The problem with gaming.

So I got a new PS2 over the weekend...

I am seriosly amazed by how small it is. It is TINY.... but it's basically a PS2. I got it because I have several PS2 games that I really like and Kingdom Hearts 2 is almost here. I had to do something.

I stopped in at Gamestop again today to reserve my copy of KH2 and to put some credit on Blazing Angels (due out Thursday) so I could make sure there is one for me to pick up for the weekend and that is when it really hit me: Gaming has a serious problem.

The problem with gaming is that it is all about what is hotand what is new but not so much about what is fun. Example: SSX 3 is a old-new game. (It hit in October of 2003.) I was chatting with the guy at Gamestop telling him that I had rediscovered it over the weekend and had spent most of my time playing with it. He scowled. Why would I play with something old when I could be playing with something new?

I think this is indicative of American society as a whole. We are more concerned with what is new than what we actually like. We are constantly scrambling to snag up the latest and greatest only to quickly throw it aside in a week or two because it is no longer the latest or the greatest. In the meantime, we are acquiring piles of stuff that we are no longer interested in... not because it isn't a great item, but because it isn't new. STUPID!

On the gaming end of things, Gaming Gurus somewhat aggravates this problem because Erik and I have to make it a point to play what is new so we can talk about it on the air... but take my suggestion to heart: forget what's new. Focus on enjoying your free time (for gaming or anything else). If you enjoy gaming, play a game you like. If you like reading, don't worry about what other people say you should be reading... read what you WANT!

Forget trends and peers: explore what you like. It might be hard at first... mostly because we have been spending so much time paying attention to other's opinions (even if these others are simply advertising firms pushing a product) . It might be hard to find your real opinion (the real one meaning more than a witty, one-liner retort), but once you do you're on the way to a richer day because you have used your mind to come to a conclusion. Holy crap! You're thinking!!!