Why'd You Buy That For?
I am not buying a Switch.
But then I wasn't going to buy an Xbox One, until I did. In my defence, I waited three years and only pulled the trigger once the price had been slashed and there was an exclusive game that I desperately wanted to play. And not one of those it'll-be-on-PS4-in-ten-months exclusives. A proper, fuck you Sony exclusive.
The price was ¥22,000 and the game was Fake Burnout Paradise, better known as Forza Horizon 3.
Despite routinely selling less than a hundred Xbox Ones per week here in Japan, Microsoft decided to go ahead and release the S model this month, which sent the price of the original box tumbling. I got the lowest priced set, the Master Chief Collection bundle, and am now in the market for a larger living room, so that I can store this gargantuan bit of kit.
I was after a racer, something with the freedom and arcade spirit of Burnout and NFS, and Forza Horizon 3 is doing a pretty good job. I've preordered Dead Rising 4 and I'll be up for Crackdown next year, but beyond that I'll mostly be looking to the games I missed over the the first three years of the Bone. Ryse and Quantum Break are dirt cheap, and backwards compatibility to the previous gen is very attractive. It's nice to have access to older games, albeit limited, and I wish Sony would follow suit, though it's clear they have no interest in doing so.
I haven't had a lot of disposable income this year – moving to Japan is really fucking expensive – but with a few months of steady work under my belt, I was finally able to spend a little. It was nice to throw some money around without having to worry about my bank balance. Please don't tell my wife.
So that's why I bought an Xbox One. Sound reasonable? Of course it does.
"But why did you buy all your other consoles?" Excellent question.
Game Boy: Pack Mentality
Everybody had one and, as a ten year old, nothing is more important than fitting in. Nobody spoke to the kid with the Atari Lynx, and for good reason.
Master System 2: The Argos Catalogue
I'm not sure why I initially opted for Sega over Nintendo, but I do remember staring at the MS spread in the Argos shopping catalogue for the best part of a year.
Mega Drive 2: The Sega Bubble
Because it was the next step up from the MS, Sega was cool and I was cool. Most of my friends had Mega Drives so it was the obvious choice. The SNES was for losers.
Sega Saturn: Ignorance
Because I only read the official Sega magazine and had no idea that the Saturn was being trounced by the upstart PlayStation. Sega was video games, whereas Sony made Walkman and CD players. I adored my Saturn, but I stumbled blindly into this relationship.
PlayStation: Acceptance
I got woke. Saturn releases had all but dried up and the games I wanted to play – Resident Evil 2 and NBA Live – were either exclusive or just better on Playstation. So I sold my Saturn and put my money towards the box that killed off my other box.
PlayStation 2: Crouching Tiger Hidden DVD
I wanted a DVD player to take to university and the PS2 was a very affordable and decent option. Initially, there wasn't anything that I was dying to play, though I knew that'd change eventually. And it did, though overall this was my least favourite era for games.
Game Boy Advance SP: Final Fantasy
The first time I bought hardware for a single game: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It wasn't anything special, and I subsequently bought only a couple more titles for my SP. Still, it's a beautiful little portable and I like to gaze upon it every now and again. I never play anything on it, mind.
PSP: Filling a Void
I was in Japan and I needed something to play. The PSP was the hot shit and I loved it. An excellent purchase that stood-in for the home consoles that I had left in England. It was relieved of its post a year later when I shipped my PS2 to Japan, though it remained my commuting companion for a number of years.
Wii: A Birthday Surprise
A very thoughtful birthday present from my then girlfriend, now wife, back when Wii's were the most sought after thing on the high street. I'd dropped a few hints but didn't think I'd be getting one. A very lucky boy.
DS: Not Sure
It seemed like the thing to do. They were flying off shelves, so when I saw one I grabbed it. Much like the SP, I didn't play it very much, and it would serve as my PSP back-up.
PlayStation 3: Grand Gear Auto
I was saving up and holding off until Metal Gear Solid 4, but that all went out the window when I saw Grand Theft Auto IV. I bought GTAIV, Resistance, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Ridge Racer with my console, and was playing MGS4 a few weeks later. An impressive start for a troubled platform which would eventually became an all-time favourite.
Xbox 360: Beer
Because I was drunk and thought that I would enjoy Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and Dead Rising. I liked one of them. An impulse purchase that never quite paid off.
3DS x 3: Mostly Monster Hunter
My first 3DS was a pretty looking, Ocarina of Time limited edition – a game which I had long wanted to try. The second was an XL upgrade to play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, which was well worth it. The third was an upgrade to the new XL model, so I could play Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I have at least two 3DS too many!
Vita: Portable AAA
Because of Uncharted and the promise of the AAA experiences on a portable, which didn't exactly pan out. Also because I picked up copies of Rayman Origins and Lumines Electronic Symphony for £5 each pre-launch, due to an online, pricing error. That was enough to convince me to preorder a Vita after a month of place-in-basket, remove-from-basket uncertainty.
Wii U: Discounts
Because high street retailer HMV were struggling and offloading unwanted stock at very low prices. I got the elite model, with Nintendo Land and Zombii U for £199 only three months after launch. I fought off a number of children in an effort to claim one of the dozen bundles my local HMV had hidden behind the counter. Those kids didn't stand a chance.
PlayStation 4: E3 and Launch Excitement
Despite well over two decades of gaming, this is the only home console I've bought at launch. I put in my pre-order after an impressive E3 showing. Quality software was slow to appear, but I enjoyed being an early adopter and becoming hopelessly addicted to Resogun.
Countless Japanese, retro consoles: Because I have a problem
Game Boy: Pack Mentality
Everybody had one and, as a ten year old, nothing is more important than fitting in. Nobody spoke to the kid with the Atari Lynx, and for good reason.
Master System 2: The Argos Catalogue
I'm not sure why I initially opted for Sega over Nintendo, but I do remember staring at the MS spread in the Argos shopping catalogue for the best part of a year.
Mega Drive 2: The Sega Bubble
Because it was the next step up from the MS, Sega was cool and I was cool. Most of my friends had Mega Drives so it was the obvious choice. The SNES was for losers.
Sega Saturn: Ignorance
Because I only read the official Sega magazine and had no idea that the Saturn was being trounced by the upstart PlayStation. Sega was video games, whereas Sony made Walkman and CD players. I adored my Saturn, but I stumbled blindly into this relationship.
PlayStation: Acceptance
I got woke. Saturn releases had all but dried up and the games I wanted to play – Resident Evil 2 and NBA Live – were either exclusive or just better on Playstation. So I sold my Saturn and put my money towards the box that killed off my other box.
PlayStation 2: Crouching Tiger Hidden DVD
I wanted a DVD player to take to university and the PS2 was a very affordable and decent option. Initially, there wasn't anything that I was dying to play, though I knew that'd change eventually. And it did, though overall this was my least favourite era for games.
Game Boy Advance SP: Final Fantasy
The first time I bought hardware for a single game: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It wasn't anything special, and I subsequently bought only a couple more titles for my SP. Still, it's a beautiful little portable and I like to gaze upon it every now and again. I never play anything on it, mind.
PSP: Filling a Void
I was in Japan and I needed something to play. The PSP was the hot shit and I loved it. An excellent purchase that stood-in for the home consoles that I had left in England. It was relieved of its post a year later when I shipped my PS2 to Japan, though it remained my commuting companion for a number of years.
Wii: A Birthday Surprise
A very thoughtful birthday present from my then girlfriend, now wife, back when Wii's were the most sought after thing on the high street. I'd dropped a few hints but didn't think I'd be getting one. A very lucky boy.
DS: Not Sure
It seemed like the thing to do. They were flying off shelves, so when I saw one I grabbed it. Much like the SP, I didn't play it very much, and it would serve as my PSP back-up.
PlayStation 3: Grand Gear Auto
I was saving up and holding off until Metal Gear Solid 4, but that all went out the window when I saw Grand Theft Auto IV. I bought GTAIV, Resistance, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Ridge Racer with my console, and was playing MGS4 a few weeks later. An impressive start for a troubled platform which would eventually became an all-time favourite.
Xbox 360: Beer
Because I was drunk and thought that I would enjoy Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and Dead Rising. I liked one of them. An impulse purchase that never quite paid off.
3DS x 3: Mostly Monster Hunter
My first 3DS was a pretty looking, Ocarina of Time limited edition – a game which I had long wanted to try. The second was an XL upgrade to play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, which was well worth it. The third was an upgrade to the new XL model, so I could play Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I have at least two 3DS too many!
Vita: Portable AAA
Because of Uncharted and the promise of the AAA experiences on a portable, which didn't exactly pan out. Also because I picked up copies of Rayman Origins and Lumines Electronic Symphony for £5 each pre-launch, due to an online, pricing error. That was enough to convince me to preorder a Vita after a month of place-in-basket, remove-from-basket uncertainty.
Wii U: Discounts
Because high street retailer HMV were struggling and offloading unwanted stock at very low prices. I got the elite model, with Nintendo Land and Zombii U for £199 only three months after launch. I fought off a number of children in an effort to claim one of the dozen bundles my local HMV had hidden behind the counter. Those kids didn't stand a chance.
PlayStation 4: E3 and Launch Excitement
Despite well over two decades of gaming, this is the only home console I've bought at launch. I put in my pre-order after an impressive E3 showing. Quality software was slow to appear, but I enjoyed being an early adopter and becoming hopelessly addicted to Resogun.
Countless Japanese, retro consoles: Because I have a problem
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