The Console Wars

Console fan boys are the lowest form of life. They are irritating, noisy, and blind. They have been around since the beginning, in various forms. Even the good-old Sega Master System had, and still has, its obsessives. To me, it stems from insecurity. There’s a fairly common conception that the most virulent homophobes are those who question their own sexuality. Likewise, the obsessive fan boy operates under the constant fear that he may have backed the wrong horse. Perhaps they’re even afraid that they aren’t really enjoying themselves, maybe they’re afraid that if they can’t enjoy the other systems, it’s because something is wrong with them.

Who knows? Looking into the minds of those who may not necessarily have functioning minds to look into is a fruitless exercise.

While the console vs. console arguments are multifaceted, there has not been a console yet with absolutely nothing going for it. Ok, except the Jaguar. Every console has had some kind of redeeming quality. Ok, except the 3DO. Maybe they excelled in a particular genre, or had a couple really good games to redeem an ocean of crap (Saturn). Ok, except the Lynx.

We’ve been lucky. The last two console generations haven’t had any system that really needed to be apologized for. The Playstation 2 may have been the clear winner, most notably because after nearly 10 years it’s still going, rivaling the survival of the original NES which lasted so long and acquired such a large library that at some point in the future it will likely get its own wing in the Library of Congress. The PS2 possessed, and still possesses a ridiculous variety of Triple-A games in nearly every genre that can be named.

Much as I acknowledge the PS2’s dominance, my love has always been for the Gamecube. The lunch box may have had a small number of games, but when they were good, they were good. They were also, frequently, highly inventive games like Pikmin and Eternal Darkness. Rare to mention those two in the same sentence, but both, highly original.

And then there was the Xbox. It had Halo. And Knights of the Old Repulbic. And to be fair, when you have Halo and Knights of the Old Republic you don’t actually need anything else. It also was the only console that was essentially a blunt instrument and could do a lot of damage if used as a weapon.

Today, however, things are more complicated. Far too complicated to cover in a single article. Therefore, for our inaugural week, Erudite Gamer will be running a four article breakdown of the current generation. We have brought out our partisans on every conceivable side to argue their cases. You should be aware now, that there will be no winner to this battle. Next week, we will not crown “Erudite Gamer’s Favorite System.” Our aim is to provoke your thoughts. Perhaps you will see the appeal to a system you never considered. Perhaps you will find your own opinions strengthened and reaffirmed. Perhaps, God forbid, you will think.

Stay tuned.

-Educated Guess