graphics are pretty cool now.
How about some original games? I'm really getting tired of the same old FPS re-hashed and sequels to some other stupid game. Worse yet - I'm really tired of games based on movies. The makers of these consoles need to focus on one thing - games. I don't need them to create a dvd/music/game console for me. I buy their consoles for the gaming experience. Especially the Xbox because I cannot be strong-armed into buying yet another part for the Xbox simply so I can play dvds with it. Hello? I have a dvd player. Also, I would much rather pay for a reasonably priced gaming console than an integrated entertainment system that also happens to play games. Focus people. Focus. I can't say for sure that my son understood what I was trying to say. Perhaps I am trying to steer my son away from becoming the consumer that corporations would really like to count on. Regardless of my motives, you won't have to try to beat me to the stores on opening day for your favorite gaming console.
I bought a Playstation2 quite some time ago and we have problems with it quite frequently anymore. It practically refuses to play any Playstation games and sometimes it is difficult to get PS2 games to play. My primary motivation regarding relaying this whole discussion is this, however.
Why do we need a new Xbox? For crying out loud, the Xbox hasn't even been out that long. There are lots of great titles for it. Like I said earlier, I would be willing to replace our PS2. I have always liked the Playstation platform for gaming. The only reason I bought an Xbox was because my son asked for one. I will admit, some of the games for the Xbox are pretty cool, but not significantly cooler than the same games for the Playstation2. Each of these console makers seems to want to replace my dvd player and music player with their game console.
Why is this? Why should I want to integrate everything into one system?
Take for example, my Playstation2. As I said, it will not play any Playstation games and getting PS2 games to play is very difficult. It is as if it just pretty much quit one day. So, if I had my dvd player and music player and game system invested in one little box, well . . . I would be SOL now. And wouldn't the execs at SONY/Microsoft/Nintendo be pleased to hear that? That would mean I would have to go plop down $300 - $400 again to replace my integrated entertainment system. And yes, that's right $300 - $400 bucks! The price of these systems keeps going up and up and up. For what? Better graphics? Big deal. Personally, I think graphics are pretty cool now.
How about some original games? I'm really getting tired of the same old FPS re-hashed and sequels to some other stupid game. Worse yet - I'm really tired of games based on movies. The makers of these consoles need to focus on one thing - games. I don't need them to create a dvd/music/game console for me. I buy their consoles for the gaming experience. Especially the Xbox because I cannot be strong-armed into buying yet another part for the Xbox simply so I can play dvds with it. Hello? I have a dvd player. Also, I would much rather pay for a reasonably priced gaming console than an integrated entertainment system that also happens to play games. Focus people. Focus. I can't say for sure that my son understood what I was trying to say. Perhaps I am trying to steer my son away from becoming the consumer that corporations would really like to count on. Regardless of my motives, you won't have to try to beat me to the stores on opening day for your favorite gaming console.
