2008 was a grand year for gaming.  With so many AAA titles released, the Game of The Year award never looked so crowded.  Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Resistence 2, and Metal Gear Solid 4 just to name a few.  2008 was a great year to be a gamer, albeit a very broke one.  As we are all creating our new year’s resolutions for 2009, I think its time that this culture we call gaming did the same.

Resolution #1 - Your Wallet…Its Thinking

One glance at the big AAA titles of 2008 will give you an idea as to why we need to innovate.  Most gamers can’t even name the big titles of 2008 without it being followed by a number.  An early look into 2009 shows more of the same.  The biggest titles of 2009 are God of War 3, Bioshock 2, Resident Evil 5, Killzone 2 and many more.  It’s time to see just how much milk companies can squeeze out of these cash cows.  It’s time for gamers to support the people who work day and night to bring us these bundles of joy.  With the recession looming over the nation, gamers might be tempted to save those 5 bucks and wait for that used copy of Killzone 2 and I say No!  Work a bit harder for those 5 bucks and ensure that developers get the sales they deserve.  That way we will get more titles such as Prototype instead of Tony Hawk 17.

Resolution #2 - Hate is so 2008

With the monumental success of the Nintendo Wii, newcomers are joining our gaming family in droves.  So how about for 2009, we as a majority, stop being a bunch of immature assholes.  Is it really so hard to be nice once in a while?  People are being introduced to our culture and quickly being turned off to the magic of multiplayer thanks to a 15 year old kid who thinks its “cool” to devolve everyone to a dirty (insert racial epithet here).  All gamers who read this make yourself a promise.  The next time someone on Xbox Live curses you out, don’t stoop to their level.  Be the bigger man or woman and say “why can’t we as gamers, get along”.  Or you can simply ignore them and always remember, two wrongs never make a right.

Resolution #3 - United we Stand, Divided We Fall

Gaming has always been an activity meant to bring family and friends together.  So why is it that we as a culture feel the need to separate and segregate ourselves.  Casual vs. Hardcore.  Noobs vs. Pros. Microsoft vs. Sony.  Its not about teraflops and cell technology.  Its not about hard drive size or upscaler chips.  Its all about the games. To all the fanboys around the world, I say lay down your pitchforks and extinguish your torches, because whether we own a PS3 or an Xbox 360, at the end of the day we are all gamers.    Young or old, fat or skinny, black or white, we are a United Nation of Gamers and iGame2 is here to prove to the world that we can coexist in a peaceful pixel perfect environment.  We shouldn’t fight and bicker amongst ourselves.  We should unite against the oppressors and politicians that dare stand between us and our favorite past time.  We should join arms in a fight against all the Jack Thompsons in the world.  The common misconception that gaming is for a kids is a preposterous accusation against a medium as big as this one.  There are some gamers who are afraid to admit that they play video games but there is nothing to be ashamed of. Stand up and shout “I am a Gamer” and there is nothing wrong with that.

Got your own resolutions to add?…email them to igame2ace@gmail.com with the title subject “gaming resolutions”