Today I was called a pusher...a peddler of addictions...but my offering vice was not a chemical stimulant. It was not a mood enhancer, emotions meddler, tear suppressant, or liquid lunch...oh no it was far more evil, far more addictive, (at times). It has burnt the eyes, caused divorces, malnutrition, eating disorders, nutritional deficiencies, sleep deprivation and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Yes it is as I feared I was a pusher, a peddler...A VIDEO GAME DEALER! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

There was atari, vic 20, intellevision and the coming of the age NES. It was all fine it was innocent, we were children, we laughed we played. Then we matured and along came Super NES and the Genesis. We were given enhanced sports, complex platformers, expanded rpg...and yes even the most amazing, all phenomenal S-I-X BUTTON CONTROLLER!

See this was all fine we were friends we played our games, told our jokes, laughed and even went out with other friends in a social manner. This was the phenomenal time that molded my dark future, how could I know what the spring of 1995 had in store for me.

They called them the next generation, they chose names that resembled the earth's future...Saturn, 3DO, Playstation. All very impressive and aw inspiring with their optical read drive capabilities...even PC owners drooled. But now it wasn't just a game, it wasn't a matter of just playing Super Mario to pass time. With Canadian price tags reaching $479.99 there were choices to be made. Now we all knew they all couldn't last, compete, and triumph. This is where it all began!

Doing homework and investigative studying of consumer reports on electronics that the world was not ready for. I spent more time on this than I did on my High School graduation...yes this lead to another year of High School .

In the spring of 1995 I ventured out of our sheltered world of good beer and better average populace intellect...and went south to the land of everything is nothing that is good for you and the mightier currency to spend $199.99 at 70% of familiar lending. With those mighty dollars came a mightier power with absolutely no responsibility.

First there was NHL Faceoff, and Loaded. A little bit of Twisted Metal and Destruction Derby.We were good all was fine we could control it...they could control it no need to buy their own...and then it happened. Like the lighting fast chocobos that had carried it in previous installments, along came Vincent, Tifa, Aries, Sephiroth...and CLOUD...OH GOD!

Like the salesperson of the year at the sony store I had unsuspectingly duped them into electronic bliss without the commission...Christ my best friend dropped out of university and bought a TV and PSX all in the same day...WHAT HAVE I DONE!

And now i sit here at my PC craving the next fix, yes it's true like any dealer I have become the victim of my flavours. Xbox, PS2, Game Cube, GBA, and PC they're here and used frequently enough to quench the craving that now draws it's evil life force from my social life...

My Xbox Live screen is on and it says, "Friends 0"...they, now tell you...