Okay, so I don't wanna be one of the cool kids. With the release of the Sony PS3 and the Nintendo Wii right around the corner and the pre-orders far and few between to obtain, the gamer world is wiggling in their seats over the prospect of possibly getting one of these wonderful new machines.
Not me though. I couldn’t care less if I had one of these next gen consoles in my home for at least another 6 months to a year from now. Why exactly would I not care to own one of these puppies? Well, because if the past consoles have taught us nothing else, it is that there will always be reasons to wait for at least a year to buy new consoles because no new system is perfect and there will be problems. However if you need some convincing on this, then check out my five reasons not to buy a new console in the first year after the jump.
1. First year games are usually last generation quality.
When new systems come out, most developers don’t take advantage of the full capabilities of the machine. Graphics are usually last gen and the games could have easily been played on the previous system, but if you wait about a year and then suddenly the games seem to get better. Plus usually by the first year, one game comes out that suddenly makes you want the system so bad you’d step over your mother to get one. That’s usual a good sign that the system is starting to be used for its full potential.
2. Lack of gaming choices
Not only do the first year games usually look last generation, but you never seem to get much of a choice in genres. When Xbox 360 was released, I think I saw one RPG for it and one platform game. To fully enjoy a system you need to be able to pick the game types you want and when a system only has 10 games available on the launch day, the selection is slim at best.
3. Glitches
Every system is released so fast that usually little glitches will get pass the company and you are left buying a less than perfect machine or a paper weight. Xbox 360 had systems that didn’t turn on, or have video feed to the TV, Nintendo DS had hinges that broke with little or no effort, Xbox had a power cord that could catch on fire and now the PS3 had problems with overheating just before launch. Honestly I get scared to buy a new system for fear it may morph into an evil robot with a mind of its own and kill my family while they sleep. Oops, didn’t see that during testing, did you Sony?. Worst of all, you then have to wait for a new system to replace the broken one or you have to send it away to be fixed which means another 30 days to wait for your new system, but at least, you don’t have to do it in a lawn chair outside a Best Buy.
4. Exclusives
Okay, you have three choices in gaming consoles and you can only get one new next gen system. You choose one and then find out 6 months down the road that your system won’t be receiving your favorite game series this time. Nintendo 64 owners know what I mean –-
Final Fantasy jumped ship to Playstation and left Nintendo fans crying into their cartridge slots. I know you can’t always get all the games you want on one system, but when purchasing your first of three systems, you want to know that it will have the most games titles you want to play, at least until you can afford to buy another system.
5. Lack of Units
Supply and demand, supply and demand! Supply very few units for a new system and we’ll demand it more. What an amazing marketing idea. I wanna spit on the person who came up with it. Every new system not starting with the name Nintendo loves to screw with us gamers by hyping their systems and then not producing enough units for the public to buy, which means gamers either wait in line at Best Buy in a sleeping bag overnight or pay double or even triple the price on Ebay to get the system right away. My question is why put yourself through this torture now when a few months down the road, you’ll walk by a wall of systems just screaming, “Please buy me!” along with 20 or so new game titles.
So to answer all those people who keep asking me if I will be in line to buy a Nintendo Wii or PS3 next month? “No way in Hell!” I’ll be the one walking out of the store with an Xbox 360 and a big smile on my face, because I didn’t have to wait in line for mine.
Now I'm not saying that each rule will apply to both the Nintendo Wii and the PS3. They could stand above the rest and not follow in the footsteps of previous systems when it comes to the problems I just mentioned, but more than likely they will have 2 or 3 of these problems and they will be a pain in the butt to own right away.
However just to make the masses happy before the hate mail starts, I will give three reasons on why you should buy next gen right away.
1. You work in the industry
It’s pretty silly not to have the latest systems if you need to preview and review the latest in gaming for your job. I mean hopefully you’ll be given a system by the companies to be able to review their stuff,
but sometimes it doesn’t work out that well.
2. You wanna be the coolest kid on your block.
If you wanna have all your friends worshipping the ground you walk on, because you have the newest system available, then by all means buy away. Nothing wrong with buying friends and dates by letting them play your new PS3. I just hope you have the type of games they like and the system doesn't kill them in some strange accident.
3. You have way too much money.
If you’re a millionaire that can afford to pay three times the normal amount for a pre-ordered system or can pay someone to stand in line at EB games for you, then by all means, buy one. You can afford too and you certainly afford to not care if anything is wrong with it as well.
Contest:
2:27 AM on 10.19.2006 | 
