InfiniteTides

I can’t decide if Sony’s EyePet is incredibly adorable or disturbingly creepy.  Since I can’t have pets, this thing could be a viable replacement, but what the eff is that thing?  It sort of looks and sounds like a monkey, stands on all fours like a cat, but wags its tail like a dog.

My only concern would be that if it ever got out that I had one, I would never hear the end of it on Critical Strike.  But then again, I imagine Josh will get one too, and dress it in a gimp suit!  Unfortunately, EyePet has only been announced for PAL regions, and won’t be out until late 2009.

Once upon a time, when we bought a video game for a console, it was a complete and finished product.  We didn’t have to worry about patches or add-ons that we could purchase separately being offered later.  There was no downloadable content and no network to connect a console to.  These days, it seems that every game coming out on either Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s Playstation 3 is infused with some way to separate gamers from more money down the road when they realize that the game isn’t complete.  Downloadable add-ons have become a mainstay for game publishers.  There’s no avoiding it any more.

One reason I continue to claim PC gaming is superior to console gaming is user created content.  For the most part, consoles have not allowed the users to make and trade a great deal of their own creations with the exception of making maps or skins for vehicles.

Something I read this morning has further solidified my belief in the superiority of PC gaming and the communities formed to support it.  Sony wants to give Little Big Planet gamers a way to buy and sell user created content.  In my mind, Sony is pissing away much of the positive hype that has been swirling around Little Big Planet like a happiness vortex since people were told that the LBP community would be able to upload and download player created levels.

Now that Sony says they want to monetize those downloads, they’ve soiled the pureness of whatever community would have evolved around LBP.  They probably think (because they are just another evil corporation) that by putting dollar signs in the eyes of creative gamers, they will increase the positive vibe surrounding this game.  They probably believe that by monetizing LBP user-created content that they are creating a positive motivational force for great levels to be created and sold.  What they are actually doing is turning off a lot of potential customers to what could have been a truly amazing thing, a real community of player/creators on a console that currently has a reputation for shoddy community and spotty network play.  No doubt Sony would be taking their cut from every user created level sold on their network, so of course they would be excited about yet another revenue stream from a game that allows users to create just about anything themselves.  Too bad the greedy bastards at Sony can’t keep their hands out of our pockets long enough for a community to develop around what still promises to be an amazing game with amzing possiblities for both players and creators.

I finally got around to hooking my Xbox 360 to my HDTV, and I have to admit that I’m having fun playing games on it again.  Forza Motorsport 2 and Geometry Wars were just enough temptation to make me pull the 360 out of the box and reconsider selling it.  This weekend I want to play some Halo 3 online (with Kyle), and that should put my decision to keep the 360 over the top.  I’ve got all of this free time to fill, and gaming is fun again.

Due to several compelling factors in my life right now, I’m seriously considering selling my Xbox 360.  The major factor is of course money.  I need to save up as much money as I can in order to rent/buy/furnish a new place to live in the coming months.

Another major factor has been that I hardly ever use my 360 for gaming these days.  I still have a Playstation 3 on which I occasionally game and watch Blue’s Clues.  Owning a 360 seems redundant now since I won’t be buying any more games for it ever.  I can’t afford them first and foremost.  Also, I don’t like paying for gaming online, so I’m done with Xbox Live as well.

Lastly, gaming is going on the back burner for a while.  I’ve got much more important and enjoyable ways to spend my time on the weekends these days.

So the sooner I find some crazy fool potential next-gen gamer who wants to part with $400, I’ll be parting with my Xbox 360 and games.

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