Geekdom

A non-baby related post for a change, but something else that I love. I love playing games. I'm not talking about hide-and-seek and the like, but the lovely shiny digital variety on games consoles.

I got into gaming at university. It was the N64 era, when GoldenEye (the game of the film) was out. A flatmate of mine played and I was hooked. Even better, he had Mario Kart and I ended up playing several times a week (or at least whenever I could get a look in). I loved it so much that I convinced myself that what I really needed was a reward for all my hard work after my finals (yeah, right) and I bought my very first console.

It was great - how realistic they looked back then! (How bad they look now!) As I moved into my postgraduate year, gaming became an even bigger part of my life as I owned my first PC and was able to add PC gaming to the N64. Interestingly, there were 6 of us living together in my 4th year and it was the 2 girls who owned the games consoles (not that you'd have known from the time the boys spent on them).

I left uni and went to work, but I still loved video games. I was always looking forward to the new releases, and was very excited about the next generation of consoles.

Around this time I met N, appropriately enough, online. We were both hugely un-confident in social situations, but the internet let us be honest with each other in a way we would never have dared in real life. When we met, gaming was one of the few things we actually had (and indeed, have) in common. I enjoyed being taken seriously when I talked about games, and N loved having a girlfriend who was quite happy for him to geek it up! (I think he still quite likes that, actually :-) )

Video games consoles have moved on yet again since I first started playing and I'm still hooked. We still own one of every console (going back as far as the Dreamcast and the NES for those who know/care) and I'm really excited about the release of the new consoles and interested how the HD/Blu-Ray battle will go.

Channel Five's "Gadget Show" had exclusive access to the PS3 and the Wii, and seeing the reviewer, Jason, get as excited over the consoles as I feel was fantastic. He's written a full review here (although as I type this the link is down).

I'm most looking forward to the Wii - I love the idea and the innovation and most of all the attitude behind its development. I also think that Sony are shooting themselves in the foot by a) delaying PS3 launch in Europe and then b) charging £400 a pop. £400?!! Who are they kidding?! That's without the games, extra controllers, and the rip-off downloadable content that they have created (you won't be able to play some games fully without buying extras from them).

Nonetheless, I still love my gaming. I could post forever on its pros and cons, why Microsoft have won me round and why I secretly love the frustration of a difficult jump or challenging puzzle; but I won't. That kind of disussion is best after a good dinner and most of the way through a nice bottle of red. I am however intensely relieved (as I know is N) that our daughter's arrival hasn't stopped our gaming - who knows, maybe she'll join in one day - and I hope that N & I manage to keep gaming together well into our old age!