So last year I did a friend of mine a favor and accompanied him to a midnight opening "party" at a local EB for "Halo 2". I even ponied up the cash to get the game, despite not having any fun with the first one. When we got there, they had some multiplayer matches going and pizza and whatnot. People had brought in their own systems, many of which were painted up and "customized" for maximum effect. And, looking around, I was overwhelmed by the sense that many of the guys in this crowd were NOT gamers. They were the kids who, back in the day, made fun of people like me who cared more about "The Legend of Zelda" than about intramural sports. It was an awkward situation. There I was, waiting for the midnight release of a video game, and I felt utterly out of place. I was at a Gamecube launch line up and that was great. I used to work at an EB and that was natural. I did a DS pre-order lineup, too, and was fine. But this... I don't know. I don't hate the X-Box (hell, I play mine frequently), but the scene attached to it absolutely sucks. And, while I acknowledge that MS has done great things with "XBox Live", I can't bring myself to use it frequently, on account of the quality of the interaction available with the service. Promptly five minutes after joining my first "Halo 2" MP match, I was called a f-g over my headset because some guy with a country twang didn't like my GamerTag (greeneyedzeke). At this point, I only use it for games that my friends are playing. Private matches are the way to go.