This is could easily remind one of a nerd's Dennis Miller rant, but its chopful of my gaming philosophies:
I have several complaints against people having allegiances to game companies. Number one, you are a customer to these companies- they are interested in your money and providing you with lasting entertainment to attain your money, for this reason I believe they will try extremely hard to keep your money coming. All the systems will linger 2 years from now because I believe all three are setup to go for twelve rounds.
Don't buy something just because it received a high review, just look for what interests you. In no way does a company guarantee that you will prefer their product, they can only market it and follow it with a powerful lineup- so they try their best to avoid slandering other systems, therefore avoiding free advertising for other systems.
While I'd be pressed to say that there is a best among the three, the most powerful is no doubt the Xbox. This far from makes it the best though. The best game-lineup to date is easily sheltered underneath the PS2. And I fear for the Gamecube. It has some serious competition in a world that has much older demographic than that of the late '80s. The only thing anyone can do is trust their instincts if they have yet to fail you. In 1995 when I was only 11 years old, I got a Playstation on gut. Twisted Metal, Gameday and NBA Shootout were my first games and all were without benefit of an 'opinionated' source. I just read the backs of the games and dreamed until Christmas. Needless to say, the Playstation was massive.
I remember when Half-life came out for the PC and how I bought it a few days after its release. I purchased it just because it gave me one of those good "hairaising misadventures in science" (similar to weird science, but ...completely different.)feelings ...nothing more motivated me, nor did I need extra motivation, it appealed to me - even if it were only I to enjoy this game. Everyone (even the most devout console gamer) knew that Half-Life was and still is a breathtaking game on any level or platform. Perhaps everyone has become a little too reliant on everyone else's opinions about what you should do with YOUR money. Maybe it's time everyone realizes that there are successes and failures, but they are only bystandards to personal preferences, not ones dreamed up by a critic or 'professional gamer'. Example - Dreamcast is considered a failure, but I own one that still serves alongside my Xbox and PS2. I happen to like it even if everyone else likes to use it more as a metaphorical gaming outhouse. Trust your own feelings, don't get caught up in a debate about strengths and weaknesses of systems that will have little impact 3 years from now.
Shame on me, I almost bought Mega Man X6 for the aging PSOne. I may have almost commited a crime in the face of people who seem to emulate "Leonard" from the film Memento and forget all the gaming goodness that can still appear for their elder systems. I'm only 16, but I know what I want and that's all I can ever really know about gaming. Reviews set my anticipation and allow me to be guilt-less on a game purchase. The devastation I would have if no games were ever reviewed might do permanent damage to me. Besides, after Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon comes out, hit or miss, I'll be playing it on my Xbox. (I wrote a similar version of this on Gamespot's Xbox Forum on 12/23/01 - this is a revised version.).
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