I've held off as long as I can

Somehow I always knew this day would come. I have tried, and tried, and tried to ignore it, and said that I can just be happy with what I have got...but I just can't ignore it any longer!

Shutting down the blog? NO! haha.

Giving up collecting? With my luck lately? NO!

So what is it then?

Well, other than cards, and wife, and raising a kid, I have always been interested in video games, especially sports games...especially baseball games. You see where this is going?

I own an Xbox360. I have spent countless hours playing Call of Duty and Guitar Hero and even Zuma. One drawback to my Xbox360 is that while it is backwards converting for most regular xbox games...some are NOT, more specifically MVP baseball 2005. That has always bothered me. So last year I went out and purchased MLB2k9. While most considered the game a disaster, it was my first new baseball game in several years, and it pretty much blew me away. I played that game up and down for months.

But in the distance, and out of reach, was this little game called The Show. For the last three years it has consistently kicked Xbox around as the 2K team has been torn up and reformed in an effort to put out a remotely competitive product.

I have to admit, this year they beat their own product from last year...but that's about it. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty fun game for a casual gamer...and I am by no means a hard-core gamer, but the problem is that most of us follow the ins and outs of baseball, and we are all familiar with the little intricate details that make baseball...baseball! Unfortunately, the more I have played 2K, the more I have noticed just how much is not right with the game, and it has worn me out.

I think the big realization moment was HOW MUCH TIME I have spent in forums looking for advice on game slider sets that are out there in an effort to make the game more realistic. Guys would actually recommend intentional walking batters just to raise the pitch count and have realistic walk totals. To the day, no set has seemed to quite work properly and the game, no matter how much time I have spent tweaking, are just not quite right. Plus have you seen the graphics and details in The Show? SICK. With these realization, a strange feeling came over me...

Well, maybe that is a bit over-dramatic. But I am turning over to the dark side...

Seriously though, check out the graphical difference...

Guess which is which? And the sad thing is this is 2K's cover boy! That says a lot. And trust me, it looks like everybody else has been run over with a lawnmower as well.

Does graphics ruin a game? Not necessarily, but game play does and as 2K continues to say "wait til next year, as they they continue to release patches to "fix" the game, I have finally lost patience! Therefore, today I go to Best Buy and get...

and...

Yup, I am going to be a statistic. One of those guys willing to purchase a new system just to play a game! What can I say...I want to raise the fringe bell curve a fraction.

But don't worry your pretty little head Bill Gates...

I will still use my Xbox, as there really is no substitute for Xbox's online experience, and playing Call of Duty with my buddies. Plus there is always Zuma...