this story/ writting was wrriten by a guy named s[S]*PLAYA* on
www.us.playstation.com. Its deep, maybe a little too deep in some spots...what do you think...
SOCOM, and the impact it has on our everyday lives
For about a year now, I have wrote sports articles. It was pretty much the only thing that I would write about because it was my passion in life. Well sports writing is difficult because sports fans only see their point, and their point alone, heck with what anyone else has to hear. I get asked daily by friends, family, and readers why I stopped writing, and the only conclusion that I have come to was because I the next subject I wrote about to be more then who scored the winning basket, or who was the greatest of all time, I wanted it to be about something that a lot of people could relate to and truly appreciate. It has taken over 2 months to pick a topic, and when it came down to it, the only thing I could think about was to write about my true passion, the SOCOM: US NAVY SEALS series for the PlayStation 2.
I sit here, 1:30 am on a humid Tuesday morning, my cable went out for some unexplainable reason, and I sit here bored. Why you ask? Because this isn’t normal, right now I am usually laughing with a bunch of guys/girls, having fun on SOCOM. So this feels really out of the norm, and is actually quite boring.
When you think of SOCOM what do you think of? Lag? Things that need changed? Yes those are things that all of us gamers do think about and frustrate us, but yes what is it about this game that brings us back night after night? The answer to that question is easy, the people. For years now SOCOM gamers have played together, enjoyed many laughs and connected on a bond that is unexplainable to non-gamers. I can lay a lot of money that everyone, including myself has met someone on the game that has impacted they’re life greatly. Whether it’s someone to talk to, or just someone you know will be they’re for you if you need a lending ear.
I ask myself a lot is SOCOM just a game? Or is it more along the lines of a competition that borderlines a sport? Think about it, most people, this isn’t including all you that just play for fun, but there are many of us that try to create the best team. We create the best to for matches in which we hope to win, losses can ruin our spirits and wins can put us asleep happy. If you can honestly tell me that you have never thought of SOCOM when the ps2 was off, then I will be amazed. You can compare getting the last kill of a great tight war to scoring an OT goal in hockey, because most of us will never get to be a professional athlete so this is our competition, what we pride ourselves on.
Is SOCOM just a game? To some it maybe very well be but to others its not. We have all heard stories of the love being found over the game, the people that have met on SOCOM and formed a bond that they treasure and believe could be eternal with they’re mate. We have all heard of the trips to Vegas, and Florida, where we meet up with our buddies from the game and hang out. I know some of my closest friends, and worst enemies have come from this game, people that I will cherish the till the day that I die. I mean think about it, have you ever been playing an EA SPORTS game against a guy and wanted to meet him? NO! So are we sure that SOCOM is “just a game”, I think it’s more then that, it’s a lifestyle, a community, and a family.
The reality of SOCOM is it is a mature rated game but we do have kids that play, and I mean a lot of them. The cool thing is that everyone overlooks is, we get the privilege to see these kids mature in they’re everyday life. The game has been out for 3+ years and we have already seen some of the kids grow up, go from 15 year olds to adults, but yet we judge them off when they were a kid. Some of the coolest people on SOCOM now-a-days were some of the most annoying in the past. We need to remember that, the reality is people will grow on this game and change, none of us are perfect, and like in “real life” we will make mistakes.
Here is some food for thought, something that I think about when dealing with the younger generation of the game (and yes I do get annoyed with them at times.) We unknowingly have the power to influence they’re life, they have growing minds and the things we say to them, or advice we give them could impact what they do, so next time when dealing with someone younger then yourself on the game, instead of attacking them for being young, give them a piece of advice for when they get older. They are playing a game and hearing sexual jokes, and jokes about drugs, and violence on the game, take that energy and maybe tell them about a mistake you made, so they don’t make it. Not all the time, but don’t be afraid to build a friendship with them.
Which brings me to the next point; do you know the person on the other side of the screen? In some cases yes we do, but in most, we do not. I think we can all agree that we play SOCOM and video games in general to relax, to for just a moment in our lives take about from the stress of marriage, school, kids, money problems, sports. It has become our escape, but yet every night that you play you hear people bashing someone else, when all they are trying to do is have fun. Let me share a personal story with you:
A couple nights ago I was playing with my clan and someone was talking about a picture of himself and his wife, the first thing I asked was “are you guys naked and doing it in the picture”. Thinking I am being my normal self, most people on my team laughed and of course that made me smile, because after all that’s the point of the joke. Then in little red letter’s on my screen there is a message from someone on my team that said “his wife died a couple months ago”.
Now read that story and tell me what you think it means? You don’t know the person that you are playing with, some you do some you don’t. You don’t know they’re personal situation, or emotions. My grandmother once told me “one smile at a person can be the difference between them going home and killing themselves, or going home and going home a happy husband/wife”. And that can be applied to SOCOM if you think about it, we all have our times when we are down in the dumps, last thing we want is some random person ragging on us (even though some of you/us just don’t care). It doesn’t hurt to be nice, could really make someone’s horrible day a lot better.
We come here as well to SCEA (which I mean have some of the coolest people on SOCOM in one tight community) and rag on the moderators. What is up with that? These are PEOPLE, husband, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, fathers, mothers, that take time out of they’re daily lives to ensure we have a nice, friendly place to hang out and share our thoughts, and we repay them with nothing but grief. Next time your thread gets locked, or post deleted, realize they aren’t personally attacking YOU, they just felt for the benefit of our community, it was not suited.
So again I ask you, is this just a game? Some people pushing 400 hours logged in, is it just a game? Because to me the people of this game have been they’re for me, when no one else was, and I don’t think, that they paid 50 dollars for that.
In some way, shape, or form this game has impacted all of our lives more then you think. I know I am going to catch some flack for writing this, as well as I know most of you will not take the time to read this, but for those of you that did thank you, and hopefully it got you thinking in some way, and you will benefit from this.
Brian “Play-UH” Reese
EDIT: I DID NOT WRITE THIS STORY!!
</center>
Linear Mode
