You read gaming websites. You are up to date on the latest news, you know what's been announced, what's going to be announced (and the developers hate you for it) and what you need to buy day 1. This is a hobby, this is a routine, and put simply, awesome. Keep it that way.

I was the same way, and suddenly I fell out of the loop. I'm not sure why, but I went from knowing everything and being able to participate in interesting discussions on which was actually a more appealing system for a certain type of gamer, or what console had a better gaming lineup out now and upcoming...then one day I realized I hadn't gamed in forever and knew nothing about anything.

I logged on to Destructoid and found a bunch of titles I knew nothing about...and I got pissed!

Not seriously pissed, of course. Like, I wouldn't punch a wall or scream or anything...grunt, sure, but not scream. But it's frustrating, I loved playing games, I had fun keeping up on the gossip and politics of it all, and it was a daily routine. So how did I fall so far out of my hobby?

The fucking iPhone.

I don't have one anymore (I've either seen the light or fallen to the dark side, your pick), but I became consumed with iPhone games. Bought a handful a week, was desensitized into thinking it's "AAA" games like Modern Combat (lol) and Gangstar were actually good, and completely shunned my 360 along the way. I never even realized it was happening.

So now I'm back. I just picked up Modern Warfare 2, and while I'm a little flaky (the rumors are true, being awesome at MW1 or W@W does not, in fact, translate to insta-skills in MW2) I'm working on it. The issue now is I feel annoyed that I have no idea what games people are all drooling over in the near future, and have the backlog from hell. I'm mostly relying on Metacritic (not so much for the scoring but for it's release order) to see what I missed, and I'm going to need to spend some time on things like Halo:ODST (or is it OSDT? see!?), Brutal Legend, Dragon Age, some RPGs I was interested in and some lower-budget-but-still-might-make-a-fun-rental things like Velvet Assasin.

So my advice to you, dear reader and fellow gamer, is don't allow yourself to drift away from anything you really enjoy. It can be a little frustrating to realize how far out of the loop you've gone, and how much you've missed out on. I don't want this blog to be taken more seriously than I intended, I stopped playing games and keeping up with news and now I feel like I'm without a paddle jumping back in (I'm not losing sleep, I just really want my paddle back), but this could apply to anything you enjoy, and making time to catch up is a bitch.

S now, my question to you, what are a few of your favorite gaming experiences on 360 or Wii for the passed few months? And is there any crazy news brewing (like "Microsoft developing a motion controller!?" Pre-Natal announcement status)?

I just came across a comment here on dtoid that I come across often almost everywhere I
go. The wording varies slightly, but it's always the same general idea. It goes a little
something like this:

[quote]I have all 3 consoles so I'm better than you. You are poor for not having all three
consoles, and the only people who care about sales figures are people who want to
reassure themselves since they cannot afford all 3 consoles. lulz Just buy all 3 consoles and
don't care about 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii.[/quote]

No. There are two reasons why this ever popular logic is wrong. First of all, sales
figures and comparing exclusives is just as enjoyable to follow as any other gaming
information, and it's not done for reassurance (all the time). If you care to go into it, seeing
if Sony's bold move of adding Blu Ray and launching at "599 US Dollars" actually paid off in
the face of Microsoft's early launch with less value is just interesting. That's all.
Watching as Wii dominates the charts because it's doing everything right to appeal to non
gamers while doing many things wrong to hardcore is just as entertaining. The online is
messy, the graphics aren't up to par, many of the games have low quality standards but it's
winning, and the other two guys are running around trying to figure out what the hell it is
they can do to secure second place. Add more casual appeal? Steal the other guy's games?
Develop more in house titles? Add more value to the console and market it as more than
just games? "What the hell should we do!?"

Sorry, but that's fun.

Second, it's not about money. When I hear "just buy all consoles and be done with it"
mentioned during a civilized discussion over which console is the better choice for a person,
it annoys me. I had all three consoles last gen. Guess what? I barely touched my
Gamecube or Xbox. It was mostly about the PS2. Having all the consoles served as more of
a distraction than anything because who really has the time? I can go buy a PS3
right now, but I know I don't have the time to play it's games, my 360's games, my PSP
and my Wii, and I honestly don't see the point in buying another console if I'm not going to
use it.

So many games have gone multi platform and Microsoft and Sony have both stepped up
their exclusives' quality that for the first time, a customer looking considering one of the
two can pick a console that suits their gaming interests best and not really be missing out
on much. There is simply no settling for less between these two for gamers. That's
something great, especially for the person who is busy with college, work or whatever the
case may be.

So enough with this logic? It may be about the money for some people, but overall, it's a
weak attempt at making a point since it's more about time and what works for the
individual person.

Yeah, the Fable 1 hype machine pulled me in. I threw my 50 bucks at the out of place
Gamestop cashier for my copy day 1. I admit it. I also admit I didn't have more than average
fun with it. It couldn't compare to the overlooked Pirates of the Carribean (which was actually
Sea Dogs 2 with vague PotC references tacked on in the last months of development), which
was my main console RPG.

So here we are. Fable 2 is coming. Wasn't really interested. Then I learn about the multiplayer
orbs and think it's awesome. Considered buying it eventually.

Then I saw this.

I am now sold for day 1.