Ever since I splurged and bought Sony’s overpriced black monolith of a console, I’ve been desperately searching for ways to justify the purchase to myself.
My musings landed me in an odd place recently (not the first time this has happened, mind you).
I realized that it already had justified itself. The frantic search for justification was unnecessary.
What I suppose I was trying to do was find ways to use my PS3 and much as my Xbox 360. After all, if I don’t use it as much, then it must not be worth as much, right? So I was thinking of all the multiplatform games I could buy on PS3 instead of 360 and looking around for every Sony exclusive I could whilst trying to increase my PS3 game library at any cost.
Well, I can now admit that was the wrong path to travel down.
I already have a number of great PS3 exclusive games. They have given me experiences that, naturally, I could not have gotten anywhere else. Just because they don’t match the quantity of my 360 doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy playing them just as much as any title on the shoddily built white box.
I also have an HDTV now, which means I can now experience the geeky joy that is watching a great movie (or even a really bad one, honestly) in true high definition. This alone makes my PS3 dear to me. The fact that it is a better DVD player than the 360 by miles doesn’t hurt either.
I was chasing after a bunch of silly reasons, just trying to use my PS3 whenever I could, at whatever cost.
The PS3 is a lot quieter! Wouldn’t it be better to play games on it instead of the jet engine competition so I would be less distracted?
Possibly, but it’s hardly an issue worth getting that worked up about.
The 360 could break on me at any second! Shouldn’t I buy as many games as I can for the PS3 in case it goes down?
It’s hard to fault this logic to an extent, but the bottom line is, as poorly built as Microsoft’s console is, I’m invested in it far to deeply to go back now. So, for better or worse, I’m going to have to continue to do whatever it takes to keep a working 360 at my disposal. So the games I buy for a particular console don’t matter too terribly, save for the couple of weeks I would theoretically be without my 360 again, and choosing a system for a game based on that criteria is frankly a little paranoid.
Ultimately, the bottom line is, I’m never going to use my PS3 as much as I do my 360. It’s just that simple. I’m too far invested in the white console; I’ve bought too many games for it; I generally prefer its exclusive games, its user experience, and even its controller; and, may the geek gods help me, I adore the achievement system, which is a huge reason why I still choose it over the PS3.
But none of that is the point. Microsoft did a lot of things right this generation. Just because I generally prefer my 360 doesn’t mean I hate my PS3 or that I should artificially spend more time with it for no good reason.
I just need to better appreciate the strengths it does have and the things it has already given me. And by the looks of things, I’m well on my way to doing that.
Welcome to the land of the loved, PS3. Sorry it took so long to get you here.