Throughout history there have been several notable debates, Lincoln-Douglas and Kennedy-Nixon spring to mind, but none may be greater now than that between the Microsoft Xbox One or Sony PS4, at least in certain circles.
The CBS network decided to take on this issue in a direct and straightforward manner by making it the focus of the most recent episode of "The Big Bang Theory." Sheldon Cooper, nerdiest of the geeks on the show has to choose between the two consoles. His decision making process cannot be described as anything but silly, but for Dr. Cooper it was perfectly normal and may even reflect how a lot of hard core gamers actually go about making their decision.
(Spoilers to follow)
The show opens with a very excited Sheldon sitting at his laptop running through the merits of the two gaming systems. The writers did an excellent job showing the combination of the boyhood thrill even an adult would have along with the overly seriousness that comes about whenever an important decision is impending.
Sheldon's indecision over whether to go Xbox One or PS4 comes to a very funny climax during a dinner conversation with his girlfriend Amy. If any hard core gamers actually had girlfriends the discussion would probably go along the lines of what transpired in the show. Sheldon does the typical geek thing and tries to decide based on the console's specs. He discusses the types of RAM used, that the Xbox One comes with a Kinect, that the PS4 is sleek looking, but its large size could lead to overheating.
As Sheldon rattles off his thoughts Amy does a wonderful job pretending to actually give a damn.
The next game choosing scene takes place in what is suppose to be a Best Buy, right down to the sales assistant in a blue shirt. At this point Sheldon has made his decision, picks up the box, but as he passes the other gaming system he has second thoughts. He thinks back to all the other poor choices he made when it came down to deciding between a specific format. In his life Sheldon has chosen Beta in the VCR wars, HD-DVD over Blu-ray and even a Zune over the iPod.
Sheldon even says no when a desperate Amy offers the practical solution of just getting both models giving the highly illogical reason that there is only enough room in his entertainment center for one. With decision making like this perhaps it is not so strange that Sheldon's track record in the various format wars is so poor.
The situation in which Sheldon find himself speaks volumes for the consumer electronics industry that over the years it has presented the average person with decisions that even a genius, albeit fictional, physicist has trouble with.
The episode ends with a neat little twist that, in hindsight, makes perfect sense economically for the show's future.
