Suboptimist

I am a consumer whore.

This post gets more serious as it progresses.

I never thought I would be proclaiming to the world that I have purchased a Playstation 3 computer entertainment system. Happy birthday to me.

Actually, I did assume that one day I would have a PS3. The PS3 SKU I bought was the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle released to coincide with the game’s release. I had been waiting for Metal Gear Solid 4 since the credits after Metal Gear Solid 3 started rolling. The package itself was a great deal, too. In the box you get the high-end 80gb model, the game, and the dual-shock SIXAXIS controller all for the price of the standalone 80gb system. This, coupled with Blu-Ray becoming the standard for HD video in the near future, made it seem like the right time to break down and get the console.

I was unfortunately reminded that buying a console is almost never just buying a console — you also have to get required accessories. Given all the stink people made about the Xbox 360 not debuting with HDMI functionality and the PS3 coming with HDMI standard, you’d think that Sony would bundle an HDMI cable with the system. The only AV cable in the box was the standard composite cable. I mean, wtf? Even my Xbox 360 came with a component HD connection. Good work, Sony.

It really is worth it to go out and find an HDMI cable, though. When we plugged it into Dan’s HDTV, we witnessed the Playstation system update in all it’s beautiful 1080p goodness. As if it could get any better than that, we watched the Metal Gear Solid 4 install loading screen in 1080p. Seriously though, once the hour it took to actually start playing games had passed, I started to wonder why it took me so long to take the plunge. The game really looks amazing in HD.

It was a real pain trying to get a hold of the bundle. I have always been a proponent of visiting gaming retailers when purchasing gaming merchandise. I was reminded why that’s a silly policy. No Gamestop had the bundle. I called possibly every location in the Salt Lake Valley, but to no avail. Apparently, the largest exclusive gaming retailer in the world was out of the game system I wanted. The Target across from the Gamestop in Centerville had three systems available. I have also heard a lot of news about a bunch of stores being constantly sold of Nintendo’s Wii console. Every time I’ve been in a Gamestop over the last year and half, somebody has asked if the store had Wiis in stock only to find out they didn’t. When I think about it, every Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Wal-Mart I’ve been in over the same period of time has had several available. I could probably write an entire post about this. In the meantime, I am going to consider purchasing all my gaming wares at Target.

Somewhere over the last year or two, I have noticed a dramatic shift in the Deseret News. Once upon a time, I would have called the Deseret News editorial page “moderate.” This is no longer the case, as it has shifted dramatically rightward. I’m not going to go into a lot of depth on this, since I never seem to shut up about it, but I swear the Deseret News only picks the most inflammatory, right of center letters to publish and chooses the least eloquent and thoughtful columnists. Too much Krauthammer, not enough Buckley (or whatever his living equivalent would be). I should take count of how many letters a day are published calling Obama a socialist or (as he was called today, a Marxist).