College life has several criteria, such as making new friends, working, going to school and partying. And for many college students across the nation, video games are a quick - and legal - stress reliever from the daily work and monotony of college life.
Video game consoles act as an all-in-one entertainment extravaganza - especially with the Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation 2 having the capability of playing DVDs. While being able to play with other students from across the hall, students with video game consoles are also able to play games over the Internet with people across the world.
But, as we all probably know, video game consoles become obsolete every five to ten years.
Microsoft released the Xbox on Nov. 15, 2001. The Xbox 360 came out in late 2005. The 360 - as it is commonly referred to - has been sold out throughout the nation, even with its bloated price tag of up to $400.
Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer for Microsoft, said that "the sheer entertainment value of Xbox 360 cannot be overstated." While playing the console in Meijer or Wal-Mart is fun, $400 is still too much for the middle American family - and even video game junkies like college students - to be expected to pay for such a piece of technology.
Also, with the release of the 360, rumors about release date and price tag problems surrounded industry leader Sony's next-generation console, the Playstation 3. Some industry insiders have reported that those rumors are true.
Reportedly, the Sony Playstation 3 scheduled for release might be delayed. With the release now expected to be in the spring of 2007, the system might cost upwards of $800 to produce.
What was that? $800.
Even a fairly self-sufficient, hard working college student might not be able to afford the $400 top-of-the-line Xbox 360, and it'd be hardly possible to get the $500 to $800 needed to buy a Playstation 3.
Sony and Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for creating systems outside of middle America's spending limits.
However, with the delay of Sony's console, Microsoft and its already released console might take the lead in this heated war between two powerful conglomerates. With the delay of its competitor, Microsoft will see no reason to bring down the price of its already expensive system, until the competition comes into the picture.
The savior of the consumer from this console war is neither Microsoft nor Sony: Make way for the Nintendo Revolution.
With its inventive style and intriguing controller system, Nintendo might reclaim the throne it once held. But it will only be able to do so if the price tag remains below the hefty price tags of the 360 and the Playstation 3.
The days of the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis were the golden days of cheap video games. With the entry of Microsoft into the picture, video games are no longer cheap enough to own - the price of consoles and their games are out of control. If the video game industry does not revise its ways, it could see a downfall similar to the one the movie industry saw in the 1950s.
If Sony and Nintendo are unable to put up a fight against Microsoft, the prices of consoles will only continue to rise - and middle America and college students with limited budgets will be able to bask in the remarkable glow of simulated experiences.
Either that, or America will simply do what it should have done a long time ago: Give up the simulated pastime, go outside and do something real.
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