Irate Gamers IV - Feedback Central.
Why do gamers have to be this way?
It was a question that was posed and discussed, and people have responded with interesting responses. Below you'll find a selection of these responses generated by the original article so without further ado, read on...
Agent Double O Nothing responds with:
I've expressed my opinion of this once before on various message boards regarding this exact topic, and would jump at an opportunity to make myself heard to the world. Being a gamer for 15 years now, I believe that games are best when they're used to express the imagination and fantasy worlds of the mind, whether a puzzle, platformer, R.P.G., or adaptation of a movie or book. With games having been accepted by the mass-market, we're seeing less of these 'artistic' games, and more saturation of mindless violence and sex, as portrayed by games like Grand Theft Auto 3. Also, companies are no longer competing for 3rd party support by producing quality games to show off their system. Now, they're competing by buying up any third party that offers even the slightest hint of financial trouble.
The gaming industry is going through a dark age, and I blame it on the mass-market. Whatever game has a good commercial immediately becomes a success because the mass-market as a whole, lacks the critical thinking skills to say "this game is shallow and meaningless!"
A game like Pikmin is a perfect example of an artistic game, showing us what could very well be Earth, but from the almost helpless angle of an insect-like creature, which just happens to be the prey for everything in the area. Another would be Super Mario Sunshine, which takes relatively simple platforming concepts, throws in a water gun, and puts it all in a world so fantastic that a plot isn't really necessary. Just explore and have fun. Yet fanboys of rival companies, speak badly of these games in order to convince the mass-market to not even try the game before dismissing it. This would cause more third party support for the rival systems, as they'd see more money in their user bases.
The problem is that there are so many fanboys, that it usually works. A friend of mine once told me how he was going to get a really bad game for his friend, but include the receipt so that he could exchange it for a different one, and immediately someone behind us chimed in "Ha ha, oh get him something Mario!" Someone has discovered an item duplication cheat in Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2. Now among the internet populace it has grown into a virtual panic, with people claiming it to be the apocalypse of gaming, and yet advocating the Xbox version for it's patching capabilities. If you go to gamers.com, you'll find that in every "User Hype" for highly anticipated GCN games, there's at least one person who gives it a rating of 1 out of 10, simply because he wants to lower the average user hype. His entry is filled with hate and anger, and whining about how much better Starfox would be were it on the P.S.2 and such.
If games could once again become obscure little nerdy playthings, we could return to the days of more artistic and intellectual, more 'fun' games, and Nintendo and Sega's competitive rivalry as games-only companies. Now we'll be lucky if Nintendo manages to be agressive and buy Sega to get more exclusives, and perhaps Rockstar for it's mass-market appeal. Hmm, I wonder if Tri-Ace would be good for them to invest in as well...?
Arthur says:
It's quite simple really. If I've spent a reasonable amount of money on a console, and I can't really afford to splash out on a second or third one, then I'd like to think that I made the right purchase. The best way of showing this is if lots of other people have bought the same console as me, because that's got to prove it's worth buying, right? When there are other popular consoles around, I need to find reassurance that MY decision was the right one. So to do that I want to convince other people, and thus the arguments start.
People have occasionally asked why gamers are like this, when movie goers aren't? Well that's because you don't have to choose one film studio, but unless you're willing to spend extra cash then you do have to choose just one console.
Arthur
Benjamin Rommell says:
Hi.
I believe the basic reason people are so defensive of their games is that they investment alot of time and alot of money in them, Its only natural for them to defend their investment against people who dare say they made the wrong decision, and that they spent/spend their money and time stupidly. I feel there is a right way to defend your gaming choice thus making the gaming community a better place, and a wrong way which will probably lead to a world war one day.
When dealing with an idiot soldier of the opposing factor, stop to think next time you throw pointless technical facts or make obvious the petty faults in their consoles. Does it really matter if the Xbox is big? Does it really matter if Nintendo's games are aimed at the younger crowd? Do these factors make the games we play any less fun or enjoyable? Ask yourself next time some fanboy attacks you with such stupidity "does this make my gaming experience any less enjoyable?". It doesnt, not even a little bit.
So whats the point? Well, really, there is no point to such idiocy. Its there because its there. You are not proving anything by insulting others choices and preferences in gaming other than how simple minded and disrespectful you are.
It has to be stopped, and prevention is the only way to stop it. There is no cure.
Do NOT attack them back and prove the levels of unintelligence you can acheive. On a basic level, your insulting them for buying different games than you. Now pause to think about how stupid in concept that sounds. Your sinking to their level, your lowering to a battle of wits, a battle to see who has the least.
DO calmly and intelligently tell them that you enjoy the games you play, the same way they enjoy the games they represent so venomously.
DO play the games you chose and do respect others gaming choices. This town is plenty big enough for the both of us, lets just do our own thing and enjoy it whilst having respect for people who have their own thing.
We are all gamers, we all bleed the same color, why dont we just play nice and enjoy what our system has to offer us whilst respecting others choices. There are many great gaming platforms and very different games out there... plenty enough choice for every type of gamer. There is room for everybody and the games they play... there is no room for childish bickering and pointless internet battles.
In conclusion, enjoy the experiences availiable to us in this thing they call life instead of bickering about which experience is better.
Thanks.
Ben Rommell
Le Anh Tuan says:
First of all i am from Austria (Europe) and therefor i have to apologize for my f###ing English ;-)
In my Opinion most of the gamers dont want to attack other fans. Yes, there are a few of them who think that his (or her) consol is the best on the marktet and so on. But why do we have this neverending discussion:
Many console-owners(kids) are young and they had to give all of there money to buy (lets say) a Gamecube. And none of them wants to hear that he made a wrong decision by buying this machine. He is only defending his decision. Thats all
Hope you understand
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(my english ;-))
Goober BT says:
Why? I dont know what compels people to bash other consoles whilst praising another. I personally own a PS2 and Gamecube. I got the Cube first, but when I had the cash I figure I was due for a Playstation system. There arent many games (Rez) I have on it right now, but I anticipate GTA: Vice City like nothing else. I own about 15 games on the Cube right now (maybe 5 of which I could live without, honestly). I plan on having about as many PS2 games by the end of its run.
The Xbox personally just doesnt interest me, and my brother owns one anyways (he doesnt live here, so its not availble...). I just dont see any games on it that warrant a purchase, while the PS2 has enough to justify it, and has enough coming to keep my satisfied. With Rare now on the Xbox, maybe I will have to get one eventually if Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero turn out to be great....but I seriously doubt I will even bother.
I prefer Nintendo to all else, but, when some other console shows that it has games comparable to titles like Mario and Zelda, I will go and check them out. How anyone in their right minds can deny the pull of Mario is sickening, but hey, if someone prefers the super averageness of most PS2 and Xbox games (to this gamer at least) to something like Mario Sunshine...well...they can go do that, I am not gonna try and sway them. I will just go home and play my games and be happy with it.
-Goob
Xavi Espejo from Barcelona, Spain has this to say:
Hello, my name is Xavi Espejo from Spain (Barcelona) and I'm 23 years old. Actually I bought the four systems, but by today there's only two out of (the) wardrobe: Game Boy Advance and GameCube. I have spent some money getting a PS2 and that nefast X-box and I'm very disappointed with the way the focus their software lines. I enjoyed playing Devil May Cry, I enjoyed playing Maximo and I'm triying to enjoy the expected great hit hits Metal Gear 2, also I tried the enjoy playing Halo... Those games are good, but they lack something that I can't identify.
Playing 352 hours of Super Smash Bros Melee, or doing the things good in Pikmin is really enjoying and really a good maner of past hours in fun. Playing Luigi's Mansion was excitement but today playing with Resident Evil I'm very disappointed, not about Luigi's if not with the Survival Horror game. It's really a game that rocks on graphics scheme and it gives to you the feeling of terror the sneaks (up on you), but thinks on table it's very boring, like playing those latest weird chapters of Final Fantasy.
I don't know what happens with me, I guess that now a days it's a matter of personalities enjoying some games or others, for example Grand Theft Auto... I can understand where the good game is. Do you copy (others)? This is a weird style of enjoy playing games, it's a way to show that society is in a great amount of shit...
Things away, I guess that's where a gamer may look before (they) bought a console, one must look himself.
That's all i want to say, thanks a lot for your daily work for the comunity and please forget about my novice english level, I really started with English with Soul Blazer and Secret of Mana.
Thanks a lot!
Jonathan Saitzyk chimes in:
It is not that the GAMECUBE is more powerful than the X Box and or vice versa. It is that the PS2 and X Box are in something that the neither the "X Box and GAMECUBE" and/or "PS2 and GAMECUBE" and that thing is direct competition. Nintendo said themselves that the GAMECUBE was not put out to be in direct competition with the X Box and PS2. Actually The X Box and the PS2 are in direct competition of each other. GAMECUBE is really caught in the middle of this all because people that know this don't want to acknowledge this so they have something to brag to their friends or other jealous people about.
Lets face it, most people don't even know that because Nintendo is so secretive about everything. Now I am not saying this to tear apart Nintendo but come on Nintendo is being stupid about this whole thing about how being secretive is so good. This way no one can copy their ideas.
It doesn't matter because people will copy their ideas once the product is announced and or released. And as far as X Box and PS2 are concerned, lets face it Bill Gates said himself (that) they would stand to lose a billion dollars before they made any money from X Box so let that shut the X Box fan boys up for a while. And as for the PS2 well lets face it. The PS2 doesn't have even half the power that X Box does. (and GAMECUBE occording to the bench marks) Speed means nothing any ways. Neither does raw power it is the full potential that means something.
And the PS2 is out of potential. It was on top at one point but the fact of the matter is. If the PS2 is so great then why has Sony already started to plan PS3 only a year or two after the launch of PS2? Not to mention the fact that half of the useer base is using the backwards compatibility BS thing to make an excuse. So take that PS2 fan boys.
Now at one time I was a Nintendo fan boy but now I see the up sides and down sides to all of the systems. Nintendo is not paying enough attention to the GAMECUBE and too much to the GBA. And they are way too secretive. The X Box is powerful but Microsoft lies a lot about what their system can do. No way is a Pentium 3 capable of out performing a Gekko chip in the GAMECUBE which was being tested to guide ARMY rockets and was actually guiding them.
Last I heard the ARMY was actually talking about buying a lot of them to put their rockets for good. Intel is good but Intel is not IBM. So lets just leave it at that. And the PS2 is done as far as graphical capbilities are concerned. The last Final Fantasy game was it for the graphical capabilities of the PS2. It is way too hard to develop for. Whenever a game is made off of the PS2 kit it looks like crap when it is ported to any other system even before it is ported. Even if it is not being ported.
So lets leave it at this. The GAMECUBE has it ups and downs, the X Box has its ups and down, and the PS2 has its ups and downs as well. So lets just stop with this stupidity. GROW UP PEOPLE. Thank you for your time and I hope I reached some of you fanboys out there.
A fairly passionate Brett Pateman says: (edited to make it more readable)
Mark,
Now being a old skool Nintendo fan I stick up for my console. I have managed to sway the opinions of many people their way. Now 3 months ago my friend went over to Australia and got an X-Box and the thing is, why do people rate Halo? It is the slowest first person shooter ever coupled with that controller, I couldn't stand it for 30 mins because my fingers got sore on it. But anyway when my friend got this of course I had to pull out the jokes, but he had also been a Nintendo fan and part of our golden Mario Party events. But then he turned to the dark side of the force. You know jokes like "your x-box is so big did you have to put in an extension when you bought it??" Or like "ohhh gee new door stop you have there but why is it making so much noise though??"
Now I'm not saying that I have anything against the ox-box but it is Sony that I despise. Now here in New Zealand, we are a nation of media influenced gamers. You're probably like "Who gives a shit about New Zealand?" Well true, no one does... and its evident in the amount of advertising for games we have here, that there are still ads saying PS2 is the worlds most powerful console!!! But whenever there is an ad for a game on TV and it's a PS2 one, I have noticed that there is never an actual screen shot and then people say this and say that game looks so awesome did you see the ad when its all been FMV. It is the business tatics of Sony that I don't like...
I've got myself soooo buggared up i forgot what im talking about so ill quit there this will probably be of no worth to you but anyway!! (I thought I'd mention it)
Brett
These responses certainly are interesting, and as usual, I can be contacted at my email address below. Feel free to agree, disagree, or rant about why gamers have to be this way!