First blog post GB! I was thinking a great topic for discussion would be some of the annoying things that turn me off about the current console generation, and possible ways for these issues to be improved or solved.  As of right now I own all three current consoles, but primarily I'd say my focus is on the PS3, as I don't own many 360 games, and the WII barely gets any use.
 
1. Updates/Patches
PS3 I suppose is more guilty of this than 360 in my experience, but other readers might disagree. The update process for game patches and firmware is just a miserable time. It takes seemingly forever and honestly I often just cancel the update, turn the console off and do something else. It's bullshit. PS3 users, just for fun, try deleting all the system updates for Little Big Planet (not your saves) and pop that game in. See ya in a week or so after all that crap has downloaded and installed and you can finally play that sucker. Can anyone even tolerate the patching process for online only games, like DC Universe? I remember how hyped up I was to play that, only to have roughly 5 hours or so of patches, then install. Who has time for that? If the next gen doesn't address a universal way to handle these issues in a more streamlined, cohesive way, count me out. I'll happily bust out my old NES, pop a game in, and be playing it INSTANTLY, no waiting, no bullshit. 
 
2. Save data/console reliability/customer service
I own a HUGE collection of ps2 games, somewhere around 70. When ps3 was announced to have backwards compatibility I was in line day 1 based on that fact, and the promise of better hardware, better graphics, MORE entertainment! The ability to swap out HDD's with any laptop size HDD was a stroke of genius, and immediately I bought the biggest I could and set that little 60gb aside. Backed up every ps1/ps2 game I've ever played, and enjoyed my fully loaded ps3 for about 4 years. Then, the Blu-Ray drive started shitting out.  Luckily I scoured the internet, located the exact lens sony used (indicated by the SKU of the console) and bought a new one for 60 bucks. Replacing it was beyond simple. The console worked great for another year, then YLOD. Sent to sony, they can't fix it, they can sell me a refurb, everyone knows this story. My problem is the 360 and ps3 have proven (at least in my humble experience) to be unreliable pieces of hardware, period. I don't know if this is a result of shoddy design, rushing to release, or the consoles performing at a level they weren't designed to. Honestly, I don't care either. I want the thing to work, and I don't want to have to wait for patches or anything else. Then you have the bigger issue for people who don't use ps+, data retrieval. Sony basically says there's nothing they can do. The HDD fingerprints itself to each console and there is no way possible to get roughly 8+ years of data back. I find that very hard to believe. Sony could easily offer a service for their console repair to include data retrieval. We, as consumers shouldn't have to be subjected to the idea that we have to constantly back up data in fear that something we paid good money for will suddenly fail and we have no recourse. If my PC failed, I can take my HDD to best buy, microcenter, and a slew of other retail chains that use STANDARD software for recovery. You're telling me sony can't do this? It pisses me off royally. Add to that this idea that ok, now I'm supposed to drop another couple hundred bucks on an updated console that has less features, effectively making my choice boil down to this: buy a ps3, and a ps2 if I expect to play all the stuff I already own, oh yeah, and have fun starting oblivion, skyrim, FF7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, fallout, dragon age, dragon quest, and a mountain of other time consuming games I've plunged into all over again. After the patch updates of course. 
 
3. Old vs. New
In my eyes my old consoles are just flat out better than the current gen. First because I can play them without the aforementioned update/patch nonsense. The entertainment is instant, which makes it better. Who would have ever thought that my crappy-ass sega CD would outlast a current piece of modern tech? An argument could be made that this is one of the primary reasons that the Iphone/tablet/facebook app game drain has cut into the industry so much. The games are simpler, and instant. Currently, my 3DO, NES, and TG-16CD get more action than my WII or 360. 
 
These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject. Thank you for reading and allowing me to vent my frustration at the state of gaming in general. I suppose that some of these issues are flaws that have always existed in hardware manfacture and reliability et al, and maybe I'm older now and more perceptive about these things. But then again, my NES from 1986 still works flawlessly, so who knows?