4. Hatred For Saku Koivu - NHL 2K3
NHL 2K3 was another PS2 gem that influenced some of my own decisions back in the day, though not nearly to the level of seriousness that GTA III did. As a good ol' Canadian boy, I simply had to have a hockey video game, and the 2K series had surpassed EA Sports right around 2002-03, so I got on board in a big way. And within a few weeks of owning it, I decided something: I hated Saku Koivu. He was the captain of the Montreal Canadiens at the time, and as a routine user of the Toronto Maple Leafs I saw him regularly, and he lit me up regularly. It would be nothing to lose to Montreal and see Koivu with four or five points, his smug little avatar racking up goals and assists effortlessly. He wasn't excessively rated, he didn't score points that way in simulated games, and in real life he was only slightly better than average, but man did he ever like playing against me. 10 years later and I still hate him in real life.