Tension Gauge Release: The Justification for Multiple Systems

 Sometimes you just wanna get some stuff off your chest. So I thought of doing a Tension Gauge Release article.

 Might become a regular thing... Doc says I gotta keep my blood pressure down.





I'm not one to suggest spending money needlessly, but in the world of video games, there are good reasons why having multiple gaming systems is really, really nice. You get access to all the really nice games, and if one system goes down, you have a backup waiting. Of course, it's not all Peaches and Daisies.

One of my pet peeves with modern consoles now are that they encourage having the console connected 24x7 (or at least, everytime you play) with WiiConnect24, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network all offering some incentive to go online. They don't say, however, that going online requires the one thing PC gamers have 'enjoyed' for a long time... system updates and patches.

Thankfully, game consoles don't require system updates as frequently as Windows, but, dang... those game patches are something else. Games that have an online component require patches, even if you don't intend to play online.

Wii gets a pass on virtue of having very few online-centric games (Monster Hunter Tri and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are the only ones I can name off the top of my head at the moment). Xbox 360 games patches take a maximum of 5 mins., especially older games, so it's not too bad.

PS3 games though... they take forever... I thought it was just our ISP, but it appears I'm not the only one experiencing this. I borrowed a copy of Uncharted and popped it into the PS3 to try it out. The timer showed 15 minutes for the patch.

No freaking way am I waiting 15 minutes to try out a game... Oh sure, I do that all the time on my PC (those Steam downloads take forever + infinity), but the last thing I want is for my game console to act even more like a PC. Plus, with free time at a premium for working guys, those minutes add up.

Let's not forget those PS3 games with mandatory installations AND patches. At least I can listen to music, or surf the web if I'm installing PC games, but installations on the PS3 can't be performed in the background. The PS3 is stuck with the single process. All that horsepower, and it can't do simple multithreading.

(I meant 'simple' in a relative way. As a programmer, I know that multithreading is a headache to deal with in terms of software engineering. But really, if a cellphone can do it, why not a high-tech glorified Blu-ray player?)

Fortunately, I've found a way to alleviate the stress from this ordeal: boot up the Xbox 360 and play Super Street Fighter IV  while waiting for the PS3 to finish installing and updating.

Multiple systems FTW, indeed.