9
Han-shin Tigers! Play! Play, Play, Play!
It must've been the umpteenth time I heard that stupid fight song. Doesn't it annoy the sales clerk, hearing this blasted tune all day? The clerk's standing before us, decked out in a Hanshin Tigers baseball jersey. His hair is coifed just so that it doesn't fall over the bandanna wrapped tight around his forehead. The kanji on his tag says, "Ogawa." He flashes a toothy grin and points to another HDTV. Nope, I decide. There is no way in hell the song bothers Ogawa-san.
My wife waffles, going back and forth between the Sharp Aquos and the Panasonic Viera. Here's a quick rundown: Both are 37 inchers, but the Sharp is outfitted with Liquid Crystal Display. The Panasonic is pure Plasma. Everything had been talked through and settled. With all these rumors of Plasma screens getting "burned" and leaving ghost-like images, we were going with the burn-free Sharp Aquos. The 360 Japanese launch is weeks away, and I'm in the home stretch. I can taste hi-def next-gen goodness in my living room. Better make that, could.
"See?" my wife says.
"What?"
"They're different."
"What's different?"
"The screens."
"Of course they're different," chimes in Ogawa-san. "The plasma has much richer and deeper colors than the LCD television. It's better for watching movies."
Crap.
For years, my better half and I have toughed it out on a tiny 13-inch cathode ray tube. We gathered around that glowing box like a heater in winter. But, it was time to move on. Beckoned by the promise of beautiful gaming up and beyond what was currently available, I decided to go hi-def. Next step: convincing the misses.
Easier said than done.
My wife does not hate gaming. She actually bought me a Mizuguchi game on our second date. But, being passively into gaming and agreeing to shell out several thousand dollars for a television were two different things all together. But, I had a way in: this is for my job. The good thing about being a real, live game journo is that buying tons of software is not only a tax write-off, but a necessity. She wouldn't stand in the way of a man and his work, would she?
Han-shin Tigers!
"Watching regular TV or movies shouldn't burn the screen," Ogawa-san says with a smile.
I look at his Rolex and wonder if it's fake.
"Don't you think 24 would look so much better on the Plasma?"
"Anything'll look better than what we've got now."
"The LCD TV makes colors look too light."
Definitely a Rulex.
"If you're planning on watching movies," Ogawa-san says, "Plasma is the way to go."
"What about playing video games?" I ask.
"Video games? You hafta be careful, or you'll burn it."
Play! Play, Play, Play!
There's that damn song again. I can hear it, but I can't. It's slipped into my subconscious and is festering. I decide that no matter which television we get, I hate the Hanshin Tigers.
"Yer not planning on using the TV only for gaming?" my wife asks.
Minefield. Be careful.
"Uh, yeah."
Idiot!
"Then what's the point?"
"What we talked about right? My job and video games and um..."
Geez, shuddup man.
"We should buy a TV that we can all enjoy. I don't want you playing video games on it all the time anyway. Can't you use the TV we have now for that?"
Arrrrrrrrrrgh.
"And today, Panasonic and our store are offering a special discount on the Plasma," Ogawa chimes.
You are so not helping things, I think.
A smile creeps across my wife's face. How much? A six-hundred dollar discount. And that, the salesman points out, is for the latest model. This stinks. The whole situation is rotten. Panasonic, the Hanshin Tigers and this store are in cahoots. They're plotting to deprive me of next-gen gaming. I try to say something, direct attention back to the LCD TV or send my wife some sort of ESP email that this a conspiracy, but she and Ogawa-san are already picking out the stand for the Plasma.
My wife drags me over, inquiring, "Aren't you happy?"
"Yeah. Happy." Wahoo.
"This TV's great for watching sports," Ogawa says, bowing for no apparent reason whatsoever. "Action-type video games look great too. But, don't play them too long or you'll burn the screen."
"That's okay. He's going to play them on the set we have now. Aren't you honey?"
Han-shin Tigers!
This year, the Hanshin Tigers lost the Japan Series to the Softbank Hawks. Hopes were high going into the Series, but it ended up a blow out. I wonder if the players were disappointed. Tigers fans were. I wonder this as I make my way out of the store holding the receipt in my hand and passing a small blue radio playing the team's fight song. I restrain from bashing the shit outta it. My new Plasma TV will be delivered tomorrow.
Play, Play, Play!
See Panasonic's PDP Here [Journal Du Geek]
