Shafted Fans?
Like many of you reading this column, I am the proud owner of an Xbox 360. In my case, I shivered in line for some 20 hours out front of a Target in San Bruno, California to earn the privilege of owning one on launch day. So, I have a very personal understanding of how the hardest-core Xbots might feel a little slighted by this recent announcement. Still, I don't think it would be fair to say that I regret purchasing a 360 when I did, because if I hadn't I wouldn't have been able to enjoy all of the fantastic games released over the last year or so (and I'm quick to point out that two of those games that I would have missed are GRAW and GRAW 2, which I wouldn't have missed for the world, let alone a bigger hard drive).
At the same time, I feel a bit shafted because although I've demonstrated my undying affection for 360 by carrying its torch from the beginning, I'll still need to buy a whole new system in order to enjoy all the features that other latecomers get just for slacking off and waiting to see whether the PS3 would trump the 360. It's just not fair: all this time and money poured into the 360 brand and some disheartened Sony fanboy can jump onto the winning team after the ball is already in play. Well, that's one way of looking at it, but I think that I'm missing the bigger picture somehow (not to mention settling into a big fat pity party as well).
Another way to look at this turn of events is like this: I just got messaged by a breathless friend of mine who was cheering nearly incomprehensibly about how excited he was to get a new 360 Elite. Now, I've been trying to get this guy to convert and buy a 360 for a little over a year, so I'm delighted that one of my friends is finally ready to take the plunge. Let's face it, the lack of HDMI support on the original Xbox 360 was kind of a downer for people with truly uber HDTVs, so this new version not only offers a little something extra to entice those lucky folks, but it also puts the Xbox 360 on an even playing field to go up against the PS3's vaunted 1080p resolution. There's still no built-in wi-fi support, but I think we're in "baby steps" territory.
While I would prefer a black Xbox 360 to the white one that's currently on my desk, I'll gladly forgo that privilege so that others can be sucked into my online gaming circle of friends. Though my friends list is growing bloated as it is, I can't wait to greet more real-life friends at the doors to the exciting world of Xbox Live. So, in some ways I'm annoyed, but in others I'm exhilarated, because although I'll be plunking down even more money for a new 360 hard drive, I'll also have lots of newly-suckered Xbots to play with.
