Mailbag

Dear HD,

Now that the new systems have come been out for just about a year now.... which one should i get? I only have enough money for one system and a couple of games... help me HD... you're my only hope!

             -Deliberating in Delaware

Dear Deliberating,

This is a question I've gotten a lot in the week since I've started my blog.  Literally thousands of emails a week deal with this issue, so I'm going to address it once and for all.

The choice of which console to get is a weighty one, and you don't want to make it lightly.  As you say, the current gen of consoles has been out for about a year, but the thing that we really should be paying attention to is exclusives.  If you HAVE to play TLOU: Remastered, then you're a PS4 guy.  If you HAVE to play Sunset Overdrive, than you're an XB1 guy.

Here's a third option for you.  Get whatever system  you didn't have for last year or upgrade your PC.  This short of a time out from launch, there isn't that big of a library for either major system (or even WiiU, out for 2 years, but if you are one of the Nintendo faithful, you either have a WiiU or you will soon), so why pay top dollar, to play uprezzed versions of games that are available on the last generation of consoles?  Yes, everyone wants to be a part of the conversation with the new consoles, but if you can bear it, there are so many games that you've already missed out on.

X360, PS3 and Wii can all be bought for a song now, and their libraries are pretty full of exclusives that you didn't play.  Hell, I have all three and there's a whole lot of games I don't even have, let alone play. Halo (3, Reach or ODST), Gears of War (1, 2, 3, Judgement), Uncharted (1, 2, 3), Resistance (1, 2, 3), The Last of Us are all very available and inexpensive.  Dig through the bargain bin at gamestop and see what's there at 2 for 20.

New consoles cost at least 400, plus a controller and a game at 65 each.  Including a possible game bundled with it, you have two, maybe three, games for about 530 dollars, and that doesn't include XBLive or PSN (each systems proprietary online service, with annual fee).  That much money could get you a 360 and about three dozen used games.  These figures are approximate and don't take into consideration Games with Gold or PSN Instant Game Collection.

Or, grab some RAM and a new video card and upgrade your PC, use the leftover money on the next Steam sale.  Oops.  Now you have more games than you will ever have time for.

Now, if after all this you STILL insist that you have to have a new generation console, then just get the one your friends have/will get.  Exclusives and minor differences in power and online service aside, you want to be where your buddies are, so that you can party up and be on each others friends lists, trade games, play online together.  There is no advantage that any system has over the other that would trump inclusion in your gaming circle.

Unless you want to play EarthBound or A Link to the Past.  But then, you already have a WiiU, and there's nothing wrong with being one of the faithful.