Tech guru recaps summer video consoles

John Schimdt

There has been good and bad in the video game world this summer. The good includes Nintendo’s announcement of a new gaming system and Sony’s price slash of the PlayStation 3. The bad, however, is Electronic Arts ruining one of the most promising games I’ve seen in a long time.

The PlayStation 3 is now $250, a $50 reduction in price. Now at its new price, it can compete with other consoles and Blu-ray players in the market. This was a smart move by Sony. With many of their big titles coming out later this year, they can sell more consoles before the influx of game releases.  So yeah, good move, Sony.

The price drop of the PS3 leads me to Nintendo’s new console, the Wii U. Now, we all know that Nintendo is known for bringing their awesome, innovative ideas to the gaming market. With the new Wii U, Nintendo is having its controllers boast a touch screen, allowing the user to have more interaction with the game and even allow them to play a game when the TV is off.  I can’t wait to try this bad boy out.

This summer wasn’t all great, however. Electronic Arts has been showing off Battlefield 3 a bit too much since its announcement. Every time I turn on my TV I hear about BF3 and every time I go to a gaming related website, BAM! BF3 ads. This game is simply over-hyped and it’s a disappointment. It’s something neat and new, obviously, and I’m going to buy it at launch. However, I lost my thirst to play it. After so many ads, the excitement just turned into annoyance.

You can’t swing a cat around without hitting something BF3 related, which is easily the most disappointing thing about gaming this summer. So lame move, EA.

Overall, it’s been an enjoyable summer if you’re a geek like me. New hardware to look forward to and price drops are always good signs for the next generation of consoles are coming out. However, sometimes companies need to learn when to stop beating something into the ground.