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Lately I've been thinking a lot about the next generation, and in a lot more ways than one. Firstly you have the next generation of consoles. Which of course has been on the forefront of my mind for quite some time. It's a big thing to consider. Sometime over the next year or two three new machines are going to be released that will consume hundreds of my dollars, and a great number of hours of my time. XBox2, PS3, and the Ninetendo Revolution all loom on the horizon.
But more than that I have been considering the next generation of gamers. This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down with Ethan, a soon to be relative who is currently 11 years old. He's an avid gamer, and I have to say I enjoyed getting a new perspective on the industry through his eyes.
Firstly, retro gaming isn't dead, and it isn't something that is confined to old guys like myself. At 11 years old he was telling me how much he enjoyed playing Dungeon Keeper 2, which is a fantastic game that was releaseed when Ethan was only about 5 years old. When describing it he didn't even say the dreaded, "The graphics are old and crappy, but..." which is used to describe so many retro games.
Ethan also has a DS, and from the sounds of it he's a Nintendo kid through and through. It makes me think that Microsoft and Playstation might be putting all their eggs in one basket. True, the over 18 gamer crowd is where the majority of the money is these days, but if we ever have another industry crash then it will be a good thing for Nintendo if four or five years from then the name on all the kids lips is still Nintendo.
Finally, and certainly not least of the things I have been cosidering about the next generation, is the possibility of my OWN next generation. Will my wedding just a few short months away the idea of having an Aaron v2.0 has been creeping into my mind more and more frequently. Although I'm not quite ready to stop upgrading the original Aaron yet, I have to admit that the idea has some merit. Unfortunately the child won't be old enough to farm gold and trade materials for me in World of Warcraft for quite a few years, but I guess we could find other things to do with our time until then.
It's strange how these things creep up on you. I have been adamant all my life that I was 100% sure that I wanted children. Lately that number has dropped to around 75%, and the drop has happened primarily over the last six months. At this rate in a little over 18 months I will be adamant I need a child unless I do something now to curb the rapid degeneration of my anti-child convictions.
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