This Week’s Rant: A Wonderful Dilema
This weeks Rant (though I suppose you could call it a Rave too), is about a wonderful dilema that faces many gamers. The Xbox 360 has so many games coming out right now, that it’s very difficult for anyone to find nearly enough time or money for them all.
Depending on your gaming tastes, of course, there are literally dozens of games either recently released or just about to be released for the 360 that may interest you. Here’s just a partial list (in no particular order):
Halo 3
Half Life 2: The Orange Box
Beautiful Katamari
FIFA 08
College Hoops 2K8
NBA Live 08
NHL 08
Sega Rally Revo
SKATE
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
Project Gotham Racing 4
Need for Speed: ProStreet
The Simpsons Game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Rock Band
TimeShift
Assassin’s Creed
Army of Two
Mass Effect
Beowulf
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
As I said, this is not a comprehensive list. Even so, the number of games just listed here that are new releases or due to be out before Thanksgiving is staggering. How can any gamer expect to keep up?
First, of course, there’s the money issue. There aren’t many (if any) gamers I know who can afford to buy every 360 game they want this season. This is great for the 360 and should even help drive console sales (Halo 3 has done that in a big way). It may not be as good, however, for some publishers. With so many titles being released in such a short period of time, publishers are in fierce competition for gamers’ attention.
This flood of new titles has also prompted an inordinate number of ‘this game or that game‘ threads on the official Xbox.com forums - proof that, for many gamers, money becomes an issue when this many titles all hit at once. Since most can’t afford to purchase every new title they want, they’re having to make hard decisons about which game(s) to pass on. While this is quite a dilema, it’s a more pleasant one than most.
Then, of course, there’s the time issue. Though some gamers are able to spend several hours each day paying their 360, thousands more are time-restricted by jobs, relationships, kids, etc., thereby restricting their available gaming time. Heck, even those who do have several hours each day to play might find it rather challenging to keep up right now.
How do you plan to handle the glut of games flooding the shelves right now? Have you set aside a budget? Will you stick to it? Have you set aside extra time for gaming? Leave your comments and tell us which games you’re most interested in and which you feel you can pass on in order to have more time for others.
Game on!
