This hallowed object is not officially available in the shops until sometime next year. It's exclusivity therefore makes it highly desirable amongst the gadget freaks, geeks and anyone who has a 42" flat panel TV (so unnecessary in our tiny British homes). And there is a distinct difference in the male / female approach to the raffle, which incidentally is trying to raise money for Oxfam.
My first reaction was to exclaim:Male: OMG it's a PS3!!!!!! Is it real???? Where did you get it? Can I touch it???? Gimme tickets, NOW! I want this so badly. I have to WIN. What do you mean I'll have to wait 'til next Friday.
Female: What is it? Oh, a Playstation... go on I'll buy a ticket, seeing as it's for charity. I will give it to my boyfriend for Christmas... he will be so pleased if I win.
"Ha, Ha... I so hope a girl wins this thing... I can just imagine the look on all the men's faces when she goes up to collect her prize. That would be soooo funny!"
Guilt then kicked in as I recalled a very funny scene in the recent movie Prime, that goes something like this:
Should I warn them?Uma Thurman is dating a much younger man. She is crazy about him and wants to make him happy and his birthday is coming up...
Uma to girlfriend, "I was thinking of getting him a Nintendo, I think he really wants one"...
Girlfriend to Uma, "Do you like sex? Then DON'T get him a Nintendo!"
... cut to boyfriend, glazed eyes, thumbs a-frenzy, as Uma tries to entice him into the bedroom.
"Whatever you do, don't give it to your boyfriend. In fact, don't even mention it. Sell it on ebay and treat the two of you to a nice weekend away with the proceeds... in a hotel that does not have Playstations!"
But what is the allure of Playstation?
I asked some male friends and their girlfriends about the allure of Playstation and other boy's toys. It wasn't encouraging.
Men got noticeably excited, wanted to tell all about the differences between the different models, which games they liked best, their highest scores and their longest ever session (how many hours???). Sad, sad, sad! Mark even wanted to show his photographs of his collection of consoles. Weird!
Women on the other hand, mostly sighed and told me tales of woe... arguments, how he 'spends more time with that thing than he does with me' (how many hours???), how they've tried everything to entice him away from it and have sometimes even harboured thoughts of violence towards it. And yet ironically, these women will be buying him new games or a console for xmas, because he wants it so much and it will make him happy, and if he is happy then she is happy. Mad!!!
Could it be then, that most men have more of a relationship with their Playstation than they do with their Girlfriend? i.e. is Playstation really his Girlfriend?
Playstation = Girlfriend
Men fall in love with Playstations because:
- Their friends have one and therefore they must have one, preferably one that is better
- It's a gadget, with a technical specification and therefore a symbol of their masculinity
- It puts them unquestionably in the driving seat
- It does not require difficult conversations about feelings n' stuff
- It is competitive (ALL men are competitive about something) and they can win without going to the gym
- It makes them feel like James Bond or Superman, with all those baddies, fast cars, guns, monsters and unfeasibly constructed females
- They know which buttons to press to get the response they desire
- It allows them to indulge in the only sort of shopping they like... more gadgets, collections and geeky things
- They can always justify trading up to a new model and the latest, shiniest, most alluring model is always available providing they give good credit
- And if they're really good and ration themselves for a bit, their girlfriend might even buy them the latest model for xmas.
You'll notice that much of this is contrary to my (female) requirements for Music as Boyfriend. It might be interesting therefore to try extend the formula (for men) to Music as Girlfriend. What do you think... will the twain ever meet?
1 comment:
It's about control. Men like to feel in control of at least a tiny part of their life and the game console helps fulfill that need.
It's so simple. You just turn the device on and start making decisions, fixing problems, competing, solving puzzles. No challenging emotional problems, just lots of simple intellectual puzzles.
It's the 21st century upgrade to the shed at the bottom of the garden or on the allotment. :)
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