After the Atari, I got a Nintendo. Then I got a Super Nintendo. This was the golden years of console gaming. Or at least, that's what I like to think, because it was a very big part of my life. I never made it past the Super Nintendo. I switched over to PC gaming after that. I wanted a Playstation (which everyone at the time was calling a "waitstation" because of the long loading times for games). I wanted a Dreamcast. I wanted a lot of things, but the equipment kept getting more and more expensive and I grew further and further away from the console scene.
A couple of years ago, I got Andrea a Nintendo Wii for her birthday. I thought it would kickstart a new era of gaming for me. It didn't. The game selection was (still is) pretty pathetic and even if it weren't, how is one supposed to get a good diverse library of games when they're all $30 to $50? I'm a grown man with a great job, but I just can't abide that price for games that are essentially all just prettier looking versions of old $5 games. And don't call me a hypocrit, because I still go back and play and enjoy the hell out of those old Nintendo games. I'm currently re-playing the Castlevania series. I beat the first one, now I'm on Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Anyway, the Wii has mostly been collecting dust. The only game that's truly fun to play is Super Mario Galaxy. I say this with nearly complete ignorance, because I just don't really know what's out there. No one I know hangs out and plays Wii. No one talks video games. We've all moved on to house and career oriented conversation...
Recently, my friend Brian got a PS3. I jokingly told his roommate Beth to tell him to bring it over. She actually did ask him, and he actually did bring it, and it ressurrected the part of me that loved console gaming. We played Little Big Planet for several days. The last time I played a console and really had fun was when I discovered Katamari Damacy on a PS2. Perhaps I've been throwing my money in the wrong direction. Nintendo was so good back in the day, but they seem to have lost their way...
So, what it all boils down to is that I've been contemplating video games a lot lately. Before I played on Brian's PS3 I had just given up - I wanted to sell the Wii. Now I'm thinking I'd rather keep it and get some new games... and maybe get a PS3 as well... I just sold my drum kit which I never played, so perhaps that money could go towards a new system. I started looking only for Wii games, PS3 systems, and PS3 games. I like to research things into the ground until I know everything about them... Mostly what I've found out is that I don't know if I can justify $300 for a PS3 (not including any games or extra controllers or cables). I don't know if I can justify $40 for new Wii games ($20 for some crappy used ones). I would like to get back into things slowly - cautiously - I have a bad habit lately of spending too much money on things that I don't end up caring about (see "drum kit" above). So, I started looking into rental and trading options in regards to new games for the Wii and even that seems like kind of a rip off.
- Blockbuster rents Wii games for $8 for 5 days.
- Hollywood Video/Gamecrazy rents games for closer to $5 each if you sign up for a monthly fee and you still only get them for 5 days. In addition, they have miserable selection and availability.
- Gamefly has membership fees of $16 per month for 1 game at a time or $23 for 2 at a time... Almost comfortable, but I'm still not feeling warm and fuzzy about it.
So, I get the bright idea to axe all my friends if I can has games. A few of them have Wiis, most of them have the same couple of games that I do - I'm still holding out a little hope for that option. I tried finding a borrowing/lending website for games too, but haven't found anything that looks good. Andrea just suggested the library. She says she used to rent Nintendo games from the library - I'll have to look into that option...
The current state of console gaming (in my house) is apparently bit of a kerfuffle I'm afraid. I want it, but I don't have much time for it, and I'm not willing to spend a lot of money on it. The Wii, after getting games and accessories, ended up being $550ish dollars back in the day. I don't really want to do that again with a PS3 just because I had a little fun playing Little Big Planet. What to do, what to do... Writing about it has helped a little. I think I may have to do a little more research into the used games market as well. I'm gonna go dust off the damn Wii and see if it can make me happy for a little while...
Is anyone else into console gaming these days? Any wanna lend me some new games? Leave a comment! (And by that I mean leave a comment on Blogger, not Facebook. Most of you see these posts via the link to Facebook, but I'm sick and tired of Facebook collecting all the comments for my Blogger blog.)
Well, I'm sad you haven't come to me sooner, don't you know better? :P I'm never social because all I'm doing is playing games with free time when I'm not doing life-chores, work, or dealing with the kids.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my best suggestion is to resurrect your PC gaming love. You really need to get on Steam and check out the games they have there. Nearly every cross-platform title from consoles is also released for PC. This is horrible timing for me to see this, because tomorrow is the last day of the insane Steam sales they have been doing the last week. Games like Street Fighter IV which was released last year on PS3 and XBox 360, usually around $50 new, was only $10 for 1 day. Many others too, like Burnout Paradise (also on PS3/360) for $7. You'd need to stand in line on Black Friday to find those deals for console games. And those are big publisher games, tons of indie or smaller games for under $5, 75-80% off. In fact, they have a filter on their store for "Games under $5" and "Games under $10". I just bought the entire Doom collection for $10, including Doom 3 and expac. It is about to expire, if you hurry you might make it!
So no I don't own stock in Steam, but they are the best thing to happen to PC gaming. iTunes for games.
I don't think I will ever stop favoring PC gaming. Aside from the flexibility of upgrading your hardware (I know this is a negative too), I have access to my entire library on any PC I login to, play games on my laptop, while traveling, on the beach, etc. Steam has a great communications system that you can use in any game without alt-tabbing, just an overlay that comes up. A side tech-note, I haven't installed a game in years. With Steam, you just double-click the title and the rest is automated. No fumbling with media or keys. After that, I simply copy the entire Steam directory from PC to PC (when reinstalling) and the games "just work" without being reinstalled again.
Another reason I stick to my PC is so I don't hog up the TV. I'm setup in our family room, so I can watch TV and still be on my PC, Sammy does the same thing with her laptop though. But I *DO* connect to the TV so we can do things like watch Hulu. Also, I just started experimenting with a 3840x1200 resolution spanned across 2 displays. One more and it will be perfect. Check out my pics I sent out yesterday. There's nothing like playing Street Fighter IV with each character on it's own monitor, or a driving game like Burnout with side views.
So bottom-line, come over, we'll hang out, and I'll brain dump even more. Now, I'm off to drive around Paradise City.
Also, I have a neighbor here that I've known for a couple of years, he's been a hardcore console guy for a long time. He has all 3 current consoles. For the longest time he has been trying to get me to buy a 360 and get some games to play with him, but I just can't buy what is essentially a 4 year old computer with a 33% known failure rate.
ReplyDeleteHe has never understood why I liked my PC better, but after he came over and saw my new system playing Left 4 Dead 2 with every effect turned up, he went out and bought it on 360, and told me how different the experience was. Example, there is a level (game is set in New Orleans) called "Hard Rain" where you are going through a hurricane while zombies are trying to get you. On my system you can see tons of rain, wind effects, debris flying - basically the storm, - his 360 version is really toned down. Still has rain, just not as much. Yes, I did get an expensive system, but the flexibility of being able to scale the settings is what wins out. I can play on my 3 year old laptop and get about a 360 experience. Not to mention the more casual games like Plants vs. Zombies you can pick up and play on any PC you login to with Steam, even really old systems.
So, he has now joined the Steam craze, and I helped him upgrade his 4 year old desktop for about $150 (new ATI 4650 AGP card, 2GB ram). He was even able to login to "Games for Windows LIVE" with his existing Xbox LIVE account. There are games that can be played cross-platform with this service.
His wife appreciates that she can actually use the TV more now, when he plays on his laptop. Or he can switch to his desktop which is in his bedroom connected to his 46" LCD displaying in 1080p.
So anyway, I have a PS3 and a Wii. I think you know that like you, I am a huge Nintendo fan. However, mine has definitely collected dust at times. Right now though, Ava plays it nearly every day. We will play New SMB as suggested in one of your Facebook comments (they didn't read your instructions!), but her game of choice is Wii Sports Resort. She absolutely loves the fencing and skydiving games.
But I do agree that the selection of good games is very limited on the Wii right now. Here are the rules I've been following when choosing which system to buy a game for:
Is it a 1st party game or franchise or exclusive to a console? - buy it on that console
Is it something by EA or Activision or other publisher that is cross-platform? - Buy or wait for PC version.
Now this applies to selfish single player titles. For more party or family style gaming, the Wii is definitely our choice. My favorites for 2-4 players are:
Wii: Monopoly, Boom Blox, Rayman, Mario Party, New SMB, Smash Bros., Resident Evils (on rails with Wii gun), Warioware
PS3: I got burned early with games like Burnout Paradise, Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 because I bought them on PS3, then repurchased for much cheaper on PC. But there are definitely some must-have games like Little Big Planet, Unchartered 2, Infamous, but of course these are pretty expensive, compared to the deals on Steam. Every weekend Steam has a game on sale too, that's when I make my purchases.
Ok so last thoughts on the matter:
ReplyDeleteIn my view the state of console gaming is at a stage where you can safely wait instead of investing in the current gen. MS and Sony have taken a que from Nintendo, and are working on their own motion controllers. I'd imagine it will take a few waves of titles to get some good things out of it.
So if you are not into paying $60 for a new game, there really isn't a reason to get a PS3 or 360 right now. However, the PS3 at $300 is a great Blu-Ray player should you want one. So that said, getting a BR player that also plays games is a good choice.
Under no circumstances would I ever recommend an XBox 360, just research the "Red Ring of Death" and you'll see why. With "Games for Windows LIVE" you can play with other 360 players, and show them how much better keyboard/mouse is than a gamepad :)
The Wii has some good potential, especially if you do some HomeBrew hacking, which is very simple, can boot of SD card. You can probably find some gems for $20 or so that you haven't tried.
And of course all consoles have some sort of downloadable games (as you mentioned), which is a taste of Steam-like functionality. Just don't think you can login to a friend's console and have access to your games like you would Steam :)
Oh yeah, have you seen http://www.gog.com/ ?
ReplyDeleteThat might be right up your alley.
s/que/cue
ReplyDelete:)
One more thing, check out "Project Natal": http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=project+natal&search_type=&aq=f
Or PS3 motion controller:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ps3+motion+controller&search_type=&aq=0&oq=ps3+mot
Sony claims a 10 year life span for the PS3, where rumors of the 360's next gen system are floating around.
Should be "PS3 Wand" instead:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMDHz9InzNk