Console Rundown/Tech We Don't Need

I realize after yesterday's post that I'm pretty hard on video games and gamers in general.Today I'm going to lay off the gamers a bit and I'm going to take a look at the current group of consoles.I have not yet bought a new gaming console and do not think I will buy one this generation.If I do indeed refrain from buying one, it will be the first time I do.I really do like games, but something about this new generation just seems...off.It hasn't grabbed me at all.So here's my outsider's look in.

XBox 360 :I actually had a preorder for this when it was released but had to cancel it because it was expensive enough to take away from my ability to buy Xmas presents for other people.I was pretty sad at the time because I wanted to play Oblivion.Two years later and that is still the only game I have any interest in.Microsoft seems to be playing it really safe.FPS.Racing game.Grand Theft Auto rip-off.Rinse.Repeat.All they seem to be interested in last years game with this year's graphics.There's too many sequels and rehashes of old games.Xbox Live Arcade is where I would probably spend most of my time, but I can't justify the purchase of a console for that.Looking back, it seems like it was rushed out before it was needed.

Playstation3 :It was waaaaaay too expensive, but the price is going down(and still too expensive).The same complaints I have about game choice with the Xbox360 also apply here.There's also the issue here that much of that high sticker price is for the blu-ray player which I don't need.High def technology is still too expensive.I'm giving it a few more years before I jump onboard.I just don't see that much of a difference in picture quality.What little difference I do see is not enough to make me abandon my current, perfectly working TV so I can drop hundreds, or even into the thousands, of dollars on a new set.Sony needs to worry more about games and less about forcing new technology on a population that isn't ready for it.

Wii :I look at Nintendo's motion sensing technology as something that still needs to mature.It's too different and developers don't seem to know what to do with it.There are also too many minigame compilations out for this system.The only game I want to play on the Wii are the virtual console games.I don't think I'd buy even one Wii game.I'll look a little harder at the next iteration of the Wii, after the technology has grown up a bit.It's interesting and different but just not worth the investment right now.

Looking at what I wrote, it seems I'm more disappointed in the quality of the games for these systems.There are too many sequels and old ideas.I'm seeing the same games I saw two years ago.Better graphics or a fancy new controller on the same old game do not make a new game.I won't even get into this silly obsession with making games bloodier and bloodier, which is apparently the only way game companies know how to make "mature" content.

I don't want to sound like some grumpy old-timer who hates all new technology, but so much of it is just worthless.Companies prey on our need to be compulsive consumers.I've seen so many people rush out to buy, let's use high def TV's as an example again, and they don't know how to use them.They just plug them in and expect everything to be the same as it was with their ten-year old 19" set.The fact that one TV can be more sophisticated than an older one must be some sort of alien concept.I can't even count the number of times I have gone into somebody's house as a technician and had to explain to the customer who is so proud of his new 54" plasma TV what I mean when I tell him to set his TV for "video1".If I had to guess, I'd say slightly more than half of the customers I had didn't even know how to use their TV's remote.When talking to customers aged 50 and over I'd bring that number up to 75% at least.

Rant over.