Console vs. Computer Gaming

This article originally appeared on the now defunct LockerGnome blogging network and was a featured article.

I've been a fan of console gaming since the Nintendo Entertainment System, but lately I've been playing games on my computer more.

I own a PS3. I've spent a lot of time on one of my friend's Xbox 360, but the only game that I found myself totally addicted to on that platform was Uno on Xbox Live. No games on the 360 really kept my interest. There have been some great games for the PS3, but it is in my opinion that they have been few and far between. The only game that I really truly loved for the console so far was Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Similarly, there has not been that many great games for Nintendo's consoles. Most of what Nintendo offers these days has been gimmicky at best.

Back in the day, I used to be a huge Nintendo fan. I subscribed to Nintendo Power and everything. I spent countless hours playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64. To this day, I can still run through Mario 64 like it's nothing. The Nintendo 64 was truly my favorite console. It had something that no other Nintendo console has had before or since. There was something magical about that black box and the games that came out for it. I guess you could call it character.

Whatever you call it, that something has unfortunately been lost in this generation of consoles. I started to think that maybe I was just growing out of the "need" to play games, but that bubble was burst when I went back and played those classic games that I loved so much again. I couldn't even get in to the new Nintendo console games like I could those old classics. Could it be that I'm just stuck in the past and am addicted to that old nostalgic feel? Or is it something to do with the quality of console gaming today?

Seeing as I've had a blast lately playing such games as Team Fortress 2, Half Life 2, and the innovative Portal (all produced by the Valve team) on my PC, I'm going to have to go with the latter. I guess you could say that I have officially converted. I'm not getting rid of my PS3 just yet, though. If anything it's a good Blue-Ray movie player. I do still enjoy playing the occasional game on it. I'm just not in love with it. I hope it understands. I hope we can still be friends.