Hats and sluts always make for interesting water cooler conversations, but this is a video game site.  Claude wants me to talk about video games. 
 

@Claude said: 

" Write a blog about how you have now gone PC and all the goodness that lies within, but how the Wii still holds its value. Show how there should be no hate. PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC... What do they all have in common? They all allow you to play video games. "

  Yes, video games.  That's why we're all here.  So my gaming habits have shifted in the past few months ever since I got my new PC and my trusty Wii has been somewhat neglected and unfed for the past few months despite the 4 games I bought since I got my PC.  Borderlands, Left 4 Dead, Cities XL, and more reecently Team Fortress 2 have been my most played games of the fall which means my recent Wii purchases like Muramasa and A Boy and His Blob have been on the backburner lately and Left 4 Dead 2 is guaranteed to be a hit among me and people that are me.  But believe it or not, I was a Wii only guy up until this summer.  On a video game website nowadays, that's a rarity.  Most around these parts own a 360, a sizable amount own PS3s and/or gaming PCs, and I believe most Wii owners around here also own other systems.  The Wii is definitely looked at differently because of its casualness, limited graphical output, and waggle... a secondary console to many, yet the uniqueness of the Wii attracted me to it and actually brought me back into the console gaming scene after skipping the last generation for the most part. 
 
It's a proven fact that I have a fondness for many of Nintendo's games and franchises.  My 3 favorite games of all-time are straight out of the Nintendo library, in particular from the big 3 franchises.  Yet I had no reason to buy a GameCube when it was around, nor did I want a PS2, although those things are all over the place and managed to appreciate a number of PS2 games over the years.  But back to Nintendo for a minute.  While a large group of gamers didn't accept the Wii as a viable platform, I embraced it with open arms.  I absolutely fell for the marketing ocean and found myself swimming in a stew of great Wii games like Wii Sports and Zelda: Twilight Princess.  The Wii also doubles as my GameCube so I can now say I have a small, but decent library of GameCube must-owns such as Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime.  For people like me who missed out on some truly great games last generation, the Wii is a fantastic machine.  Add the Virtual Console, some quality WiiWare games, and a underrated library of excellently unique 3rd party titles, the Wii suits my tastes well.  It's not for everyone, but the Wii is certainly for me.  It might be the best console for those who want to come back to gaming, in my opinion.  And sure the 360 and PS3 are great consoles in their own right, but they are very intimidating platforms because of the massive button count and the excessive amount of mature action games. 
 
Then there's the trusty PC.  I've always had an attraction to the platform because it's pretty much the only platform where you can find quality strategy games and simulations.  Consoles were typically action oriented and sometimes I prefer to be more constructive and creative.  From 2000 until about 2005, most of my game time was split between The Sims, SimCity 4, and the RollerCoaster Tycoon games... so you know what games I were traditionally attracted to at the time.  Those games have almost limitless replayability and hold more value than most console games.  However, man can't live on Maxis and tycoon games alone.  That's where the Wii comes in.  I just couldn't go the entire decade without playing a new Mario, Zelda, or Metroid.  I had to slash dudes in No More Heroes, play tennis drunk in Wii Sports, and fight as my favorite characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  Zack & Wiki, MadWorld, Okami, de Blob, the list goes on.  Somehow I found 23 Wii games that I found worthy of owning, but the Wii is not perfect.  It is lacking in a few key genres. 
 
Here's another surprise.  The game that brought me back to PC gaming was The Sims 3!  I know, an EA game that will suck all the money out of my bank account with its expansion packs and online store bullshit.  I absolutely had to return to the world of the virtual humans and since my old rig was pushing 7 years old, it was time for a shift.  Then I discovered Steam and my world has collapsed in on itself.  At first, Steam was going to be just for a select few games I was interested in like Audiosurf.  Then I saw the deals... I now own 15 Steam games of various shapes and sizes including some that were not even on my radar.  When they sell a game for $2.50 or a pack of quality games for dirt cheap, it's like legal piracy.  I love it! 
 
And I do love playing video games no matter the platform.  While I'm in that odd Wii/PC group, I feel very satisfied with my choices.  The PC might be getting all the love at the moment because of my renewed interest in shooters and the indie game scene, but the Wii will always be at my side.  Yeah Left 4 Dead 2 is on my agenda, but so is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a game I've been waiting to play for 20 fucking years!  A 2D Mario platformer?  What took so goddamn long?  And have you seen the Rabbids Go Home Quick Look?  That looks like it will be pure insanity.  Don't worry, Wii, I'll be wiping the dust off very soon.