Behind the Upgrade Curve

OK...I know the PS2 is SOOO outdated now...the reason I know this is because my son has been begging for an upgrade for some time now. He received this in 2004 as a "graduation present" when he finished elementary school. At the time, it was EXACTLY what he wanted and the next generation of game consoles was still on the horizon. Since then, the PS3, Nintendo Wii, and X-Box 360 have been released. The old PS2 is almost obsolete. He can still find games for it, but that may end soon. He reminds me often about his Nintendo 64 and how the games eventually disappeared and became unavailable. I know the same will soon happen for PS2. We have been playing the "upgrade game" for a while: Gameboy to Gameboy Color to Nintendo DS/Nintendo 64 to PS2. And most of the games have to be changed and upgraded, too. This has been the bulk of gift giving for several years...it seems like the only type of gifts he wanted for a while. Now, his list has grown to include things like a laptop computer, cell phone, I-pod, etc. Still, he wants to upgrade his video games, too. Hmm...not sure I want to keep playing this "upgrade game"! His 15th birthday is coming soon, and I would think his mind would be on things like learning to drive. He does care about that, but the video game thing is still a big deal. I don't know if I will buy him anymore video games or game consoles. I can think of many other things that I would rather buy him in the next few years. I guess he will have to decide, as he begins earning his own money, if he thinks it is worth the expense to continue to upgrade through the years. Computers, yes. I get it. Video games? Not so sure they are worth the expense. Don't think he'll be getting the next generation of games or consoles this year...and I DO NOT feel guilty about it. He just started high school and will be heading to college in a few short years: video games are NOT what he really needs. Final decision: nope, I won't be helping him upgrade these. If he wants to spend his hard-earned money on it, that will be up to him. But a laptop...now that could be helpful in school AND in his free-time. Too bad he will probably use it to play games! :( Oh ,well...can't win them all! :)