For those of you out there who are firmly of the belief that IGN has a Microsoft bias, you may want to give this editorial a look. In it, writer Ryan Geddes, goes into his decision to "change teams" to Sony, while also revealing he still owns his 360. A curious article to say the least (why does IGN keep posting these types of articles as of late?) that seems to be the gaming news giant's way of insisting it has no bias. Or perhaps their PS3 section is just taking the Mac route of turning market minority into snooty superiority. Mysteries of the Universe...
Regardless of IGN's actions, this brings me to the main point of this article: The Myth of Website Fanboyism. It's true that some gaming news sites have some type of console/company bias, but these are few and as far between as they are from the same status of respect as the major news sites. This is because a company is not a sentient thing, and therefore cannot have a bias; only people can have a bias. Yes, the writer's for major sites may have a bias, but that's why they work in the news section that corresponds to their console of preference.
So no, IGN isn't an Xbot, Joystiq doesn't hold the PS3 on a pedestal and 1up.com isn't all about the Wii, you get the idea. Maybe if you think they have a bias it's because you're spending time reading articles about your "opposing" console and are mad at yourself for being so curious about the system you're supposed to hate. But that will take us down a route of transference and other such Freudian blah blah blah so we'll lave that alone. Just rest assured that your fanboy brethren will not actually beat you to death if they discover you have an interest in another system, in fact they probably suffer the same affliction.
All that said, does this site, Higher Technology, have a bias? Abso-forking-lutely. It's only got one writer and (terrible) cartoonist. And as much as I'd love to "catch 'em all" I simply can't afford to add a Wii to my collection, much less a 360 instead/as well. I try to keep my PC capable of playing current gen games so I can keep up with some of Microsoft's console exclusives: Halo 1 and 2, Fable, Gears of War, Mass Effect, as well as "timed" exclusives like BioShock and Braid. What I'm saying is; I try. With only the PC and PS3 to work from I do my best to keep a balanced news load for all consoles. But when it comes to thorough reviews of games or even editorials about specific games, PS3 is going to win out every time. I love gaming as a whole, I want to play it all so I play as much as I can.
Which brings us to the point of why I made the decision to go with Playstation in the first place. At the dawn of the modern age of consoles is simply made the most sense. Given the track record I could assume that I would eventually be able to play some of the Xbox's biggest games on my PC, but the same could not be said for the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted (and honestly, I'd probably follow Naughty Dog to whichever console they're on, Crash ftw!), Resistance, Killzone 2, Gran Turismo or Lair at the time when my decision was being made. Blu-ray movies playback was just a bonus and added excuse to buy a fancy new HDTV, so my decision was made. Now, if I wasn't good at tinkering with my PC or interested in playing PC games would my decision have been different? Probably not, but that's just because of my taste in games. To someone else, even someone who doesn't have a feverish loyalty to a particular company, the choice could have been totally different.
It's all about what you like to play. And if you love gaming enough to actually mean those comments you leave on boards all across the Internet, maybe you shouldn't be so afraid to look at what the other guys have to offer because nothing is as valuable in pursuing a career as knowledge of the industry you wish to enter.
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