Gaea

Well, this is my first article, so don't expect a super great article from a genius.  I would like to first state my opinions on the big 3 consoles on the market.

Playstation 2 - Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all want your money.  Sony has the best plan at getting it by not including a modem or hard drive.  I also believe DVD is available on all the PS2s.  Having the DVD enabled on all PS2 makes the price a little higher.  When the first couple of games came out for PS2, the graphics were defiantly not up to par with what it could do.  I take one look at Tekken Tag, and I gag.  Fuck, Sonic Adventure looked better than that.  It took only little while before smooth graphic PS2 games outnumbered the blocky graphics ones.
The PS2 controller is not one I really like.  The analog sticks should be positioned somewhere else.  Other than that, it's a fine controller.  This console is not a party game machine.  Party games should be left to the other 2 consoles.  Right now, I still hold some resentment towards Sony for killing off the Dreamcast.  I still say, they were the biggest reason Sega was forced to pull out of the console race.  Perhaps it's the news that Linux will be used on PS2 that has given me the reason to give some respect back to Sony.

X-Box - Just the name 'Microsoft' attached to anything will cause experienced PC users to groan.  While I don't think they even need to be in the console world, they are.  The X-Box does run on Windows, so yes, it can crash, but so can the other consoles.  Consoles crashing is not a new thing.  When the PS2 was released in Asia, they had to recall them because they weren't running properly.  And who hasn't had to tip their Playstation to play some games.
As for the size of the X-Box, yes, it's about the size of a VCR.  Who the fuck cares?!  Consoles are meant to be used at home!  Gameboy is for traveling.  Consoles are not.
The X-Box controller is the one I like the best for the design of it.  It may be bulky, but it has good button positions in my opinion.  The Japanese controller looks even better.
The games for the X-Box so far have been mediocre, but at least it will soon have a Metal Gear Solid game soon.  X-Box has a ton of money capable of keeping them alive for a long time.  I think if Microsoft had helped out Squaresoft, they would have helped the X-Box with the Final Fantasy series.  This console, I think, is geared towards people who have money.  Microsoft only included an Ethernet port with no plans for 56k modems.  I agree that 56k should die out.  Broadband is the wave of the future.

Gamecube - I'll try to keep my utter hatred towards this console under control.  No promises though.  The cheapest of the 3.  The smallest of the 3.  The one with the smallest sized disc.  They didn't include DVD capabilities at all, so price is lowered because of that.  In my opinion, they are still geared towards children.  The Legend of Zelda series is legendary, but look at the next game.  Unless the plot is totally serious and the game- play has changed so that it raises the bar on that standard, the game is a huge turn off to many adults.  This console is the best at party games.  Super Smash Brothers Melee, is perhaps the best game on it so far.  While they do retain the Resident Evil series exclusively, they have not impressed me with many games.  Wrestlemaina X8 is the one game that comes to mind for a good game on the Gamecube.  Nintendo has a very long way to go before it has some more popular wide-spread games.
The console size is small, so it makes it a lot easier to carry around.  It even has a handle attached.  These are some good reasons why this should be a party game machine.  However, who would in there right mind walk down a street with a Gamecube in hand?
The Gamecube controller is the fruitiest thing I have ever seen.  While it is nice they are changing the standard game controls, the entire design of it looks horrible.  If you're low on cash, this would be the console to get.

Now, I would like to say a few random things.

Over the few years after the original NES was released, the market has changed very much.  Mario and Sonic were most memorable to me during those days.  In today's market, I think children should not be playing games unless they truly understand rules.  Gamecube should be soaking up all n00bs today.  Children should not be trying to play LoZ, MGS, or FF games.  It disgust me when I head into an Electronic Boutique and see kids button mashing on Halo.  It's funnier when I see kids button mashing at the arcades.  Bottom line is kids should play with Nintendo until they get to know real game mechanics.  If a kid can open cans of woop-ass on 'advanced games,' they will get my respect.

Consoles don't make great games, great games make good consoles.  PS2 has the most impressive games, so they get a good amount of respect from me.  X-Box has the best specs out there, but few games come to mind when I think about it.  I still think Gamecube is for kids, and it should be.

Oh, I'm about to talk some shit about the DDR series. =P

Dance...Dance... Revolution......WORST GAME EVER!(Speaking in its wide-spread popularity sense.)
I have only played it once, and I sucked at it then.  I probably might suck less today, but it is a game which makes me want to shoot the machine to smithereens.  First off, video games, in my opinion, are meant to be played with your hands and your brain.  Your body should never be in the equation of any video game.  The rest of the Bemani genre, I'm okay with.  I play Beatmania on my PC often.  I loved Bust-A-Groove and I own a Pop-n-Music game.  Speaking as the lazy nerd that I am, I hate moving my body.  I'd also like to point out right now, I'm not an overweight monstrosity.  The DDR series is meant for the people with agility and good eye-feet coordination.  DDR, in my opinion, should not even be considered as a video game.  Instead, it should be a sport game.  This is a game that test how good you are with your feet and your brain.  Games should only test your brain and, sometimes, your hands.  DDR is something to watch, like basketball.  The DDR machines should be in gyms and clubs, not near Snk vs. Capcom 2 or Tekken 4 machines, let alone in an arcade.  Simply put, DDR is a game, but it isn't a video game!

This may be old, but here goes.  When that thing on 9-11 happened, no games or movies should have been edited.  What the fuck are these people thinking?  It's a terrible thing that everyone is sad about?  I am certainly not one of these over sentimental fucks.  I could care less if the World Trade Center was used as the huge nueralizer(sp?) at the end of MIB 2.  I don't really care if buildings are in there or not, but if games are delayed because they want to be sensitive to the public, then that is totally fucked up.  If games are delayed because of bugs or they can improve something, then by all means delay the sucker.  Just because something bad happened, they shouldn't be editing the things out so people won't remember.  If you lost someone close to you because of the Taliban, then that's your problem.  If games are good to go, they should be released.  I heard that there were supposed to be some 'terrorist-like' missions in GTA 3, but they were taken out because of the 9-11 events.  That is the biggest bullshit thing that can happen.  Even if this was never true, nothing should alter gameplay unless it is truly something that is physically or mentally hard to do.  This brings me to the last of my ramblings.

Violence and video games.  IT IS THIS FUCKING SIMPLE:  YOU DON'T WANT YOUR KID TO GET IDEAS FROM GAMES, THEN YOU CAN DO 2 THINGS.

1. DON'T LET THEM PLAY THE GAME.

or

2. EXPLAIN TO THEM THIS IS A GAME, AND THAT THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN'T DO IN THE REAL WORLD THAT YOU CAN DO IN A GAME.

Of course, this applies to kids mostly.  12 and over should kids should already be aware of right and wrong.  Games are not what make people bad, it's people.  Parents these days are fucking lazy.  They buy games for their kids without doing some reading.  If they are really concerned for their kids, they should care enough to read some things about what their kids are playing.  Censorship of things that don't apply to kids is the most idiotic thing in this country.  People have opinions, and if they have enough experience, they should be allowed to speak their minds.  While they don't need to be screaming it in public, they should be allowed to say it on the internet without any problems(Not including flames.)  From what I hear, GTA 3 was banned altogether from Australia.  This game has a rating of 'M' for fucking sakes.  Vendors shouldn't be able to sell it to some 8 year old with cash.  You will hear it many times through many of my articles.  Censorship is stupid.  Bottom line is parents should blame themselves for allowing their kid to get the game, not accusing companies of causing their problems.  Companies make the games, but it's the parents who control what games are allowed in the house.