Photo from courtesy of technobuffalo.com
MO SADEK
Special to The Leader
When you think of falling, you probably imagine a person desperately flailing his arms, struggling to grab onto something that will halt his inevitable collision with the ground. There’s nothing elegant or beautiful about falling; the act itself is passed off as a mistake or a case of bad luck. Then, you add love to the equation and that clumsy, unfortunate stumble becomes something desirable.
Rather than doing everything you can to avoid tripping, as you would on the street, a person is constantly preparing himself for the helpless downfall into love. Even after thinking about all the ways love could wound and disappoint, people still willingly gravitate toward it, in the hope that this will be the last love they’ll ever need.
I remember my first encounter with love. It was nothing more than an innocent passing in the local Walmart, so I thought nothing of it.
Then it went further.
We passed by each other over and over again to the point that I couldn’t help but introduce myself. After that first meeting, I knew I had found what I had been looking for.
On Dec. 2, 2013, I took the next step and bought my first 3DS. I remember coming home and unboxing it within seconds. That special edition silver “Mario and Luigi: Dream Team” 3DS had me hooked. For days I would do nothing but go to classes and play; I was running around “SpotPassing” everyone I could, and my late nights were no longer filled with boredom, but with adventure.
We traveled the world together, from Europe to the Great Wall of China. I loved my 3DS from its plethora of features to its aesthetic design.
However, as time continues to go by, I feel the grip of love loosening. While recently browsing through sales for games, I noticed another, more captivating 3DS model with a suede texture, embedded with a legendary pokémon. Still, I noticed another that recaptured the retro look of the original NES.
Then I saw it — the “New” 3DS, complete with a hardware upgrade, a C-Stick, improved 3D features and more. I wanted one, but I still had my 3DS. What used to be the apex of handheld gaming was now a restraint keeping me from reaching happiness.
So, Nintendo, thanks a lot. Within two months, you destroyed a relationship of a year by releasing multiple new and improved versions of the 3DS. It’s understandable that these versions may exist only to satisfy the user demographics and generate much needed sales revenue, but people will not be able to enjoy themselves if something better is going to come around months later.
See, my 3DS was similar to a first love. I thought that nothing better could come afterwards and was excited at the prospect of spending the rest of my days with it. In some cases, this happens with your first love and eventually you find yourself reciting your vows with the same optimism as on the day fate brought you together. However, your first love might end up being nothing more than a wake-up call there to remind you that better opportunities may come down the road.
I hate to say it, but my 3DS has become that $200 stepping stone to a better product. As much as I have grown to love it and the joy it has brought me, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things.