Claybor, what people are responding to is not so much the content of your message as they are responding to the theme. It's your feelings, and you have the freedom to not be happy with OOTP. It's also your money, and you have the freedom to not purchase any products that you don't want. The extra bonus, living in a free (as in "liberty," not "cheap") country like we do, is that you get to tell us all about them. Bud Selig Bless America.
Anyway, I bought this game because I enjoy sports sims and I'm passionate about baseball. I heard it was great, saw it, figured everybody was right, and came to find that they were.
I've seen metaphors relating this game to everything from building a new home to buying a new car to a world history class. It's not. It's a video game. A $26 (for some of us) video game, and I treat it as such.
$26. Think about that for a minute:
*for $26, you could buy two movie tickets, two medium drinks, and one bucket of popcorn to share. That's a nice evening.
*for $26, you could go out to the bar on Friday night, get druk, tip a waitress who couldn't care less about you, and go home alone. Maybe not as nice of an evening, but perhaps a little more common for me.
*for $26, you could be halfway toward purchasing another video game that's half as fun. I've done that too many times.
*for $26, you could get one good seat and pay for parking at a real baseball game, sans hotdogs. I do that all the time (I'm a vegetarian, by the way).
*for $26, you could pay off my late fees at Blockbuster. They've been sitting there ever since I went to Netflix. By the way - I'd really appreciate it if you did.
What did I do with my $26? I bought a game that even with all of its fault has brought me countless hours of enjoyment. That's a much better value, if you ask me. Of course you didn't, but I'm telling you anyways
I can watch my Netflix movies at home, I can drink while doing it, I don't have to worry about installing a new game only to find that I'd prefer to be playing OOTP, I don't have to risk suicidal depression or psychopathic rage every night that the Indians' bullpen takes to the field, and I don't have to haggle late fees.
Now is this the life, or what?
- Dan