Fan boys, who's right? I say nobody.

Note: Sorry for the extended absence. I've been very busy and very sick and am only now starting to feel a little better. Hopefully I'll be updating this more frequently now.

Moving on,,,

Fan boys (and/or girls). You'll find them everywhere defending just about anything. The question is, who's right?

The short answer to that question would be: Nobody.

Here's a longer answer:
As it would relate to this blog, there are fan boys to be found in the automotive world as well as the video game world.

Most commonly in the automotive world you find the Dometics (given my location, American cars) vs Imports (everyone else) arguments. But then you could narrow that down more to Japanese cars vs. European cars vs. American cars. Then with video games you largely have the PS3 vs. XBox 360 vs. PC fights. Generally the PC always wins (in terms of graphics anyway), so it's mostly between the PS3 and the XBox 360 nowadays because nobody's PS3 has an advantage over someone else's PS3. Same goes for the XBox 360.

Gearheads (or Petrolheads)
So what is the big deal with comparing cars based on where they come from? I'd say it's because cars from different places do tend to have certain characteristics that are most commonly associated with where they come from.

Japanese cars are known for reliability, efficiency, and advanced technology. American cars are known for simplicity and raw muscle. European cars are known for engineering and refinement.

So it's not too hard to see why these cars have so many different followers.

But really, what makes these cars better than one another? Here are three cars that are more or less competitors:

(Pictures from RSportsCars.com)
First we have the Ford GT40, then the Ferrari F430, and finally the Nissan GT-R. Here are some basic specs for the three cars:
Ford GT
Engine: Supercharged 5.4L V8
Horsepower/Torque: 500 hp @ 6000 rpm/500 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
0-60: 3.8s
Top Speed: 205mph

Ferrari F430
Engine: Naturally-Aspiriated 4.3L V8
Horsepower/Torque: 490 hp @ 8500 rpm/343 lb-ft @ 5250 rpm
0-60: 4.0s
Top Speed: ~196mpg

Nissan GT-R
Engine: Bi-Turbo 3.8L V6
Horsepower/Torque: 480 hp @ 6400 rpm/430 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm
0-60: ~3.5s (reports vary from as low as 3.3s to as high as 3.8s)
Top Speed: ~192 mph (Nissan claimed, Motor Trend reached 195 in their own tests)

For all intents and purposes, these cars are direct competitors. Many of you may disagree, but in terms of general performance, I believe they are close enough. The way these cars are built also represent the areas they come from.

The American Ford GT40 is all muscle with a blown American V8, all power, all speed, no questions. The Ferrari F430 gets its power from a refined N/A V8 that delivers more than 100 horsepower/liter of displacement and delivers a driving experience that is about the passion of driving with speed and control. The Nissan GT-R represents the efficiency of small displacement engines that deliver big on power, augmented by the use of advanced control systems and computers.

These cars may be considered competitors and people looking to buy may cross-shop these cars as well (even though their prices do vary).

But the question is, which one is better?

The Ford GT40 is no doubt a great car that is definitely fast and can handle corners competently, but it is likely to be the worst of the bunch in terms of handling and control. The Ferrari is no exception either, but it is slower than the GT40, but it arguably handles better in the corners. The GT-R as well will launch so hard the driver will be fused into the seat, but will run out of steam towards the top end. However, the GT-R will without a doubt handle really well and is arguably the easiest-to-drive car of the bunch because of its advanced AWD system and electronic driving aids. With the GT-R, one just has to drive, point the car in the direction they want to go, and let the car sort the rest of it out.

With that said, you could say the GT40 would appeal more to those who are all about American power and speed. The Ferrari would appeal more to those who are about a very connected driving experience between the driver and the car. The GT-R would appeal more to those who appreciate blisteringly quick acceleration, but also technologically-advanced cars and physics-defying handling.

So wait, doesn't that mean these cars appeal to three mostly different kinds of people? Wouldn't that mean we're trying to compare apples to oranges to... umm... plums here? Doesn't that mean no car is necessarily better than the other?

So if none of these cars are necessarily better than the other, wouldn't that mean that none of the fanboys for these cars are right when they say theirs is the best?

That's right. No fan boy is right. They may defend the car they like as if it's the best thing since sliced bread, but if you ask me, none of them are right. I may have a preference between these three cars as to which one I'd have if I had to pick one, but I like all three of them for different reasons because they are three very different cars.

The bottom line here is that with fan boys, nobody is right. What it comes down to every single time is this: personal preference. Too bad not everybody realizes this, so I'm still sure to see the arguments between domestic car fans and import car fans, or European cars vs. Japanese cars vs. American cars. Oh well.

Gamers
As mentioned before, the big argument between video gamers is mostly between XBox 360 and Playstation 3. The PC is being left out of this because people from all camps agree that the PC generally delivers the best graphics and gameplay experience.

So here we go:

(Pictures found via Google Image Search)

To be honest, I am more of a PC gamer than a PS3 or XBox 360 gamer, so this part of this entry may not be too thorough.

First, game selection:
The PS3 definitely has fewer games than the XBox 360. Part of this is because the 360 has been out longer but also because the PS3 is reportedly harder to develop for. However, the game selection isn't that big of a deal as long as the games being offered are good.

If I had to pick, I'd have to give the edge to the XBox 360 right now, but the PS3 has quickly caught up with releases like Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and pretty soon Killzone 2. The 360 though has games like Halo, Gears of War, and Project Gotham Racing.

As far as games to come, the 360 is getting Star Ocean 4 and Final Fantasy XIII (surprise!). For the PS3, Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy XIII: Versus (or something to that effect). These are games that I am interested in, so this certainly isn't a comprehensive listing. If I had to choose, I'd say it's a dead heat. I love the Star Ocean series and I'm really excited to see the next FF games on PS3.

So for me, the two consoles in terms of game selections and futures, it's pretty much a dead heat.

Now, console hardware:
The PS3 is reported to have a more advanced processor, built-in hard drive, and blu-ray drive as well. This meant that the PS3 initially came as a more complete package.

The XBox 360 didn't originally include the hard drive and reportedly doesn't have as good of a processor as the PS3, but due to it being easier to develop for the 360, the games for the 360 have been able to match up well to the PS3 and vice versa.

The PS3 gets a slight advantage here though because it has more potential with its more sophisticated processor and blu-ray drive. While the full graphics-processing capability of the PS3 have yet to be unleashed (but will be soon, I imagine), the games still look really good on both consoles. With the blu-ray drive, games can be bigger and have higher quality textures and visuals stored on the disk. Metal Gear Solid 4, for example, had so many voice overs, high quality audio, high quality textures and visuals, that it's been said it would be impossible to port the game to XBox 360 and still deliver the same experience that PS3 MGS4 players get.

For the most part though, games released on both systems when compared more often than not give the XBox 360 the advantage in terms of graphical quality. More often though, I'm seeing that things are pretty even between the PS3 and XBox 360.

360 fans will frequently argue that the PS3's graphics aren't as good. For the most part, I'd have to say that it's unfortunately true. But I believe that is because developers don't take the time to refine the game for the PS3's different hardware and therefore release what is more or less a half-assed port from the XBox 360. I wouldn't say this is entirely the developers' faults as they may be working under a strict timeline. However, I do not believe that the PS3 has 'worse graphics' is a valid argument.

Lots of games out now and certainly upcoming show that when a developer takes the time and effort to make a good-looking game, it can look very good on the PS3, run well, and more than likely be better than it would be on XBox 360.

Here's a few examples (watch these in HD, or else they won't look good no matter what you try):
-Metal Gear Solid 4 GC Trailer
-Metal Gear Solid 4 Gamers Night Trailer
-Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Trailer (I've been told that this is all in-game real-time rendering)
-Killzone 2: Visit Helghan Trailer (I've played the Killzone 2 demo and I can say that I believe it looks better than Gears of War 2 and easily better than Halo 3. And yes, I've played and beaten Gears 2 and Halo 3 as well).

So you see, when developers actually develop games for the PS3 and take the time to utilize the hardware, then it's clear that good-looking games can be made as well as games that are good in general as well. So it clearly isn't impossible for good-looking, 'good-running', and overall good PS3 games to be made. I understand that sometimes restrictions from the game engines being used cause issues with development, but I believe that a developer should be able to create games of equal quality for both consoles if they put in the time and effort. So basically, I believe that it's not the fault of the consoles if a game is worse on one console compared to the other, but I believe it is the developers' faults or rather the fault of the schedules they are forced to work on.

So in this case, I have to give the heads up to the PS3 in terms of hardware and
graphics, that is, when developers properly harness the power the PS3 has to offer. Let's not forget also that the blu-ray drive in the PS3 also plays blu-ray movies, which has certainly come in handy for me.

Console exclusives:
Among the exclusive titles that I love on the XBox 360 are:
-Halo 3
-Gears of War (2)
-Project Gotham Racing 4
-(soon to come) Star Ocean 4
If it weren't for those games, I would not have any reason to own an XBox 360.

Then for the PS3:
-Killzone 2
-Metal Gear Solid 4
-Little Big Planet
-(coming later) Final Fantasy XIII (and Versus)
-(coming later) God of War III
If it weren't for these games, I'd have no reason to own a PS3. Yes, I know FFXIII is coming to 360, but there is another FFXIII game that is coming out for only the PS3. I honestly don't blame Square Enix for releasing FFXIII on 360 as well in order to reach a broader audience, but I'm glad to see they are still releasing some kind of PS3 exclusive.

But alas, there are games on both consoles. All of these games are similar in some ways but also very different. So again, we find ourselves asking, which is better? My answer? You guessed it: Neither.

Both consoles offer very different experiences through the games they have to offer. So once again, it comes down to personal preference, and of course as long as people have their own preferences, they will more than likely try to sway people one way or the other so like it is with automotive arguments, the video game console war is unlikely to ever end as well.

I personally have a PS3 and an XBox 360 and I enjoy playing both of them a lot.

But in general, getting back to the point of this blog entry, no fan boy is right when they say what they like is better than something else. It's just a matter of what YOU like. YOU should put your hard-earned money down on what YOU want, not what someone else wants.

So sorry fan boys, none of you are right about anything. The things you support are not the best things since sliced bread. You just like what you like, and that's the one thing you're right about. Honestly though, I find it annoying when these 'fan boys' are so blindly following what they believe that they can't even attempt to see the other side of things. Oh well! I believe that if you're stuck on something, you won't get anywhere because you're just that, stuck. More power to them. I'll leave them alone, no problem, because they like what they like. I have no reason to try and change what they think.

Obviously I have my own preferences and clearly in this blog I am telling you what I think about cars and video games, but I don't expect to impress my views upon you and agree with me on anything. I only write this in order to get my opinions and thoughts out there and nothing else. If you agree with me, great. If you don't, then I'd be interested in knowing why as long as the conversation can be mature.

-G&G Allen

To-do list:
-Why I think GM did it all wrong.
-Game copy protection, what I think is the best way
-The Porsche Cayman, why it's not that great of a car (even though I say it is... what?)
-The many cars I've driven, some thoughts.
-Diesel? Hybrid? Natural Gas? Hydrogen? What I think is better.