First of all, before you shell out all that money to buy the hottest game you know you are going to love, be prepared to say goodbye to it forever at some point. Why? Because until and unless all the consumers out there get tired of the way things are run by the big guys (Microsoft, Sony, Ninetendo, and Apple) and these companies come to the same agreement as those who create browsers to design with a commonality and upgradability to make their products fully available to customers across the board, no matter what system they use, and can get a patch or upgrade that will allow them to keep playing what they purchased for as long as the game interests them...one of these days thoses games and the system you buy will be useless garbage.
Of course, with many games you will probably grow bored with them, but what of the games you actually love to play. What happens when you bought a console game in 1998 and invested several hundred dollars on games you love to play for that system the company hyped as the best gaming system ever, then in 2000 and 2002 and 2006, more consoles came from that same company they swore were the best ever made and they no longer service or make new consoles for the 1998 version and no one repairs them anymore and the company won't touch it or make new games for older systems? Then you have spent several hundred dollars on a technology that will be useless in a few years.
At least if you buy a board game or a deck of cards, they are easily replaceable and at a much lower price. They rarely grow out of date (unless it is a game based on pop culture of the decade from which it came.) And these games can be passed on and played by many people because the game makers are not obsessed with people stealing the copyright of the games they bought. Look at how many games have survived 50 or more years and the manufacturers are still making money from them! (I must have bought Monopoly at least 10 times in my life and Scrabble 5 times.)
Consoles are worse than computer games in several aspects. At least with computer games, the makers are usually good about giving their customers patches and upgrades as the technology changes and many games out there can be played on many different types of computer systems using different operating systems. However, this is at the discretion of the makers of the game itself and sometimes the nature of the game itself. These companies are not required to do squat after you have bought it. If you bought it one year and it worked fine, but technology has changed and it is no longer compatible with any upgrade, you just might have a shelf full of software no one will ever want.
Besides, with a computer game, if you know how to play around with the technology, you can create and tailor the original game to suit your standards. With a console game, unless you purchase additional cheat and/or patch items to alter the game, you are pretty much stuck with it as it is.
Computer games are only slightly better, but they have a dilemma when you change from a PC to Mac or switch DOS. This can leave you in the same category as the console users who may have bought a great game perfect under, say Windows 98, but have since bought a new computer that uses Vista or switched over to Apple and find that game is no longer compatible with the new technology and no patches or upgrades are available, unless you are lucky and they sell you a new version of the game that may not play as well as the older version of the game.
I remember being excited at getting the Super Ninetendo System (SNES) which was to replace the first one. I waited to buy it because the price was out of my range when it first came out, but I fell in love with the games when I saw others playing them so I saved up my money and eventually bought a system as the prices started to get affordable. Then a year later, after I bought many, many games for the SNES, the new Ninetendo System, Ninetendo 64 (N64) which was the great new gaming system you must get for the latest Ninetendo games came out and SNES was phased out. A dilemma developed.
I loved the SNES the way it was and spent a ton of money to get the games and the system itself. Unless I wanted to play the new Mario games, I would have to shell out a few hundred to buy the N64 and the games to go with it. I wanted to hold out before buying a new system. I felt betrayed by Ninetendo when I discovered none of the new games made for N64 would be made for SNES nor would they offer any help in the form of a new console should my old one cease to work. So I jumped on the PlayStation bandwagon with the PSOne and upgraded to the PS2 because at least most of the games I already bought for the first system were backwards compatible in the PS2. Then the nightmare of PS3 where it is claimed many of the PSOne and some of the PS2 games will not play in the new console.
How many of you out there have bought the N64 and are now frustrated with being bumped out by the Game Cube and Wii? How many with the Wii will be frustrated in another 5 years when that is no longer the big thing?
The point is, there is no accountability once you have bought it. You buy it and it will one day be junk. Buy wisely! Don't jump on the next hottest new gaming system and pay hundreds of dollars just for the console that will eventually be sold for a fraction of that a few years later because a new one will be coming out soon.
I am not trying to morally justify the crime of piracy (and yes, it is a crime.) However, I can understand it. These game makers have no loyalty to their real customers and have to act super paranoid over the hackers who ruin it for the rest of us. These companies only seem interested in coming up with the next big thing so customers can shell out even more money for something that will eventually be useless when the fact is they must keep adding more and more stuff to protect their copyrights (AND to have customers shell out more money for the new system).
Many console games can be played on the computer if you know where to go to get the simulators to play them (check out the various torrent sites and gaming newsgroups for a clue, do a search yourself as I cannot promote this illegal activity which involves copyright infringement.)
Want a bad trip down memory lane? Here is the obituary of obsolete game consoles and those with one foot in the grave:
RIP
- Magnavox Odyssey 1972-1974
- Atari Pong 1975-1977
- Fairchild Video Entertainment System 1976-1977
- Atari 2600 - 1977-1984
- Magnavox Odyssey 2 (Phillips Videopac G7000) 1978-1983
- Atari 8 Bit Computers - 1979-1987 (officially stopped in 1992, but effectively killed in 1987)
- Mattel Intellivision 1980-1984
- Commodore VIC-20 - 1980-1984
- Fairchild Video Entertainment System Channel F 1981-1984
- Emerson Arcadia 2001 1982-1983
- Milton-Bradley Vectrex 1982-1984
- ColecoVision - 1982-1984
- Mattel INTV - 1985-1991
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) - 1985-1995
- Sega Master System (SMS) - 1986-1989
- NEC TurboGrafx-16 (TG16) - 1989-1993
- Sega Genesis - 1989-1997
- 3DO - 1993-1996
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) 1995-1999
- Sony PlayStation 1995-2000
- Ninetendo 64 1996-2001
- PSOne 2000-2003
- Ninetendo Game Cube 2001-(one foot in the grave due to Wii)
- Sony PlayStation 2 2000-(one foot in the grave due to PS3)
The point of the cheesy obit above is to really make you think before you buy a new game or game console. Unless the big companies get together to create a uniform code where all games will be cross compatible and upgradable, we, the consumers, will have a pile of expensive garbage on our hands.
As this is the case, when it comes to console games, wait until nearly the last moment as the prices get cheaper and then buy the console and games for it new. You will have saved lots of money on something that will be obsolete in another year and can play these games that already have a long trail of others who have played them with a bunch of tips on how to play the games. Learn the basics of how the console works and how to repair it when it will eventually need servicing or have handy a list of electronics repair people who work exclusively with video game consoles that really know their stuff on all systems made (if you walk into a Radio Shack or other retailer, they will sell you a new system and other electronic repair places will charge an arm and a leg if they want to be a jack of all trades and may not really know what they are doing.)
When it comes to games for the computer, you may not have the luxury of time on your hands. As the software makers have no real pressure on them to upgrade, you have to investigate the reputation of that company before you decide to shell out the money. Will they upgrade it with new technology? Will those upgrades cost you money or will it be free? If you switch from a Mac to a PC or vice-versa, can you get a new game for the new system or will it be compatible in both? How long with the company guarantee your software?
Just remember those tips as you consider buying a new game console or game. Enjoy the fun while it lasts and start demanding the makers cater to our needs if they want to keep the customers happy. After all, hackers will break any code no matter what they do. Why punish the ones who actually pay for the games?
