I still don’t have a next-gen console. You’re probably asking yourself- what the hell kind of a video game blog is this?  But what you should be asking is: why don’t you have an Xbox One or Playstation 4… yet? There are two reasons.

Money. Being an adult is not nearly as fun as being a kid. I have ‘sponsibilities. I work a lot and my paycheck goes to life essentials- heat, rent, transportation, groceries etc. Combine that with moving across the country -shipping, plane ticket, Taco Bell breaks from actually doing the moving etc. -it kills your bank account.

OK.  So I’m moved in.  Aside from an Xbox 360 I have zero home theater gear. This means I have to buy everything which sounds fun but start adding everything up- TV + console + game + online service + gaming headset because your walls are paper-thin -it all adds up! I don’t have deep pockets!

The other reason I don’t yet have a next-gen console are the games. There’s been nothing I’ve wanted to play! I was super excited for Watch Dogs, Destiny, and Titanfall but well :/

Watch Dogs seemed like everything I always wanted in a video game. Stealth-action gameplay in an open-world? Yes, please.

Now, I’m a review guy. They’re a good guideline for what I’ll like or won’t especially since I don’t have the time/money to play/buy everything. So when Watch Dogs launched to mediocre reviews I was disappointed. Could this have been a result of the marketing hype behind the game? Sure but I was still disappointed.

Every gamer wants a game they’ve been excited about to be that Zelda: Ocarina of Time-good, ya know? Watch Dogs wasn’t and it seemed like those originally excited by the game were also disappointed.

Destiny was another game I’d been obsessing over. It was made by Bungie, the developer who created my favorite franchise, Halo. Never before have I felt so connected to my character in terms of controls in the same, amazing way -and in every game! If I thought up some insane, jump-kill stunt- I could pull it off! Bungie’s FPS action is platinum to the gold standard. They’ve been making their “shared world shooter” for the past 6-7 years with Activision, the biggest video game company on the planet. That got me so bad in the pants.

Then the reviews came out. Getting mere 7s across the board was deflating to say the least. However, the majority of them noted the world seemed empty and this was probably due to only a small amount of people (journalists) playing since it hadn’t launched yet. I hoped this was the reason for the low scores and that something magical would happen when millions started playing.

Then player reviews came out. Poor to no story, terrible voice acting, limited multiplayer options.

I was heartbroken. I just could not even.

Titanfall is an X1 exclusive that launched earlier in the year. I was interested because of its unique addition to the usual FPS multiplayer experience with mechs and parkour-like movement. I also favor first-person shooters.

One of my best friends got Titanfall. What he told me was that, while the game was good, the lack of a conventional single player campaign made multiplayer seem hollow. There was no narrative foundation behind any of the weapons you used or environments you were fighting in.

Even if it had a decent single player campaign I couldn’t justify getting a (at the time) $500 console for just one game. I also had 10 (yes, 10, ten, the number after “9”) X360s red ring on me in 4 years. 2.5 Xboxes per year. I’d have to be an idiot to get another Microsoft console.

Maybe I am, though! We’ll see!

So, those are the reasons I have yet to purchase a next gen system. However, since there are now games I want to play badly- GTAV, Far Cry 4 and Destiny (I can’t quit on Bungie!) I now must decide.

I know a lot of people would just say “pick one, already!” but I have to think a bit harder about which console I choose. I’m not just flipping a coin here, I’m choosing a way of life! In the coming weeks I’ll be posting about which console I’m going with and my experiences researching and putting together my own personal gaming set up. Should be fun!

Which console did you pick?  Why?  Let me know in the comments