Poll: Is the Escapist mostly Anti-Mainstream? (Users more so)

[Korten12]

I am not talking mainly about the hosts of this great site, but more so the users. I have been her for a while now... Almost two years in a couple of months and more recently it's starting to show... Now I am not saying that its bad, but it just seems so often to the point that for some reason it's like Anti-Mainstream are attracted to this site for some unknown reasons...

What do you guys think?

 

[Korten12]

can't vote that would counter the purpose of this thread


*rages*

Wait, what do you mean..? :S

 

[Project_Xii]

From what I've seen, the Escapist appears to rip on everything equally. Mainstream and non mainstream are bashed in equal measure, and people will fight to the death to defend both as well. It's a regular old "little bit country, little bit rock and roll" situation, and really it's probably a good thing.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I don't see why we would be, considering that this is a site that features extremely mainstream gaming culture.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

No different then anywhere else.

It's usual the most anti-something who are most vocal about things so it will always appear to be lopsided in favour of the negative. Very few people make posts to praise something, it's usually a weighted opinion disguised as an objective question.

So the answer for me is "maybe", because there is no way to accurately tell.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

The site is full of individuals. Each with their own opinions, likes, dislikes, interests and tastes.

I honestly don't know.
I'm guessing no, since a wide variety of people are attracted to and part of the site.

 

[Michael Hirst]

Short answer: No

Long Answer: There is a certain level of dislike for Call of Duty titles but this is more in part to their new ways of dealing/screwing over their audience. I just use Call of Duty as an example here there are other games and groups of people that dislike said games.

But then there is still much praise for mainstream titles like Portal 2 and the Mass Effect series. Even if these games dont sell as well as Halo or Call of Duty they are definitely mainstream titles that get a AAA release.

The Escapist does however, moreso than other forums I've visited, have reasonable discussions on non-AAA games ranging from social games to small indie projects and low budget Steam titles like Killing Floor.

Overall I like this forum a lot and find that its anti-trolling policy works far greater than other forums which become massive flame wars.

 

[Je Suis Ubermonkey]

I think really the escapist is anti-crap.
Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes crap. The more mainstream something is, the more people know about it, the more people consider it to be crap. Not proportionally, just in total. And the dissenters are always louder than the contented

 

[BreakfastMan]

It might be. I sure as heck know that I am not, and a lot of people on here are not, but there are many people on here who I do know hold those opinions. I am not sure if they make up the majority though... It is certainly possible they do, but only just. I would wager that they only make up 40% of the posters. Not a majority by any means, but a significant population nonetheless.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I'm a "I like what i like" sort of guy, I dislike FPS, but not because im some kind of hipster, i just don't like them.#

I listen to SOME mainstream music my favourite bands a Foo Fightes and Muse, who are fairly mainstream.

I just dislike the idea of hating something because its popular, as much i hate the idea of just being a teenybopper.

 

[repeating integers]

From what I've seen, it is - to an extent. Just look at the "unpopular opinions that you have" thread (can't recall its name exactly) - as one guy said, 80% of it was "I don't like *something popular*".

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I think a lot of the contributors to the Escapist are mainstream. I'm not sure if it's the majority, but they certainly seem to appear everywhere that I look.

Have to say though, I don't think we have many totally anti-mainstreamers here. Only people who are anti-mainstream gaming, which is fine by me as long as they don't get to hating on the mainstream too much. It's fine that you have your opinion, just don't get all up in my grill (I'm never saying that again) for having my own.

It's people who hate everything popular on principle that I can't stand. Sometimes I feel like saying 'You know what else is popular? Bathing, interacting with other people, eating, drinking, breathing, having a job, having money. Maybe you should give up one of the above and see how far it gets you in life.'

And yes, I know or have personally known people who shunned 'anything' mainstream, as they put it.

 

[ronald1840]

I discovered a ton of less popular niche titles through my time here at Escapist. I like this community because it seems to have a group of more intelligent and well-rounded individuals then anywhere else I've joined. I'd say this leans slightly toward the more interesting and not rightly reserved games that are released and produced.

Games/Franchises I've been introduced due thanks to the Escapist:
- Persona
- 999: 9 hours 9 persons 9 doors
- Ever17: Out Of Infinity (FINALLY GOT A COPY!)
- Planetscape: Torment

 

[Susurrus]

Relatively recently, I did a poll. 50% of people (roughly) liked Dragon Age 2. The other 50% preferred old-style RPGs. I'd argue that Dragon Age 2 was adapted to try to appeal to the mainstream, and that the old-style RPGs were not. So on that basis, I'd say no.

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

It's a nerd site. It's somewhat anti-mainstream by its nature.

 

[CrashBang]

I'd say yes. A lot of people on this site seem quite anti-mainstream games (COD/Halo) but most of the music threads indicated that a lot of escapists are metalheads or fans of punk/hardcore music, like myself, which is one reason why I love this site

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

It can seem that way at times, (what with an entire video review series that all but trashes anything popular...) but then you see there's plenty of other opinion going around. As an example, Halo brings some real debate when you see that there's a fair amount of people who hate it, and just as many who love everything to do with it. What I like about it here is that you'll always find someone who shares your view, whether your view is that something popular sucks or if it's actually worthy of the attention it gets.
The generally high level of appreciation for Mass Effect on here also point to some level of agreement with the mainstream.

 

[Mr. Omega]

The staff and contributors? No. They are not.

The community and users? YES. VERY.