You were psyched to arrive home with your coveted new video console and be the envy of all teenagers in your subdivision. You gingerly carried the box into the family room anticipating the hookup as if it were your first love.
Oh, how you basked in the glory of playing hero in your first few guitar riffs. Your kids enjoyed ringside seats to possibly the match of the century between you and your spouse. You hadn't had so much competitive comic relief since you organized seating arrangements for your wedding reception. And even though you cannot believe that you felt a bit sore from wielding a virtual bowling ball only to achieve less-than-perfect games, you consider yourself officially inducted into the community known as Gamers.
Next thing you know, you're bragging to family members at your nephew's birthday party, feeling the adrenaline rush as your head inflates with pride. Until, that is, your nephew overhears your ego fest and comments on how his parents would panic if he were using his "sweet system" (his words, but now yours to throw into your next social event) for only gaming. As your nephew continued to prove his vast video knowledge over your pitiful display of a few gaming trends, you found yourself genuinely impressed and intrigued.
Apparently, whether you're Mom, Dad, Sister, home every day or not, the video console provides a wealth of options. Don't embarrass yourself by having to ask every pre-teen kid for usage suggestions. Just take a few helpful hints:
1. Catch your breath. Slip in the latest DVD volume of hip hop abs, fine tune your exercise routine and save yourself some time and money at the fitness club. From the latest horror and comedy movies to the greatest jazz and R&B tunes, feel free to delight in cinematic scenes and soulful sounds with the exceptional digital quality and convenience of your video console.
2. Take a load off. Grab a gratis download of how-to recipe videos from your favorite food website and amaze yourself with hidden culinary talents. There should be no need to fear capacity issues to download quality content to your system. Where there is a hard disk, storage media or memory card, there is a way.
3. Wax nostalgic. Show the kids how you tripped the light fantastic for your niece's wedding video. If that display doesn't get them cheering, you can always point out what adorable kids they are (and reassuringly note that your dancing genes will probably skip a generation).
4. Smile for the camera. You've always known that you ought to be in pictures, so now is your chance to show your family and friends images of how truly spectacular you are. Try a slideshow format that's sure to dazzle them beyond any corporate meeting room expectations.
5. Shop like nobody's watching. There's nothing like shopping online when the website pages are larger than life. It's digital details galore. You may just want to contact a few favorite web sites to let them know that zoom capability is not truly needed anymore. Thank you.
6. Share. Connect. Bond, if you will. It's worth a few minutes just to choose your Avatar (read: how you'd look as a three-dimensional wonder person), considering that the colon-hyphen-parentheses emoticons you've been using in your emails don't really do you justice. Since your video console offers real-time chat options — whether text, video or voice messages — you could be the director, producer and star of your own reality show.
Though consoles are not all created equal, top brands offer membership packages and privileges with engaging content on their websites to provide premium services. You could earn points for purchases, personalize your system (perhaps to blend into your exquisite taste in home décor), or customize your gaming experience to include matchmaking to meet your specific competitive needs. Your options are good and plentiful.
If you still find yourself questioning your commitment to your video console because all you see lately is how the dust has settled on the sweetness, remember that the thrill is not gone. Enjoy all that your video console has to offer now before you fall head over heels in love with the next model.
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