I have never understood the particular brand of rabid loyalty that console owners have for their respective game system.
You know who I am talking about. Petulant, faceless dweebs who bedevil message boards all across “teh internetz” with their inane babble, cloaked safely behind a shroud of anonymity with names like “PwnusaurusRex” and “Chalupacabra.” Xbox devotee’s strut with the confidence of their system having the largest library of AAA games; PS3 owners flex at the thought that their system has more muscle than Sylvester Stallone, and Wii owners? They are just happy they found a console to buy, so they make no noise. They are quiet, and rightfully content.
You can always tell who the fanatics are. The lack of punctuation, the use of the caps lock button – obviously cruise control for cool – and the wrath they project on others who have a system that differs from theirs. For example: “ZOMG DUDEZ U BOT A PS3?!? LOLLERSKATES HAVE FUN PLAYING NOTHING! THEY RELEASE FROGGER 4 URE SYSTEM YET? LULLZ!!11!!1!ONE!!1”
I don’t get it, or at least I used to not get it until I visited Best Buy yesterday to pick up my preorder of Fallout 3. I wandered up and down the aisles, looking for any deals and duly noting that for some inexplicable reason that “Alone in the Dark” was still retailing at $59.99 – a game so bad that it is now truly alone in the dark at the bottom of my trash can.
But then my weary gaze fell upon the systems, and I had an epiphany. The Xbox 360: $299, PS3: $399, Wii: $249… of course system owners are belligerently loyal to their system – look how much they paid for it.
The price you pay for a system – not to mention a AAA title on its street date – creates a sense of exclusivity for owners. After all, how could they afford a different system? Grabbing an Xbox 360, plus four AAA titles can easily set you back $700.
Spending that kind of money buys your loyalty. And once you have that system, the mind recoils in horror at the mere mention of an exclusive game on a console other than yours. Shortly there after, the flame wars begin and battle is joined in earnest.
What system do I own? I have a Xbox 360, my roommates have a Wii, and a close friend I hang out with has a PS3. What do I game on the most?
That’s easy: my PC.
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