Hello everybody!  My name is Ryan Bird, and I guess this article is for me to introduce myself.  And unfortunately, there is not a lot to say.  I am a Gamer;  mainly, a console gamer.  Though I do play PC games and have loved some of the bigger hits such as Starcraft and Counter-Strike, my main love for gaming comes from consoles. I will probably discuss this more in a future blog post because it is a topic I take very seriously and have wanted to discuss it for a while now.

I have owned every mainstream console since the 8-bit generation of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System.  My knowledge in the history of video games as well as the current economics and politics of the industry often exceeds those around me.  I have been playing video games since my thumbs were strong enough to do so. I beat Super Mario Bros at the age of 4 and continued on to win a new NES game from my dad by beating  his challenge the age of 6. It’s a funny story that I actually remember well.  My dad came home from work one day and like it was every day, I was in front of my NES.  He made some comment as to how much I play the game.  He asked me if I could beat the entire game without warping and without getting hit.  I told him that I could, and he said that if I did, he would buy me a new game.  So I did it, and my happy prize was a copy of Zelda II:  The Adventure of Link, for the NES.

My favorite game of all time is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. To me, there is not another game on this Earth that portrays pure perfection of what I want in a video game.  It is a timeless classic that I have beaten more than 70 times from start to finish.  I love many mahy games in a variety of genres.  Just for kicks, here is a list of some of my favorite games/series; in no particular order:

• Legend of Zelda series
• Super Mario series
• Halo series
• Final Fantasy VI and VII
• Metroid Series
• Metal Gear Solid series
• Resident Evil Series
• Megaman series
• Conker’s Bad Fur Day
• Star Wars KOTOR
• Goldeneye 007
• Perfect Dark
• Super Smash Bros games
• Chrono Trigger
• Viewtiful Joe
• Starfox 64
• Kingdom Hearts
• Blaster Master
• Rock Band
• Battletoads
• Star Wars: Rouge Leader
• Dragon Warrior
• Dead Space
• Contra
• Kirby’s Super Star
• Eternal Darkness
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• and many more.

I am a game collector and I pride myself on owning many UNOPENED classic games such as the Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Megaman series.

My favorite developer is Nintendo.  I grew up with them, and they have made some of the greatest games of all time.  They set the new standard time and time again and yet are consistently underrated.  Though if I had to pick my favorite console this generation, I would have to go with the Xbox 360.  It has dozens of amazing titles as well as the largest variety of genres.  It is also a very well put together system (Lets ignore the Red Ring of Death here).   But the hardware and the software of it are both amazing, and I love Xbox Live.  The achievement system was genius.  Never in my life have I worked so hard to achieve pointless goals that award useless points; but I love it!  Even though I favor Nintendo’s software, and Microsoft’s hardware, I have a strong belief that all consoles are good for their own reasons. I love my PS3 for many reasons, such as the Bluray, the better graphics (sometimes), the simple interface, and the Triple-A titles that are exclusive to it.  I feel that to disregard one console as inferior is just fanboyism or immaturity.  I want to simply play every good game that comes out.   Video games are a business.  They make the games to make money, software developers make contracts with Microsoft and Sony for exclusivity.  It sometimes sucks that you have to buy another console to play a certain game that is exclusive to it, but it’s the competition between the companies that continues to make them grow and better themselves for the consumer.  Would the PS3 have the Playstation Network if Xbox Live wasn’t so successful?  Would Microsoft be developing Project: Natal if the Wii was not the highest selling console this generation?  Would the Wii have stuck with an inferior graphics card if the PS1 and PS2 had not have proved that having the best graphics doesn’t mean they have the best games?  That statement sounds a little convoluted, I’m sorry.  But my point is the same.  Anyone who “hates” another console doesn’t deserve to be a gamer.

I guess that is a good sort of introduction of me and what I represent in the gaming community.  Be sure to leave comments.  I hate to be one of those people who fishes for comments or subscribers on YouTube, but I am motivated to do more if I know that people read them.  And on the subject of YouTube, you should totally check out my channel:  Gamer Rants.  It is a channel that  a friend of mine, Awesome Allen, and I put together a while back to rant on certain topics in the gaming community.  We try to be comical, over the top, and yet at the same time, smart and informative.  Check us out if you are interested.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back here often as I talk about my opinion on recent game releases, current gaming events, gaming in the news, and any other gaming-related topic.