Life of PS3

Coincidentally this movie was filmed in Taiwan.

I have a story for you that will make you believe in videogames.

I moved to Taiwan after graduating college in 2005.  I had a rough time my first year in Taiwan, but that all changed when I got my PS3.  I named it Parker Starchild.  The machine filled my life with wonder and joy and I made a couple good friends having multiplayer game nights.  Pretty much my PS3 is what got me through my 8 years in Taiwan.

That made it that much sadder when Parker Starchild broke down for the 3rd and final time.  I knew I probably wasn't going to be able to revive him and would have to get a new one, but I didn't realize it would kind of be an emotional experience to see my Parker Starchild laid out on the cold slab in his autopsy.

I took it to the game store and they told me it wouldn't be worth it to fix it because it was so old and I could get a brand new one for almost the same price it would be to get it fixed.  They asked if I needed to get a game disk out of the system since I couldn't turn it on.  I couldn't remember if I had a disk in there or not so I said we might as well check.  He told me once he opens it up, there's no going back.  I said okay and the doctor went through with the operation.

He had to basically tear apart the machine to get to the disk drive.  Pieces were flying all over and he ferociously ripped through the several layers machinery.   When he got to the disk drive, it was empty.  I felt sorry that I had to put my little man through that in his last moments, but I guess he was already gone and didn't feel any pain.  After that, I decided to have them take out the heart (hard drive) for me.  I had the idea that maybe I could put his heart in a new system and Parker Starchild could possess it.  As I left the game store I saw one of the clerks taking Parker around the building to throw him in the dump, because they couldn't even use the spare parts since Parker was such an old model.  If couldn't put the heart in a new system, I could at least give it a proper burial.

All that's left of my best buddy.

While they were walking away, and I looked back at my PS3, it didn't look back at me to say goodbye.  I felt so upset that he didn't even look back.  We went through so much together and helped each other get through my Asian voyage and then he just left me so abruptly.  I think without Parker Starchild, I definitely wouldn't have survived Taiwan and I owe my life to him.

I realized later that Parker actually sacrificed himself to save my games.  While packing to move back to America, I only had just enough space in my luggage for my clothes and PS3 games.  If I brought home my PS3, I would have had to get rid of more than half of my games.  It would have been a tough decision for me, but my PS3 took his own life for the good of the family and for that I'll always be grateful.

Don't believe this story?  Okay, the truth is I ate a bunch of people in Taiwan and I never even had a PS3.  I bet you like the story now.  You believe in videogames now, don't you?

Addicted to Pinball

I've come on hard time in the last 6 months and haven't been able to afford many new video games, which has made writing posts about video games difficult for me.  I'm doing fine.  I've had to ask my parents for food money a few times but other than that, I don't have many complaints about my life.  The only thing that sucks about not having any extra spending money is that there are so many new games that have been released and I haven't played any of them.  Plus, my PS3 recently broke down for the 3rd time and I don't think my warranty will cover it this time and I'm not sure if I can afford to get it fixed.

Luckily, my Vita is still in full working order.  I wrote a post about a year ago talking about how I was thinking of selling my Vita because there didn't seem to be many good games being released for it.  While there still haven't been many good games for it, I didn't have the heart to get rid of it.  The saving grace for the Vita for me has been Zen Pinball.   I downloaded the demo for it about 6 months ago and after playing it a few times decided to buy the Marvel pack including Spiderman, Wolverine, etc. for only $10.  I've been addicted to it ever since.  I've bought all the Marvel packs and single tables, the Star Wars pack, and several of the other generic tables like Mars and Earth Defense.  With the cheap prices of the tables, I haven't had to think too much about spending my hard earned (and begged) money for them.

I didn't even like pinball when I was a kid and didn't understand why anyone did.  I used to think it was sheer luck, but now I realize how much skill is involved in playing pinball.  Still, I don't know if I would get back into real pinball if I had the chance, because the themes of the pinball games I've seen weren't of much interest to me.  With the cool themes, great animations, and battles of the Zen Pinball tables, I can't get enough.  As I continue to be poor and unable to buy nice, shining new PS3 games, my addiction to pinball has helped me get through these tough times.  My drive to continue to beat my high scores is all I can think about as the days go by and I've almost forgotten that I still haven't played Black Ops 2, Far Cry 3, and The Last of US, and probably won't for a long time.  It's okay, I can accept that, as long as I got my Zen Pinball.  Now bring on some new tables!  I NEED IT!  I NEED IT!