The Campus Console Revolution

In true fresher’s fashion, four Games writers deliberate over their first-year experiences and give their reasons why, despite what parents might say, a console at university can be the principal companion to your education. It may be one of the only things you need ever bring from home – except underwear. Can’t go without pants. [divider]

Luca Ostacchini – Solid Snake and Otacon, Reno and Rude, Shepard and Garrus…everyone needs a best friend! One of the most exciting (and potentially intimidating) parts of your first year at Warwick is the people you’ll meet. The friendships you forge are ones that will stay with you for life, but finding the healer to your tank can be a lot easier said than done , especially if you’re naturally more introverted.

Terrified about looking for a group? Searching for player 2 nervously? Can’t seem to find a party? Equip yourself with a spare controller or two and bring a console to university. If you’re shy about meeting new people in your first year, your games console is a perfect way to start making lifelong friendships. Invite your new flatmates to a casual match. Ask that person in your seminar with the gaming t-shirt if they’d like to come over for a game sometime. Strike up a conversation about your favourite game series and then marathon it together with the person who gets as excited about it as you do.

Games are great social tools. Playing online is all well and good, but nothing beats the bonding power of playing Mariokart from the same naff inflatable sofa, or attempting to get through the recently released horror demo ‘PT’ together in the dark. Especially if you’re not the type for a lot of clubbing, gathering around a TV for a round of FIFA, drunkenly attempting to swing a wiimote or slaying demons on Diablo III are great ways meet the people who’ll have your back for life. If video games have taught us anything, it’s that it’s dangerous to go alone. With the help of your console in your first year, you’ll find the people who’ll make sure you never have to. [divider]

Charlie Roberson – I didn’t bring my PS3 to university in my first year for reasons that seemed pretty compelling at the time. Consoles are difficult to transport, games aren’t cheap and there’s always the risk of losing your fleeting (and now decidedly costly) university days in a fog of virtual war.

The thing is, I still regretted it because there’ll probably never be a better time in your life to be a gamer than when you’re in higher education. You’ll never find it so easy to meet people who share the same mad passion for games as you. You’ll never have so much fun drunkenly reminiscing about Simpsons: Hit & Run or that one bit in San Andreas with the jetpack. You’ll never have such freedom to mainline your game of choice until the small hours of the morning while still leading a rich and busy social life. Like most things, video games are improved enormously by the community of (mostly) lovely people that you find yourself a part of at university. Since rectifying my mistake and making my PS3 a fixture of my second year house, I’ve been reminded of the reasons why I lovegames in the first place. The basic thrill of playing games with a friend, either co-operatively or competitively, is as alluring as ever and it makes bringing a console to uni worth any amount of hassle or cost.

Joe Baker – I’ve never been the most social human being, so coming to university two years ago and suddenly having to talk to a lot of people in nightclub smoking areas was a bit of a struggle. So I’m giving up. I’m sure you are all lovely, it’s just I’ve still got a long way to go until I complete Skyrim, and those repetitive cave quests aren’t going to finish themselves.

In all seriousness, I think the idea that there’s no point in bringing your games console to university is just as misguided as anyone who pretends that waiting two hours inthe freezing cold to get into Smack is worth it. That place has been the scene of about four existential crises I had last year, whereas I’ve never been anything but happy when sat playing one of my favourite games alone in my lair – I mean, room.

Yes, going out drinking can be great fun, and I’ll be less able to do it next year when my degree lands me in a series of low-paying temp jobs. But there have been so many times – usually when someone’s just spilled a drink on me – that I would just rather be at home, tucking into a nice horror game or FIFA competition with some close friends. Trust me, you’re much more likely to form a bond with someone playing FIFA than you are watching them throwing up jager outside Saints Bar at 3am.

Either way, I’ll probably still be wasting a year in which I should be attempting to bolster a borderline 2-1. But at least with a console I’m less likely to end up with vomit on my shoes. [divider]

Adam Tindall – I love playing video games, but often I feel guilty; there is always something else I should be doing, and this I felt especially as a fresher. Perhaps this is why I now play more handheld games, and there is no system better for that than the 3DS.

Part of the 3DS’s suitability to university is the inherent pick-up-and-play qualities of the hardware and the majority of software; Sleep Mode suspends games where you left them, and many games feature short levels or are heavy on action so that a few minutes of playtime is still enjoyable. Therefore, you’re able to fit gaming around your schedule, providing a half-hour of levity whilst struggling through an essay and avoiding the guilt-inducing long sessions of home consoles. Just avoid staying up until 2am breeding Pokemon.

The 3DS is great in spite of the hardware itself; the 3D is rarely more than a headache-inducing gimmick and the system is woefully underpowered compared to the PS Vita or smartphones. Despite this, it boasts the strongest software library of any current-generation hardware, including Super Mario 3D Land, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and, of course, Pokemon X & Y. It may be tempting to blow some of your awe-inspiring student loan on a PS4 or Xbox One to impress the more susceptible of flatmates or potential lovers, but those consoles have less than five impressive exclusives between them.

However, I would hesitate to recommend anyone to buy a 3DS in the near future, as Nintendo recently announced the ‘New 3DS’ (to be released in 2015) that has improved specs, a second analogue stick, and exclusive games. But if you already own a 3DS, I urge you to bring it to university and add some quick gaming fixes to the seemingly endless cycle of lectures, seminars, essays, and POP –but maybe I’m just saying that to increase the number of 3DSes around Warwick so I can get more Street Pass hits. [divider_top]

Do you think bringing your games console to university is a good idea? Tweet @BoarGames