Working with games may sound ideal to you and really I shouldn't complain. I manage to make a living through gaming (just, and even if not completely in the way in which I desire) and it's cool in many ways. I work with games all day long and play with them even more when I get home - either for work or pleasure and sometimes even both if I'm lucky. However, focus on anything for that amount of time, even something you love dearly, and try and tell me that every now and then you don't need a break. So, even for a gaming bod like myself there are times when my attention can wander away from gaming, even if only for a short time. If there's one thing, however, that can always be guaranteed to instantly perk my interest up a little it's a damn good gaming argument.

I just love them. Today in the office a young lad that has recently started working there presented me with a perfect opportunity. It was a typical Monday. My brain was slow to engage and enthusiasm levels simply not, at that time, at their utmost. However, amongst the blur of flickering screens and the orchestrally telephonic background hum I overheard him utter these very words. "But San Andreas is the best game ever, innit?" Immediately my senses sharpened. My eyes widened and neck gently turned. "Why do you say that?" I shouted across the office in reply, and there it began. I shan't divulge the exacts as for one they are not what I mean to discuss and two because it was a Monday after a heavy weekend and my recollection would no doubt be vague at best ("Look, I don't know how we got onto discussing the dangers of allowing dragons and their hellish minions access to the drinks cabinet, but I'm sure it got in there somewhere and more to the point it is bloody dangerous!") I love San Andreas and happily sing its virtues. For one its only been out a few weeks and I'd feel uncomfortable about already judging it as the best game ever. Secondly and more importantly I just don't think that's correct... and I loved telling him so. Satisfyingly however, I will tell you that later that very day the very same chap needed a wee favour, which I happily granted - upon the condition that he signed a written contract stating his agreement that San Andreas was indeed inferior to 4. He did and my supervisor happily filed it with his official records. As I write this I'm smiling smugly (yes, I'm still pleased with my work).

As is the case with many of my recent articles it seems, this opening gambit is actually quite beside the point. The reason I mention it though is because out of all the arguments such as these I've had over the years, I can easily identify the most common topic - Nintendo. Owww, even the mere mention of the company makes me tingle with argumentative anticipation! Not for bad reasons though. I love and make no apology for it. I admit still that they annoy me like no other company in the gaming world. They can be at times simply utterly frustrating, I know that too well, but how shall I put it? "Love is true but comes at a price. It's the one that is closest to you that can hurt you most." I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard the terms "Nintendo is for kids" and "the Gamecube is shit" and each and every time I've heard it I've always challenged it. The immediate response - they say I'm a Nintendo fanboy. That really gets up my wick. I am not a Nintendo fanboy. I'm simply a (occasionally) balanced person that sees the truth for what it is. Want me to criticise Nintendo? Here we go then.

First of all, how about the delayed PAL release dates? Was it two years for Animal Crossing, possibly the greatest game on the Gamecube, that passed between the and release date? To add to the pain, a PAL version was launched in and still the UK market had to wait because Nintendo decided it wasn't the right time to launch. Bastards. This is bad enough, but not only are Nintendo amongst the worst abusers of the PAL market, they also are the most active company in battling the importers. Importing is not illegal though the way they act would make you think otherwise. Distributors have been sued and still to this day Nintendo heaps pressure on some importers to stop whilst happily allowing some to continue. Dickheads. There's also their inability to shake off their kiddie image. Now, not only do I think this image is fundamentally incorrect (which annoys me sometimes almost to death) but Nintendo increasingly fail to do anything about it. You can't escape from the and brands when out and about but in comparison how often do you encounter Nintendo on the high street? Wankers. Also, we know the amount of creative genius contained within the company yet how often do we ever get original Nintendo IP's? Power Tennis, Pikmin 2, Paper Mario 2, Mario Golf, F Zero GX, Zero Mission, Double Dash... all of them I've done before. Tools.

Yes , yes, I comprehend the now obvious question. Why do I love them? If they have all this wrong with them then how could I possibly defend them? I'll tell you how - because of one question that arose in just such an argument very recently. Have Nintendo ever made a bad game? Of course they have... haven't they? This was what occurred to me on that day. Now, I'm not saying that I've played every game ever made by Nintendo but I have researched and found a complete list of all Nintendo releases and out of all of the ones I have played none of them were ever bad. For the record, no one in the office on that day could name a bad Nintendo game either. They are simply the masters of gaming. It's true that in principle they're often stuck in the past and as a result their releases are losing popularity with the modern wave of gamers but that doesn't in any way mean that their games are bad. After all, we all know how the best selling games are rarely the best and that many great games are commercially ignored. I'll also add that not only do they not make bad games but they often make absolutely incredible games.