The console debates have been raging on for years, this pointless argument is the realm of fanboys/girls trying to prove that their console of choice is the best for one reason or another. When I was just a young lad in high school I was admittedly somewhat of a fanboy, thinking that my Xbox 360 was the only console worth buying. However, this attitude of course was a foolish one. In recent months the talk of the next generation has rekindled this debate into a roaring fire of a dispute bringing it to the for-front of the media’s attention. Sides have since been picked as the consoles survive their second month of release. But why have so many people felt the need to tell everyone which console to buy, which one is better than the other?

Consoles especially now, are extremely similar they do basically the same thing, with the exception of the Wii U (although Xbox Kinect and Playstation Eye are changing that) they all play games and they all use a controller to do so. It is even difficult to argue with the basic features, often Sony fans used to say Playstation was the way to go because it was free to play online. Now however that has changed both the Xbox One and PS 4 require a monthly subscription to play online. What the discussion has come down to is not the technical differences between consoles but which exclusives are available, although the hardcore fans would beg to differ choosing to argue about processing power and other numbers and stats. When picking a console your really picking the games you will be able to play, for Xbox, franchises such as Halo and Gears of War (and Titanfall which looks extremely promising) come to mind, whereas Playstation has the Uncharted series, God of War and Little Big Planet.

 What this means is that instead of looking for a hardware difference to argue about, gamers both hardcore and casual alike should look at what games will be released for each console (I’m not saying however they should argue about them). I doubt the debate will change much, fangirls and boys will forever argue that their console is better for one reason or another. The key to picking a console is to look at the games you want to play and ask your friends what console they are thinking about getting or which one they already have. Gaming isn’t always about playing alone. My friends are split down the middle, some chose the Xbox One like me and some went with the PS4. The reason I chose the Xbone was because it had better (not better, more like better suited to me) exclusives (in my opinion) and my friend who I play with regularly was also getting one. If all my friends had gone with Sony and the PS4 I most likely would have chosen that as well, this is one instance where South Park is right, this is the one time to cave to peer pressure.

 What I’m trying to get at here is that the supposed console war is unnecessary; everyone has their own preference and favourite games. What gamers need to remember is that it’s all about personal preference and in some cases the social preference of your group of friends not what random ranting fans on the internet claim.