Poll: Cult and obscure, or well-known and popular?

[Croix Sinistre]

I lean more towards liking things that are somewhat obscure. I like popular stuff to, but I go out of of my way to find things that I wouldn't be exposed to by just watching tv or whatnot.

I guess one of the main reasons obscure things appeal to me is that for the most part they haven't been corrupted by popularity. While it's true that some things are popular because they are good (yes, this can happen), anyone here can agree that they know of something, be it an author, band, movie or tv series that got worse when it became popular.

Pretty much I like things that haven't been dumbed down to appeal to the masses.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I tend to watch/play/listen to stuff that I find interesting. That's about it. I'd say it tends to fall pretty evenly between stuff that's mainstream and stuff that isn't, and how popular something is or isn't never factors into whether I'm interested in it or not.

 

[Eumersian]

I guess I'll say that I'm indifferent.

I honestly don't understand why people, some people, will refuse something due to its popularity. One of my friends, who really liked listening to music, refused to purchase an iPod, because they were too popular. He insisted on buying a SanDisk mp3 player. Admittedly, it was a whole lot cheaper, but he actually did argue at one point that he didn't want to "just become another iPod owner" or something like that. He decided to overlook the vast superiority of the iPod to what he had (this was 5 years ago) simply because everyone else had one.

Usually I like to consider the idea that perhaps something is popular because it's good. That doesn't mean I go and get tattoos and play Black Ops though. I just don't like either of those things, so I avoid them. But I do have a 360 which, as we all know, is popular. It's served me well. No RR'sOD, not too many crashes, and it was certainly much cheaper than the PS3. Also, the game library was more relevant to my interests.

I do like some weird cult things. I still play Marathon. I have invested quite a large amount of time into various indie titles such as Escape Velocity and Geneforge. But I enjoy those just as well.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

I barely game these days, but in my prime I generally leaned more towards the more known titles (from Bethesda , Hideo Kojima, Black Isle, Blizzard, etc...). A few lesser known titles were also in order, chiefly Dungeon Keeper, my favourite game of all time.

In terms of music, I listen to more known bands - Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Animal Collective, King Crimson, Modest Mouse - in conjunction with lesser known bands - Boris, Baroness, The Knife, The Jesus Lizard, MC 900 Ft Jesus, and a whole myriad of artists.

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

To be fair, I'm not particular, but I lean towards Cult and obscures, simply because it they usually give an experience unlike most things you've ever played. For example, Atlus. They're the guys who try to do something mildly different every once in a while, and they're really goddamn obscure in North America. Grasshopper Manufacture.They make what you could honestly call "punk" video games. Don't get me wrong I like Nazi Zombies, Dead Rising 2 and anything else too, but I usually prefer the Cult stuff.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

I know of New Getter Robo. It was on the previews of my Tokyo Underground DVDs. Same studio I think. There was a guy throwing up in his hlemet so I gave it a pass.

Personally, I buy a lot of games that are popular. Many of them turn out to be quite bland or just bad, so I currently get what I like. Unfortunately, that stuff is weird.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I watch Gundam... I play Shin Megami Tensei, Tales... Jak, and Monster Hunter. I read Berserk, Rave Master, and Kenshin!

I hate to break it to you, but those things above are moderately popular, depending on the age group you ask and who you ask. Now, the only Jak I know is Jak and Daxter. Dont know if thats who you mean, and if it isnt, please, feel free to correct me, but I'm assuming you mean that Jak. GUndam for sure is popular, if for no other reason then the fact that Japan seems to through one up every other week it seems. Thats not against you, and hopefully you'll see that I mean nothing against you in the following.

OT: I'm more lesser known then cultist. I like the lesser known stuff, but aslo I like to try abit of everyhting and like to get things first. I'm one of the few people I know that have heard of the first three persona games, one of the even fewer who have played the first three persona games. I like mainstream, or at least can get into it, but the stuff that really takes place in my heart is the lesser known things. The Anime in comparison to the sports. The Hockey in comparison to the soccer or (american) Football. There's alot of inside jokes I get but I dont know everything, nor am I exclusive to something.

 

[Whitenail]

I don't care if it's popular or not and to whom such a reputation lies, if it suits my interests then I'll enjoy it. I'd like to think I have a fair balance, I consider the Beatles the greatest band of all time but Flogging Molly the best band of the moment, I feel that Jade Empire's the best Bioware's ever done but I think that Black Ops will be my personal GOTY for this year so on and so forth.

 

[Hairetos]

When it comes to video games, I tend to be driven by what's popular simply because usually popular games are made by big-budget developers who invest a lot into their games (see: Bethesda, Bioware, Infinity Ward, etc.). It feels really trendy to like Indie shit until you realize that stuff like Spongebob games fall into that category.

By being attracted to (not necessarily liking) popular things, I also tend to get let down a lot. Point being: Modern Warfare 2, which was HUGELY popular and something I grew to detest.

High popularity=high expectations.

The only times I ever experiment is when games are free, such as things like the Breath of Fire series (BoFII I found under a bench at the mall) or from borrowing. I make it a point to try and make sure a game will be good before I buy it.

 

[The Geek Lord]

I watch Gundam... I play Shin Megami Tensei, Tales... Jak, and Monster Hunter. I read Berserk, Rave Master, and Kenshin!

I hate to break it to you, but those things above are moderately popular, depending on the age group you ask and who you ask. Now, the only Jak I know is Jak and Daxter. Dont know if thats who you mean, and if it isnt, please, feel free to correct me, but I'm assuming you mean that Jak. GUndam for sure is popular, if for no other reason then the fact that Japan seems to through one up every other week it seems. Thats not against you, and hopefully you'll see that I mean nothing against you in the following.

I do mean Jak & Daxter, actually. And by the way, I wasn't talking about the popularity of Gundam in Japan. I was talking about it here.

Compare Gundam's popularity with, say, Evangalion or Naruto. All three contain fucktons of whining and angsting, and two of them involve giant robots, but find an intelligent (keyword!) person who likes Gundam. I'm betting you that around 7/10ths or so of the fanbase will go on about how "awesome" Gundam SEED is.

I'll sum up my feelings for Gundam SEED like so.
Ahem.
HI GARY STU, I'D LIKE TO REMIND YOU BLACK MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE AN ABSOLUTE FUCKING TOOL [http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/seed-destiny/zgmf-x20a.htm]

And compare Tales and MegaTen to, say, Final Fantasy. I know that's an easy example, but that makes it simple to understand. Final Fantasy, for who knows what the fuck kind of batshit insane reason, sells millions of copies on launch days. I don't plan to get my copy of Dissidia 2 on launch date, ya know. (... And even then, Gundam Vs. Zeta Gundam is still better. lawltrollin)

Tales games probably sold about a few thousand of copies on launch date. I could be wrong, it could be far more, but research in not my strong suit, you see. It's the same thing with MegaTen.

Now, mind, I never said these things were obscure, because they're really just lesser known. Gawd you people and your presumptions. I don't think I even implied total obscurity.

... Except with Getter Robo. You know, that one anime that ripped off Gurren Lagann before Gurren Lagann even existed, because, oh that's right, Gurren Lagann was originally (keyword!) supposed to be a Getter Robo parody. Until they realized Gekiganger 3 did it first.

 

[Crazie_Guy]

I try to absorb everything. Whether its games, music, or anime, I try to experience anything and everything I can. I want to have played and have an opinion on it all. I want to be cultured. I enjoy mainstream and niche alike. I enjoy breaking down the delusions of ignorant fanboys who have barely played a game outside their holy grail, as much as I love cutting pretentious snobs down to size who think everything they play is superior because it's obscure. Luckily, I enjoy nearly everything too.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Snip

whoo, snippy. maybe its just where you live, but if you talk more, you'd see its FAR more popular. People just dont like to admit it cause it wouldnt look cool. And MeGaTen games sell decently enough. Nocturne, Persona 3, Persona 3 Fes, and Persona 4 all sold with great success. Besides, you didnt limit this to America. Jak and Daxter is one of the better selling series for the PS line and is one of the major faces until GoW came out.

I'm not trying to start a flame war with you, not want to make a lot of arguments. But really, just ask around, and educate. you'd be surprised what you learn.

 

[NickCooley]

Mine's a healthy mix, both sides of the spectrum are missing out on some fantastic games. I just don't understand why someone would limit themselves like that.

 

[The Geek Lord]

Snip

whoo, snippy. maybe its just where you live, but if you talk more, you'd see its FAR more popular. People just dont like to admit it cause it wouldnt look cool. And MeGaTen games sell decently enough. Nocturne, Persona 3, Persona 3 Fes, and Persona 4 all sold with great success. Besides, you didnt limit this to America. Jak and Daxter is one of the better selling series for the PS line and is one of the major faces until GoW came out.

I'm not trying to start a flame war with you, not want to make a lot of arguments. But really, just ask around, and educate. you'd be surprised what you learn.

Arguments? What arguments? If this were an argument, this topic would be one giant flame war about how Final Fantasy sucks and etc.

I know that some of the stuff I listed does rather well, it's just not stuff you see people talk about as much.

Lesser knoooooooooooooooown. Not obscure.

 

[Betancore]

I try not to let something's popularity affect my opinion of it, but I guess for the most part, what I like is fairly obscure, but not entirely unknown.
There are many films and books and bands and games that I like that many people also like, but then again, there are also many that no one else seems to recognise. Except online, maybe.

I could go out into the street and ask people randomly if they like the Horus Heresy series, and probably not receive more than one or two affirmative answers (assuming I ask a lot of people, since the majority of the people who walk the streets of Melbourne probably aren't into Warhammer) but I could also go out into the street and ask if anyone knew of Pink Floyd, and have a lot of people say yes.