frat boy mentality-a plague on the gaming industry?

[joshthor]

Id rather be a frat boy gamer than a pretentious gamer....

look, i follow gaming alot, i listen to 5 "gaming" podcasts, follow this site, destructoid, giant bomb, and look through steam for good looking indie games....

i have never even heard of "Devil Survivor Overclocked" what the hell even is that??

i agree that graphics arent everything, but being popular doesnt make a game a "frat boy" game. Street Fighter is played by more nerds than anything else (and its super fun), and call of duty didnt sell 23 million copies because it is crap.

long story short: there are multiple genres of games because people like different things. i for instance, hate jrpgs with a passion, and i suck at rts, but give me an rpg or a fps and i will have fun.

 

[RaikuFA]

snip

Okay, let's go down the list...

1. Your experience at GameStop was atypical, and I would give his manager a piece of your mind. That's some bull crap.

2. Madden changes a lot from year to year, but doesn't make the game in space, in Iraq, or change the rules. So people say its the same.

3. IGN is a worthless stain on the internet. The sooner you learn that, the easier it is to ignore them.

4. The Street Fighter thing is not indicative of gaming as much as it is of Capcom being money whores. Example: the new Marvel vs... Capcom 3 Super Edition or whatever they're calling it.

5. The beer-chugging, Halo and COD-playing, Jersey Shore-watching crowd, while annoying, are not destroying gaming. If anything, leave them to their ignorance so they can't do any REAL damage, like vote.

what about fighting game fans? im getting and have been getting hate mail for not thinking street fighter is a god

and i work in retail and i dont even want the guy in trouble even if he was wrong cause i mean, retail is hell

 

[GenericPCUser]

So you are mad because a game store owner didn't know about some obscure as hell game, and because the stuff you like isn't popular? Did I get that right?

Also, what the crap is wrong with Street Fighter?

its because niche games get automatic bad reviews or are considered crap by the consumer because theyre not popular.

Oh [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/shin-megami-tensei-persona-4] really [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/disgaea-4-a-promise-unforgotten]? Well, [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/shin-megami-tensei-persona-3-fes] I [http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/catherine] must [http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/shadows-of-the-damned] have [http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle] been [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/metro-2033] looking [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/stalker-shadow-of-chernobyl] in [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/vampire-the-masquerade---bloodlines] the [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/vanquish] wrong [http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/okami] place [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/heavy-rain] all [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/portal] this [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/shadow-of-the-colossus] time. [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/el-shaddai-ascension-of-the-metatron] Silly [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/demons-souls] me. [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/folklore]

OT: No, I do not think a bunch of college age men who are in a club for college age men and who are attached to the unfortunate stereotype of being a bunch of drunken idiots are ruining gaming. I think gaming is going along quite fine, thank you very much. Yes, it could be better, but it is not "ruined" by any means.

I think this should pretty much end the thread.

Which is a shame, I was on board with the OP on a limited case-by-case basis until he attacked SF4.

Don't ever include the scrubs that pollute Street Fighter online with the people who actually play the game.

ive never played fighting games online. at least not after one time i tried and there was too much lag i got curbstomped. besides i prefer aksys fighters, but i guess that makes me a bad person

Yes it does.

How can you enjoy BlazBlue when it's so blatantly unbalance. I'll give you that Guilty Gear may be astoundingly balanced, but because it is such an old game with such a steep learning curve nobody but the old champions plays it competitively.

Edit: I am looking forward to the P4 Fighter, however.

i only played the first so i dont know how CS is...

but ill kick your ass with midori, if shes not in it, then... ill put her in myself with my mind but considering she was a bit important to the story she should

She isn't...

But what does that have to do with the game being balanced.

Besides there is a reason SF4:AE is the most popular fighter on this side of the pacific, and in Japan it's Tekken. BlazBlue is about one step up from SSBM in terms of balance.

 

[RaikuFA]

Id rather be a frat boy gamer than a pretentious gamer....

look, i follow gaming alot, i listen to 5 "gaming" podcasts, follow this site, destructoid, giant bomb, and look through steam for good looking indie games....

i have never even heard of "Devil Survivor Overclocked" what the hell even is that??

i agree that graphics arent everything, but being popular doesnt make a game a "frat boy" game. Street Fighter is played by more nerds than anything else (and its super fun), and call of duty didnt sell 23 million copies because it is crap.

long story short: there are multiple genres of games because people like different things. i for instance, hate jrpgs with a passion, and i suck at rts, but give me an rpg or a fps and i will have fun.

destructoid and giantbomb are the only sites i know that care about them. this site wont cover it and its not on steam(its for ds/3ds)

 

[floobie]

what do you think? is this type of mentality ruining gaming?

It's the ugly side of gaming becoming popular outside of it's traditional audiences/markets.

Is it good for the gaming industry? Fuck yes. Ask Activision or EA if endlessly shitting out the same game over and over works for them. Of course it does. The mainstream doesn't like different or challenging, it wants retellings of the same old shit - comfortable with the familiarity offered. Big publishers drop obscene amounts of cash on having games developed and in return they want the big pay day, which means pandering to 'mainstream' tastes. It's no wonder that more and more gamers are dreading any announcement involving a title they've been interested that contains the phrase 'broadening appeal'...

As for ruining gaming... No.

However, it is changing gaming. When people spout off about gaming becoming more mainstream and more accepted and how great it is and how more people should game, it almost always comes with the naive assumption that these 'mainstream' people, these potential future gamers, will have the same tastes and attitudes as most gamers do. Fact is they're not changing their attitudes or tastes to fit gaming, gaming is being changed to suit their tastes and attitudes. This is why so much of the offerings from major publishers has started carrying the same stagnant, fetid stench that other popular entertainment media has about it.

Agreed completely. As gaming becomes more mainstream, so will the games.

I don't particularly like the trend. But, really, unless it's actually preventing games I like from being made, I don't really care. Much like no one is forcing me to watch Transformers, no one is forcing me to play Call of Duty 12 or whatever.

 

[RaikuFA]

So you are mad because a game store owner didn't know about some obscure as hell game, and because the stuff you like isn't popular? Did I get that right?

Also, what the crap is wrong with Street Fighter?

This is the mentality he's talking about, it's obscure, so the game clerk thought it was trash, like saying the original Dracula is for "fags" because it's in black and white, or that Ocarina of time is bad because it's got bad graphics. There are far more important things in a game than "Oh, look, beefy guys killing stuff with plasma swords IN SPACE!" and SMT does these things quite well. He also insulted the game (something I would have gone to a manager about by the way) calling it a "generic weeaboo game" that's fucking bullshit, and if a single person had pulled their head out of their call of duty infested ass, they'd have known that. Also, SMT is far from obscure, it's actually one of the most talked about video game series for having some fairly hard core elements (like dealing with death from a non war point of view, people you care about betraying you ect. real world shit) and pretty good gameplay.

Basically he's complaining because all gamestop hires any more are people who suck on CoD's balls and throw fits when you don't want to buy Portal, Halo, Madden, or CoD, like your "not a gamer".

THANK YOU!!! i just suck at wording stuff but you put it perfectly there. although i disagree with SMT being obscure. anyone i talk to about good jrpgs they mention games like chrono trigger and final fantasy 4 and 6(two other games i love) yet when i mention shin megami tensei everyone looks at me with a confused look

 

[Zeraki]

Popular stuff is popular for a reason. These "Frat boys" allow the publishers to get funded, and they pay developers to make more games. I swear, too many assume lesser known games are godly next to the latest CoD game.

Some are just getting into our medium. Big Budget AAA titles allow them to step in further as interesting things will catch their attention.

but all they do is make the same game over and over again. i like diffrent. i dont want my choices to only be "military shooter" "beta of a fighter that will be rereleased in months"

Whatever the most popular game is at the time, there will be endless people trying to copy them. It's an easy way to make money, and the industry has been like that since the NES days. This isn't really a new thing.

Just stick to playing what you enjoy, and to hell with what other people think. What matters is that you enjoy the games.

 

[RaikuFA]

Popular stuff is popular for a reason. These "Frat boys" allow the publishers to get funded, and they pay developers to make more games. I swear, too many assume lesser known games are godly next to the latest CoD game.

Some are just getting into our medium. Big Budget AAA titles allow them to step in further as interesting things will catch their attention.

but all they do is make the same game over and over again. i like diffrent. i dont want my choices to only be "military shooter" "beta of a fighter that will be rereleased in months"

Whatever the most popular game is at the time, there will be endless people trying to copy them. It's an easy way to make money, and the industry has been like that since the NES days. This isn't really a new thing.

Just stick to playing what you enjoy, and to hell with what other people think. What matters is that you enjoy the games.

i agree fully, i love playing my games but im scared of the games i like becoming less and less existant because companies realize playing it safe with military shooters and fighters is better. i mean capcoms already doing that. theyre being stubborn with the release of AAI2

 

[lord.jeff]

People like different types of games, nothing wrong with that and you forget that games like Minecraft, Terreria, and Chtulhu Saves the World are fairly popular and none of those have good graphics.

 

[DustyDrB]

Popular stuff is popular for a reason. These "Frat boys" allow the publishers to get funded, and they pay developers to make more games. I swear, too many assume lesser known games are godly next to the latest CoD game.

Some are just getting into our medium. Big Budget AAA titles allow them to step in further as interesting things will catch their attention.

but all they do is make the same game over and over again. i like diffrent. i dont want my choices to only be "military shooter" "beta of a fighter that will be rereleased in months"

Whatever the most popular game is at the time, there will be endless people trying to copy them. It's an easy way to make money, and the industry has been like that since the NES days. This isn't really a new thing.

Just stick to playing what you enjoy, and to hell with what other people think. What matters is that you enjoy the games.

i agree fully, i love playing my games but im scared of the games i like becoming less and less existant because companies realize playing it safe with military shooters and fighters is better. i mean capcoms already doing that. theyre being stubborn with the release of AAI2

That's not something you'll ever have to worry about. Game companies don't want to all compete for the same market while ignoring every other market.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Agreed completely. As gaming becomes more mainstream, so will the games.

Thank you for putting it more concisely than I did.

I don't particularly like the trend. But, really, unless it's actually preventing games I like from being made, I don't really care. Much like no one is forcing me to watch Transformers, no one is forcing me to play Call of Duty 12 or whatever.

Exactly. It's not like there aren't mid-tier and smaller publishers and developers servicing less popular genres already plus the indie scene if that's your thing. As long as those groups are still putting out titles worth playing I really couldn't give a shit what the 'mainstream' is doing... although as a PC gamer I'm admittedly in favour of groups that still treat the PC as a worthwhile market rather than an afterthough, so of course I'm not exactly neutral when it comes to things that favour the PC.

 

[Blind Sight]

I wouldn't say its hurt gaming, more that it is the result of the gaming market and industry expanding beyond the niche markets of the late 80s and 90s. The fact is that the current market allows for far more capital to be put forward in game production as a result of gaming's popularity. Some would argue that this is a good thing, others would argue it is not. Whether you think the majority of consumers are 'frat boys'(what's with the hate on frat boys? I know a few and they're alright) is somewhat irrelevant. The market tailors itself to demand, and the only way you can influence this is through your own wallet. I mean, I'd love to see more turn-based tactic games and RTS for the PC being released, but I understand that there currently just isn't a market for major releases of that kind every month. Yet there are still titles I can appreciate. Just because gaming has gone 'mainstream' and tailors to that market does not mean that the niche markets are going to simply disappear. Enjoy the games you enjoy, and to hell with the people who stick their nose up at it (that includes you and your notion of 'frat games' as well haha).

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

That's not something you'll ever have to worry about. Game companies don't want to all compete for the same market while ignoring every other market.

And if they do, there are always people willing to service a demand.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Personally, I think that people arguing this line of reasoning do just as much harm as the people they're opposing.

Creative games are nice. Visuals don't need to be high-definition to be interesting.

But that doesn't mean that they can't be high-definition and interesting. Some of the best, most artistic games I've ever played have involved muscular white males with five-o'clock shadow. Does this mean that that's the only kind of game that should be made? Of course not.

But it certainly isn't "plaguing" the industry. There are plenty of other games coming out too. It's like you subscribed to cable to watch your favourite channel, but then called up to complain that there were other channels you didn't like and that, god forbid, they were on lower numbers than your favourite. Only simplistic cretins would enjoy those channels and it pains your refined sensibilities that they should be given more prominent numbers.

This sort of gaming elitism (almost invariably with social and intellectual elitism thrown in) smacks of oversimplification, makes what would otherwise be the best examples of gamers look bad, and ultimately helps no one.