Wow, I am not sure if I can better summarize my reaction to Square announcing yesterday that Final Fantasy XIII would be released on PS3 as well as 360 sometime next year.

For those who know me, they know that I am a Manticore to the bone. I hate not having access to great titles because I lack a console and as such I normally grab every and anything that plays games that will attach to my TV every gaming generation.

I like many bought a PS3 not under the promise of "what was" but rather "what was coming". While games like Resistance were certainly interesting they were not my motivation for the purchase. PS2 last generation was my RPG console.

To this day I still have half a dozen wonderful RPG's sitting unplayed in my wait pile for the PS2. Say what you will about Sony but last generation's RPG library may go down as among the best since SNES.

Although this generation, I am confused.

· Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

· Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

· Grand Theft Auto III

· Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

· Gran Turismo 4

· Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

· Final Fantasy X

· Final Fantasy XII

· Kingdom Hearts

· Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Above is a list in order of the PS2's best selling games, and the one thing you will notice about every game on that list is that it falls into at least one the following category:

1) It was exclusive to the PS2

2) It was released first on the PS2

3) It sold the most copies on PS2

While number 1, 2 and 4 were released on Xbox and PC, PS2 got at least a six month head start on the GTA's and in the case of 1 and 3 over a year.

Now we find the latest installment of Grand Theft Auto not just being released for the 360 on the same day that the PS3 gets its version, but we see the 360 version selling more copies then the PS3 version.

Now Sony has found itself losing the franchise that secure spot 7 & 8 on its best selling software list last generation, as well as pretty well losing a fairly exclusive console relationship with the publisher that provided them game 9 & 10 on that same list.

Which pretty well leaves:

Metal Gear Solid

Gran Turismo

As the last two franchises on the list in the top ten, and needless to say they are both pretty heavy hitters.

The problem is, Metal Gear Solid 4 is out. It was wonderful, it was magical, it made some of us learn to love again. But it's over.

Which leaves GT5 as the last real heavy hitter from last generation left to make an impact this time around.

Now I know what you are thinking, "Sony can create another franchise that will replace what was lost that will reside exclusively on the PS3"

Have a look at that list,

A good hard look.

Notice the one thing nine of the ten games have in common?

Aside from Kingdom Hearts, not one of those games is the first game, or a "Part One". They are all follow ups that have been built on a strong foundation of loyal gamers who came aboard early and followed the series.

It's hard to make the first of any exclusive series a mega hit, (Unless you are Microsoft)

Yesterday was the biggest blow I have seen to a console since Final Fantasy VII was naked exclusive to PSone.

Let's hope Sony has something big coming.

I was worried that when I read "build from the ground up for consoles" I was going to get a dumbed down combat heavy terrible turn based stategy title that was designed to win over the droves of 14 year old FPS players.

Eight hours and two single player victories later all I can think about is getting home to enjoy my third victory.

Thank you Sid!

You did great!

Kudo's to Sony!

Its about damn time!

Although of we look at the bigger picture:

AA's and AAA's I can play on 360 that I cannot play currently on PS3:

Gears of War, Halo 3, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Forza Motorsport 2, Perfect Dark Zero, BioShock, Guitar Hero II, Call of Duty 2, Kameo: Elements of Power, Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, PGR 4, Eternal Sonata, Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis, Dead Rising, Saints Row, Viva Pinata, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, MotoGP 06, Ninja Gaiden II

Total: 21

AA's and AAAA's that I can play on PS3 that I cannot currently play on 360:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Resistance: Fall of Man, Warhawk, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Heavenly Sword

Total: 5

But even the longest journey starts with a single step....

I will admit my guilty little pleasure is watching the hordes of tweenagers in System Wars battle it out over who's appliance is better. The best part has to be when I interject with the simplest questions which seems to damn one console or another and I get flamed by one side and praised by the other.

Every generation regardless of quality or price I buy every gaming console that is available. The cost of the unit even at launch when factored in over the length of time the system will be active works out to pennies a day, and a hit of a few grand every few years is just not that big of a deal.

When the PS3 launched getting my hands on one proved to be tricky, but I was able to secure a 60GB unit.

The Blu-Ray feature was nice, but till recently (December 07) I did not have a TV that had the means to output in 1080p so I hardly noticed a difference between the Blu-Ray and the HD-DVD's I had been enjoying since I was able to get a A2 player in the middle of last year.

I have been a good little consumer; I have bought every PS3 game that was hyped. Yes, even Lair.

For those who know me I buy games like many people buy lunch, almost daily. I am a junky for anything new but as a result of this gaming gluttony I expect the games to be good and I don't need to give them 10 hours of my life to win me over, they get two.

I have tried with PS3, I truly have.

But aside from the 40+ hours I have sunk into Warhawk, I have realized that I really could have lived without a PS3 thus far this generation.

Last generation I was disappointed with god of war, because it was an amazing game that ended for me just shy of the 12 hour mark.

This generation, it seems Sony has decided that sub-10 hours and no multiplayer is not only acceptable, but it's the norm.

Heavenly Sword, Ratchet And Clank:TOD, and Uncharted laid end to end gave me 22 hours of gameplay.

There were the heavy hitters of 2007 for PS3 and they took me less time together then beating Mass Effect the first time playing the Paragon route.

$209.97 before tax for 22 hours of gameplay.

Goodness knows its not the cost that matters, I am notorious for buying games on day one and getting less then two hours of play from them before they hit the gaming wall and are reduced not nothing more then wall art in my games room.

But that was the best of the best, and it was 22 hours.

Many PS3 loyalists have asked me what about COD4? What about Rockband? How about Assassins Creed?

My simple answer is that I will not force myself to buy PS3 games just to justify its existence.

Regardless of what the loyalists may tell you, the graphic difference between PS3 and 360 on multiplats are so minor they hardly factor in when I am buying a game,

My rational for picking which console is simple:

A) If is the latest installment in a series? If so which console (controller) did I use to play the last one?

B) Is there an advantage/disadvantage to buying it on one console over another (IE Downloadable content, large install file, better controls etc)

C) Cost. If they are generally the same but one is 59.99 and the other is 69.99 its pretty simple.

D) If all else fails, what console am I currently playing most. Console hopping is annoying especially with the wide spectrum of differences in the controllers, so if I have played Console X 90% of the time for the last month and none of the above criteria fits then that will be the final factor.

I have had Guitar Hero II for 360 since April 2007, so Rockband was a no brainer for 360. I have a working guitar I can use as a bass so why not get it on the 360.

COD4, what can I say? I like Live better then PSN. I like the cross game invites I like being able to chat with a friend while I play COD4 and he is playing Enchanted Arms, and I like that I can send him a game invite while he is playing Enchanted Arms to come and play COD4.

What the really killer was recently was DMC4, I had pre-ordered it for PS3. I played the other three on a PS controller and figured I may as well get it for PS3. Then comes along the five gig install file.

Maybe other games enjoy playing one game straight through without another game touching the inside of their consoles, me on the other hand I have eight to twenty games going at once over five consoles at any given time.

Hot Shots Golf and DMC4 eating up nearly 20% of my Hard Drive is annoying, and to be told that I should:

A) Uninstall the file, and sit through the 20 minute install anytime I want to play or;

B) Buy a bigger Hard Drive

Pisses me off to no end, I had 106 Xbox games last gen and still have 50,000+ blocks free. I have 111 retail and 31 XBL games all with save files on my 360 Pro and I still have 11.6 GB of space free.

And I should buy a new hard drive because one game PS3 requires an install file that is larger then all my saved game and data files of all 106 Original Xbox games?

Perhaps Sony should have had the foresight when they built the console?

I don't download movies, I don't fill my hard drive with music, I don't fill it with media that is not game related.

Why is it Microsoft built a console that doesn't require me to buy a new hard drive, yet having 10% the size of my 360 Library in PS3 games requires more data space on my HD then my entire 360 save, data and Arcade game downloads?

This is next gen?

I understand the need for PS3 loyalist to mock the 360, but lets face it.

While using the PC is an effective way to slam the 360 for not having as many exclusives as it would have, my question is; Can I play Gears on my PS3? Bioshock? Halo?

Realistically speaking 360 second tier titles, like Dead Rising, Saints Row, Kameo, Mass Effect, Eternal Sonata, PGR 3 & 4 and on and on still seem to offer me a better exclusive gaming line-up then I currently have on the PS3. Taking out all the games that score 9.0 or higher from the 360 and I still have a broader library.

Why?

Why do I have a pile of games for the PS2 on my coffee table that I will never get through from last gen, yet the PS3 has been out for more then a year and a half and their best offering is still Resistance Fall of Man?

That would be like Microsoft not releasing any sort of exclusive till April 2007 that was better then Kameo, or Nintendo waiting till April 2008 before anything better then Zelda:TP was released.

What is most tragic is that Sony won't get that game this month, perhaps not even next month.

I watch all the Sony loyalists huddle around the faint glimmer of light that is MGS4 as though that will be the game that save the console from the taunts and the mocking, but perhaps I should be the first to ask,

Then what?

I am stoked for MGS4, but what about a month later when I have beat it eight ways from Sunday? What's next?

I made this comment in October 2007, and its even more true today.

PS3 is this generations Gamecube from a gaming stance. Great games worth playing that come few and far in between, that you should own but will never be consistent.

Gamecube has EIGHT games that were exclusive that score 9.0 or higher, basically two a year.

Is it unrealistic to hold the PS3 to even that standard? It's been more then 18 months and we have zero that fit that criteria.

MGS3 and Maybe Final Fantasy? Perhaps Killzone 2? White Knight?

Is this "Year of the PS3" going to only net 2 AAAe's?

It is truly terrible how low the bar has been set with this Console,

Perhaps now that Sony has won the format war they can focus on games.

Sorry for the delay in updating,

Work has been, well work for the last few days so I wanted to give the update.

Keeping in mind my 360 RROD-ed on Sunday March 16th, I had a pre-paid shipping box Tuesday March 18th, it even came with a strip of tape to seal the box, everything I needed to ship it back was included.

Since I was not expecting a 48 hour turn around my 360 was not at work, so it was shipped the morning of Wednesday March 19th and recieved at the Microsoft repair facility Thursday March 20th (Keep in mind that March 21st is the Good Friday Holiday)

Today is Monday March 24th, and much to my surprise a package was left on my chair which was signed for this morning at 10:14AM EST.

A Five Business Day Turn Around...Box, Return to Microsoft, Return to me.

Had I shipped it the Tuesday, chances are I would have had it back the Thursday of last week.

While I am annoyed it happend, the fact that I got a working unit back within five business days is truly stunning,

It also makes me realize how full of it those claiming "Ten Weeks" on system wars are.

I have always been leary of people on online forums going on about their "10th RROD" and the terrible service they received from Microsoft, I could never really comment since I myself had never had the RROD on either my 360 Pro or my 360 Elite,

With that said, this morning as I walked over to my living room to play Lost Odyssey I turned the console on to eject of all things The Simpsons game and there they were, three blinking red lights that I had seen so many times in fourms and youtube videos on my two and a half year old launch 360 Pro console.

Interestingly enough the first thing that sprang to mind was how embarassing it was that the last thing on my gamer card was The Simpsons game of all things...Matt Groening killed my 360!

But considering my gaming shelf has over 110 retail 360 games, and I have 31 Arcade games that have been output my this console I can't say I am all that surprised.

For blogging sake I figured I would keep a timeline (as I am still on the phone with MS as I blog)

8:45AM EST: RROD's start flashing away on my console

8:50AM EST: I go online to look for quick fixes and try what they suggest and it does not work

9:11AM EST: I call the 1-800 number that is provided on the service area of the Xbox website

9:14AM EST: I am talking with Sarah, a person! After dealing with Max the auto attendant to direct my call. I was fairly impressed that I was not wasting away on hold much longer. She starts to go through the entire process with my of confirming my address and my serial number. We had to make some changes as my address in the system is my home address and I want the box sent to my office which takes a few moments

9:25AM EST: I get my 360 repair reference number, and am told I will have a pre-paid box sent to my office in 3-5 days and will have a working 360 back in my hands within 2-3 weeks worst case. Of course with the horror stories I hear online about people sending Pro's or Elites and getting back core consoles I ask if I send in a Pro will I get one back. She comments to say that whatever you send it that is what you always get back.

Interesting Note: I bought my 360 Pro on Launch (November 2005) which would have meant with the three year warranty it would have lapsed in November 2008, they extended my warranty free of charge till March 2009 which I thought was a nice perk.

9:30AM EST: I ask to me transfered to the Xbox Live department to inquire about what happens to my lost three weeks of Xbox Live that I have already paid for.

9:35AM EST: I am talking to Nick an Xbox Live Rep. When they send back my 360 is three weeks it comes with a one month pre-paid live card in the box (a net gain of seven days of live)

9:41AM EST: I hang up the phone.

Thus far I have to say I am pretty impressed. During my adult life I have only had to call tech support for a console once and that was Sony for a DRE on the original PS2. There response to me was generally to go fly a kite because it was out of warranty but I could pay the repair and shipping cost to a Sony facility if I wanted (about a year or so after the PS2 came out in North America) that call after holding and credit card confirmations was well over an hour and a half and cost me roughly a 150 bucks, give or take.

I kept hearing horror stories about being on hold for hours, and the service rep walking you through plug and unplug drills to try and fix your 360 before they let you send it in which could take upwards of 30 minutes,

Had we not had to update my address I think I would have had a reference number in my hands inside of five minutes.

While the RROD is clearly a pain in the behind, I have to say I am very impressed at the way Microsoft is taking ownership of this problem.

Although my current 360 has not yet left for repair, so we will see if it truly does take 2-3 weeks.

To be Continued...