My Paradox of Choice: X-Box 360 vs Playstation 3

So I ended up at Best Buy at 9:57pm on Friday night standing in front of two fresh boxes of the respective ‘high-def’ gaming systems de jour: The Playstation 3 and an X-Box 360:Elite Edition. I admit I was fueled a little by some beers and the gall of my friends to actually hop in a cab and make a decision then and there.

Wait, before I go on, I’ll backtrack a bit so you can see how I ended up there.

Two weeks ago, I found myself at work (yes we have a gaming console at work) completely amazed at Grand Theft Auto:IV, a game I’m sure you’ve heard about, for better or worse, by now. I was hooked. Seeing New York City rendered and stylized to detail in an immersive playing experience; I had to have a copy. (Note: I already own a Wii, which I still love, but doesn’t have the guts needed to run a game like GTA). So the decision was, X-Box or Playstation. This is where my paradox of choice came into play.

For those who haven’t read it, I highly recommend Barry Schwartz’s ‘The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less’. In his book, Schwartz, a professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swathmore College, carefully examines the pains and pitfalls of the perceived luxury of freedom of choice. It’s not a essay on consumption in Western society, rather it’s an empirically based examination on the hows, whys and results of having to pick between equally attractive alternatives.

Case in point, among my friends, everyone seems to have either a 360 or a PS3, so that didn’t help me decide. The PS3 has a Blu-Ray player but the 360 has a superior multiplayer framework. Would I rather watch true Hi-Def movies or enjoy chatting and playing games with out of town friends who I rarely get to connect with? Another tough choice. Two close friends who live within a few blocks of me each have one or the other, so who do I share my latest game purchases with? Lastly, are the games I want to play available for only one system? Well it turns out, Skate and GTA, the two games I’ll waste most of my scarce time with, are available for both systems.

The anxiety in making my decision and the social, personal and economic effects they have are what make ‘The Paradox of Choice’ such an important read to anyone. I know that I refered to it to help me make my decision.

In the end the best thing to do was to rip the band-aid off and make a gut choice. I’m proud to say I didn’t leave that Best Buy empty handed. So now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to play some GTA on my shiny new PS3.