Gaming conflicts

[Iwata]

Alright, first of all, there is no doubt in my mind that many will see this thread as 'whining' or any thing of the sort, but I feel this should be addressed.

The truth of the matter is simply that the community seems to be becoming so fragmented as to actually make the hobby in its entirety less fun. It's hard these days to have a proper discussion or even mild conversation about the hobby without it devolving into arguments and insults over platforms of choice.

I've been gaming since the mid-80's, mostly on the PC, recently I've focussed on consoles. So I consider myself to be fairly even-handed.

But a couple of days ago, I saw just how ridiculous things have become. I went to a local EB Games to pick something up, and they were holding the release of TitanFall. Someone asked me what I thought of the game, and I said that it looked fun, but I wasn't going to play it any time soon as I was just picking up a PS4 game.

As Capt. Bertorelli would have said, 'what a mistake-a to make-a!'

I was immediately overwhelmed by people - mostly kids - calling me a Sony fanboy, asking what was wrong with me, had I played TitanFall, etc. Then that escalated into bashing Sony in general.

I left with a lot less faith in my fellow gamers, but worse was yet to come.

As I was talking to an acquaintance about what had happened, he suddenly goes on about how console players are all the same, how the PC is the superior platform, and the same tired old crap about PC Master Race and so on and so forth.

After the day had ended, I just sat there wondering what had happened to simply playing games for fun!

I'm not going to ask if this has happened to anyone else, as I think we've all endured similar things, but how the hell did it get to this?

P.S.- The Escapist is also no safe haven. Console wars are frowned upon, but for some reason most PC Master Race/Console Peasants comments go unchecked.

Can't we all just... get along?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Wow. You ran into that in real life? That's...that's pretty disgusting actually. I have a friend who always gives the PC speech to me and I just don't listen to him, but I've never come across--or even heard of--people jumping on you in real life because you don't feel like playing their game. I can see why you'd lose a little bit of faith in the human race from that.

May I ask how you handled the kids at the store? I'm not sure what I would have done because I would have been too shocked at their actions.

I understand what you mean though. A lot of the times it seems like gaming has become more about tearing other people down than about just playing the games. I get some weird looks when I say that I just play a game because it looks fun, not because of what system it's on.

 

[tippy2k2]

Just be like your hero Tippy2k2 and don't give a fuck

I know it used to bother me a lot more. I don't know if I've grown a thicker skin or if since I'm older, I just don't care about being "popular" anymore or what it is but that's all I do. Zero fucks given.

I will stand proud in line to buy the next Madden/Fifa game. I will shout from the forum-tops how much I liked the Mass Effect 3 ending. I will shout at random strangers on the street that Dragon Age 2 was a good game. I will do an interpretive dance telling people how much I like military shooters. I will wave my console-flag with pride against the PC Fanboys crying about frame-rates and gigawatts and flux capacitors and whatever else goes into the insane hobby that is PC gaming.

Also, I enjoy Nickelback!

Oh shit! I went too far! Run Tippy2k2 Run!

 

[Ice Car]

I don't know man. Why can't we just stop having wars and killing each other? Why can't we just instate world peace and have everyone join hands and sing Kumbaya? People fight all the time over inane bullshit. It's not going to stop any time soon and it's only going to get worse as more and more people begin to start playing games and the audience begins expanding.

Also, I highly, highly doubt that that story about what happened in GameStop actually happened and it's grossly exaggerated. I see people get worked up over games all the time on the internet, and sometimes IRL, but I never get people literally crawling around me and having YouTube commenter level "discussions." In fact a world where that would happen, I kinda want to live in, it sounds fun.

If you ask me, just dissociate with the people who act like garbage over video games, and just enjoy your hobby. If somebody yells at you on an internet forum over stupid shit, just turn off the computer, or report the post to the Cyber-FBI the moderators, and move on. If somebody spouts off to you IRL, just walk away. Coping skills mang, coping skills.

Or better yet, just stop caring. Caring about people yelling over inane bullshit is almost as bad as being the person yelling about inane bullshit. If you don't see this shit and just point and laugh, then what's wrong with you? Join us, it's fun, and we have lots of popcorn.

 

[Elfgore]

Well the kids are just going to be that way. I don't worry about their opinions to much.

Your friend needs a good kick to the groin. Yes it is factual a top of the line PC blows consoles out of the water. But a console is a cheap, user-friendly alternative to PCs for people who don't want to have to deal with some very annoying problems. Both have advantages and disadvantages but in the end, they are the same. They play games.

I too am tired of all these console wars, diversity battles, etc. that has become the gaming world. I do my best to ignore them, for some topics it easier than others. Each time I leave my head hurts a little from how serious people can be about entertainment.

But no, we can't get along. Most people have very strong opinions on these things. They think they're right and everyone against them is wrong and stupid. And the escapist is about the farthest thing from a safe haven. Have you ever walked into a gender or diversity thread about video games? It's like WW3.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I personally chalk it up to insecurity, and the need to be better than somebody else.

I remember going to GameStop to buy Lightning Returns, and some teenager decided to make a potshot about my choice in game. My only reply was along the lines of at least I'm honest in what I like and I don't feel the need to bad mouth someone for liking something that I don't. I had a bad day, and normally I'm more polite about it, but I wasn't in the mood to tolerate it.

Point is, I don't care if someone wants to play the latest Kirby game on a modded toaster oven, and neither should anyone else. I don't participate in those arguments because they're petty and a waste of time.

God forbid if anyone plays a game for sheer enjoyment because that's just the worst thing ever. If those people feel the need to mock or bad mouth another person for playing a game or playing it on a certain platform then I would love to have their life because apparently that's the biggest concern that they have, but they can have at it. I would love it to have a discussion with someone about games or whatever and not have it dissolve into a measuring stick competition, but I guess some people feel the need to make themselves feel superior than others for reasons that I'm not sure I will ever understand.

That was a bit grumpier than I intended, but still, it's a fucking hobby for enjoyment, not srs bsn.

 

[Iwata]

Also, I highly, highly doubt that that story about what happened in GameStop actually happened and it's grossly exaggerated. I see people get worked up over games all the time on the internet, and sometimes IRL, but I never get people literally crawling around me and having YouTube commenter level "discussions." In fact a world where that would happen, I kinda want to live in, it sounds fun.

I really wish it was, and as used as I am to seeing these discussions online, this was the embodiment of those debates. I'd seen similar things when I used to work at Gamestop, but this was just weird. I think maybe it was just having so many like-minded people in one place at one time and seeing someone 'different' in their midst.

May I ask how you handled the kids at the store? I'm not sure what I would have done because I would have been too shocked at their actions.

I got my PSN card and... left. I tried telling them that I liked what I'd seen of the game, but the fact that I don't own an X-Box and my PC can't run it means I won't be getting it any time soon. So they tried to convince me how awesome the recent TitanFall bundle was, and when I said that I can't buy a new console because I got a PS4 a couple of weeks ago, it went full circle back to the beginning.

 

[The_Scrivener]

There is a large segment of gaming culture--a very large one--that treats Sony/Microsoft with the loyalty that most Sunday dads have for an NFL team. They're primarily online FPS gamers who get off on their own 1337ness.

Recently I heard someone in a game store say that people who play on PS are shittier at online shooters and present no challenge and that's why he had an Xbox. (Nevermind the fact that the XBoxOne lead-up was the marketing equivalent of September 11th. I'll try to keep my bias out of this.)

The thing you have to remember is that these people play 1-2 genres, buy 4 or 5 games a year--all of them big market played out empty sheep bait--and that they will spend most of their professional careers bagging groceries.

 

[Savagezion]

But a couple of days ago, I saw just how ridiculous things have become. I went to a local EB Games to pick something up, and they were holding the release of TitanFall. Someone asked me what I thought of the game, and I said that it looked fun, but I wasn't going to play it any time soon as I was just picking up a PS4 game.

As Capt. Bertorelli would have said, 'what a mistake-a to make-a!'

I was immediately overwhelmed by people - mostly kids - calling me a Sony fanboy, asking what was wrong with me, had I played TitanFall, etc. Then that escalated into bashing Sony in general.

Not gonna lie, as a Sony fan, I would have loved this. I wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut. "That's what you said last gen, how soon did your 360 red ring? My 60GB backwards compatible PS3 is still going strong." I got tons of em. But that's a fun gem. What do they got? Titanfall? Bahaha, I don't care for shooters anyways. CoD isn't even in my top 50 games. I like it but I will pick at it. That would be a fun discussion for me.

However, I do see what you are complaining about and I do also dislike it too. Humiliation is a game itself to some people is the best explanation. Sometimes you'll find the humiliation game isn't humiliating to many who play it in regards to games. It is a yet just another game. Although some people play the humiliation game yet are sore losers at it so its probably a bad idea for them to play the game. Getting it slung your way and hit with it can sting, but its a good sting that helps temperance.

I don't think it is going to go away. It could help sites like this one to have message boards for specific genre discussion. Each genre has a different pool of people who play it. Smaller numbers in the community also discourage it. You'll often find message boards where people regularly attend but don't post often. These sites don't lend themselves over to "trolling" (read: a poster pissing another poster off) as easy.

Ice Car got it here:

People fight all the time over inane bullshit. It's not going to stop any time soon and it's only going to get worse as more and more people begin to start playing games and the audience begins expanding.

The more people that get together over anything, they will start fighting over it. People are savage creatures. It is our nature. To think otherwise is a nice idea, but we haven't figured out how to do it. As soon as we think we got a way, people get together and fight over it. Even if they all love it.