I'm sick of the gaming industry. Sick of it completely. Note I said gaming INDUSTRY though. To badmouth the juggernaut of the 'big 3' doesn't mean I'm badmouthing gaming, as I'm not sure what life without video games would even be like, as I've been playing games since literally infancy, and have had handheld game systems on search and rescue missions. Gaming is a cornerstone of not simply my life, but who I am as a person.
But that doesn't mean I enjoy the billion dollar corporate form that gaming has taken on. Look at GameSpot nowadays. Nobody I know likes this site. The only reason I come here is because I don't feel like finding another site to keep track of my games, and I still love the CCU and all the wacky and semi-wacky members. The reviews on this site are based almost entirely on popularity and funding, not originality or creativity or simply quality in a game. It makes you want to just dig through that pile of 2600 cartridges at the used store and find something obscure and good.
On the other hand, youre almost ostracized for liking popular games. As a 'hardcore' gamer (I guess), for me to come out and say I like the Halo series, or that I feel Modern Warfare is handsdown the best CoD (or even IW>Treyarch) seems, for a lot of people, to make me somehow 'less hardcore'.
For the last year I've been unemployed while waiting for funding to begin for my college years. So that means my new game buying has been cut down 75% at least (I could never give it up completely). It also means that I'm spending more time playing the collection I *do* have (despite it being lowest on the CCU leaderboards, It's still about x100 any of my friends).
The modern hyper-media bombardment of the gaming industry has bred gamers into opinionated, hateful fanboys. I prefer 360 to PS3, but that's mainly because I own one and the PS3 doesn't have enough unique titles to justify its price tag for my home, yet. Someday I'll get one, and I'm pretty sure I'll like it more than my Wii (considering it's my least favorite system I own atm). Simply stating that opinion is enough for many to place me into the xbox fanboy pile, although my preference for 360 over PS3 doesnt necessarily mean I *LOVE* the xbox (although I used to, until the NXE came out).
Chances are, if you are reading this, you're probably a member of CCU since I really don't bother with much else on GS. If thats the case, I'm preaching to the choir. Why is it so hard to find a gaming community that isn't made up of fanboys trying to debunk all theories that their opposed system is worth anything? or just filled with competitive people whose world begins and ends with the fact that theyre lvl 10 prestige in CoD4? I'm opinionated, meaning I don't love EVERY game that comes out, mainly because I hate tv and all its media tie ins, I dont like sports at all so thats an entire genre of games I don't care for. I'm not a big fan of puzzle games. And just ebcause a game is part of a franchise also doesn't mean I'll enjoy it. That doesn't mean I'm right, it just means I know what I'm looking for in a game.
Which brings me to reviews. This site's reviews are pure crap. Almost across the board, theyre either far too low, or FAR too high. What one game gets condemned for, another is praised. I guess in gaming, like in all other parts of life, I'm on my own to find the niche.
So there are only 3 reviewers I will pay attention to.
Seanbaby
Angry Videogame Nerd
Classic Game Room
Why? because they don't review games for corporations (Seanbaby is borderline, but his role at EGM was to review bad games) they review them because they actually enjoy video games!
Remember just loving games for games? not for their graphics or their online access? I do.
I don't like where the 'gaming industry' is headed, but just like the auto industry, it will never die. There's always hope.