Persuasive Essay- Console Games vs App Games

The old dusty attic emanates childhood memories. Picture books, dolls, clothes. Through boxes and dust you stand hunched over to reminisce on days of old. Holding a teddy bear in one hand, recalling the day you first received it; flipping through the bright, pastel pictures as if they belonged in a museum. More and more memorizes resurface the more you dig through your toys. All the organizing you had begun doing seems to come to a halt when a sleek grey looking box shows up. A small smile works it's way across your face as you remember the rainy days you spent whisked into different worlds as you tried to save the princess, not just get the highscore. Sighing in dismay, games aren't just made the same; kids just don't understand what they're missing. How could beating all the available levels in a pack be better then finishing up the final boss once and for all? Sure, app games are nice for a day but you can never get the same feeling as playing on a home console.

That's right. You even have to pay to finish up the game until the company just adds something more on. in a story game you figure out one puzzle to get to the next, a platformer requires you to get simply to the end of the level. An app will be interesting for some time, sucking you in to get three stars on every level, only until you get to the last level when they prompt you to buy the full version. Sighing in frustration you look at your empty iTunes account unable to feel the satisfaction of beating all the levels. Even if you're not broke and have the full version, you beat that as well and wait weeks, maybe months, before the update to play some more. Before that time the game just sits in your memory taking up space. Plus, who's to say the update will actually work? Countless times on my dad's iPhone or on my iPad have I gone to update a favorite game only to find it won't open. The update took long enough to get to the iTunes store and now you have to wait even longer for the company to fix the bug. Just great. On a console game, there are no updates. One purchase and you get the whole game right then and their. Finish the game on your own time rather than the company's. Since there are no updates needed, the game can't crash. In fact, there's no possible way for the game to just stop and send you to the menu screen. That can only happen on an iDevices folks.

So we all know (or know now) how long it takes for an app to update. Once you get the update what does it even do? Add one or two levels, fix some bugs. What else? Nothing that's what. With console games they don't come out as fast but with all the games and game companies out there's always something to play. Plus, that extra time making a game for the console just adds to the experience. Apps go on forever, same gimmick, same recolor, same controls. Investing money into a console is well worth your time. Every variation of Temple Run has the same controls. In fact, every game has the same controls. Just simply touch the screen to get the game to do something. I don't know about you but there's no challenge in that after awhile. With console games there's always something to familiarize yourself with, something that makes you feel awesome when you learn the system, and game, inside and out. Also, each console and controller will give you a different experience every time.  From drawing with the Wii remote to mashing buttons on a PS3 controller or even having your body as the controller for the XBOX. Every time a console comes out you're getting better graphics and better games.

'A wide expanse of greens comes into view on your TV screen. It's almost too much to let your eyes soak in. Enemies made of bone or shadow dot the place but don't deter from the landscape. "Just another easy challenge till I get to the next area" you think. Pressing A to mount your trusty steed the music in the background makes it feel as if you are really charging off to help a better cause as you press A again to go faster and faster.' Did any game on your iPhone or Android system come to mind? When was the last time a whole world in a game was created like book and you were the main character? The remake of Ocarina of Time comes to my mind but what about yours? Like I said, Apps have simple gimmicks to them. Getting all three stars, getting the farthest you can away from the starting point, simply there to just waste your time. One objective  for .99 cents you can beat in a day. On a console game you get multiple goals and multiple stories that can last you as long as you want them to. On top of that there's always a bit of exploring that can be done as well. Twenty-five dollars for a game isn't so bad when you think about all it has to offer.

We all know Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen. Memorable stories make memorable characters. We all knew the birds from Angry Birds, we all knew the little green monster from cut the rope, but even then how long do we remember them? How long is it before the next addicting game gets downloaded onto every phone in the country? Like books, video games leave memorable characters. Whether or not have you played his game you've heard of the mustachioed plumber by the name of Mario. His franchise has been kicking for 30 years and everyone still knows him. Everyone knows him. Do your parents know what a jelly car is? Ask them about tetris and I'm sure you'll get some response.

That's probably the saddest part about apps. The character has no goals, no character to them. A kid should grow up feeling love for a character with goals and accomplishments. A character with heart. A character that becomes alive and becomes so real. And every person deserves a childhood with stories and goals. Something your parents and yourself can play together, trying to get to the next level. It's not the same pulling out an iPhone and trying to remember on all the frustration and time and smiles you had playing a game because there are none. There's never really one distinct memory you can have since you're on your phone all the time. So maybe next time instead of picking up your phone go to your TV and play a good, old fashioned console game. Whether it be an RPG, platformer or first person shooter. You'll have a much better time playing something like that. I know I am.