We all know that fanboys are a hateful thing, a terrible nuisance that afflicts the internet. They spout their irrational views on any website that will let them sign up and denounce some of the greatest games of this generation whilst promoting the worst all in the name of defending their purchase. That being said, i wanted to post a bit of a personal experience, a 'coming of age' story if you will charting my own psychological transition to a more, if not mature, then at least open minded view of gaming .

Don't get me wrong, i've never said another console is worthless, at the most the occasional good humoured poke at a friend who owned the 'rival' system to mine, all in a spirit of fun. I have however noticed a definite shift in my own perspective after acquiring a second system.

The best example i can give, would be the respective online services of each console. When i was strictly an XBOX360 gamer, it came across as such a superior service. The speed and ease of setting up a game versus the widespread criticism of Sony's online service seemed obvious. I even, for my sins, chuckled when GTA4 launched and Sony's servers went haywire.

I recently picked up a PS3, mainly for MGS4 but i have a couple of other titles for it as well and suddenly, despite it's flaws, the online service became so much more appealing. My live subscription ran out a few weeks ago, an event that would normally have me stopping by Blockbuster on the way home from work to pick up another 3-month card but now that i have access to free-to-play online multiplayer, I've just not been motivated to spend that extra money. What once seemed like a tiny burden, a negligible expense now seems almost ridiculously over priced. I find myself tempted to buy the PS3 edition of a multiplayer game, rather than the 360 version simply to avoid that added expense.

In summary, for all that i've mocked the fanboys in the past. Claimed to be an even handed observer of the 'console wars' i have to admit that only posessing one system warped my viewpoint WITHOUT EVEN REALISING. That's why i wanted to post this. I'm not defending the fanboys. They are still immature children that waste my time and yours but in many ways, it's not their fault. The fanboys don't know thats what they are because when you can only afford one console, or the purchase of a second or third seems too far off to be tangible, your choice has to be rationalised. Simply saying, 'this is mine and that is yours, we can all get along' doesn't work. If you're a kid who only gets one opportunity every generation to acquire a console, or an adult who's toiled away in the rat race to pick up a system - it hurts to think that time was wasted or to know you'll have to wait 4 or 5 years to simply have a chance to correct your error. Much the same as a jilted lover will claim it was they that did the dumping, a failed console owner can feel much the same.

This post probably seems obvious to most, but i wanted to get this off my chest. Call it a fanboy equivalent of alchoholics anonymous. It's a habit i've broken, but if my 360 dies or the PS3's library doesn't pick up, i might just fall off the wagon again.

My names Junglistgamer, and i'm a fanboy. It's been 2 months now since my last irrational anti-PS3 comment, but i'm still just taking it one day at a time.