We had a very angry year

[DoPo]

For those who don't want to watch the video (and whether I think the rage was justified or not):

wow, thanks for the cliffnotes on the video there. I was going to ask for them, but I was also going to watch it later so I didn't want to do it. I'll just comment on what you gave

10. Lara Croft and the whole "rape" thing. Justified, to a point. I mean you can get angry as he put it a bit...stupidly, so at least that's worth being angry about. Not to a shitstorm proportions, I don't think, though.

9 . Diablo 3's always-online and auction house: I'm saying this here - I didn't play Diablo 3, nor would I. It has nothing absolutely nothing to do with any of the controversy surrounding it - it's way less emotional, dramatic and interesting than what I've ever seen anybody express for that game. Also older - I had made my decision way before anybody stomped their foot and yelled "I won't play it!" And yet, the always online thing and the auction house disturbed me greatly when I learned of them. Greatly. Whatever rage Blizzard are getting...well, it is over the top, I can see that, but I don't think I can call it unjustified in some way.

8. The War Z: I haven't played it. I wouldn't have played it anyway. I haven't even played DayZ. I don't particularly care about zombie games. Heck, I barely struggle to keep up with shooters, even. But War Z...it infuriated me. It managed to be personally offensive to me when I wasn't even its target audience and under normal circumstances I wouldn't have even noticed it. That's how bad it was. That means that the rage is completely justified. I should say, that I don't have anything against the team that made it but what they did...they shouldn't have done.

7. Bayonetta 2, Wii U Exclusive: I dunno, feels...bad. Then again, I'm not a Bayonetta fan, but I can feel for them. People are within their rights to be angry here.

6. Capcom's persistent use of on-disc DLC. Normally, I'm not opposed to the idea of on-disc/day 1 DLC. I'm against misusing it, though. I don't know how Capcom handles it, so I don't know how justified people are about raging against it. I'd say there is at least some merit, as persistent use would imply something is wrong.

5. The 38 Studios fiasco. "I don't remember much rage from gamers, honestly." Neither did I, actually. I remember few people were sad because they actually liked KoA but that's it.

4. SEGA's censorship and legal action against Youtubers: "Justified. Taking down content for an old game and threatening people with legal action? It's almost cartoonishly villainesque." QFT, period.

3. Doritogate and the GMAs: Justified. But similar to SEGA above, it's a bit laughable, really. I can only picture Doritos/Mountain Dew bosses twirling their moustaches and watching through a screen "Yeees. Yeeeeeeesssss!" they would say "Soon, our plans will be complete!".

2. Mass Effect 3's ending: Personally, I wouldn't have reacted as strong as even the tamest of haters. But I do see where they are coming from - they did have way higher expectations than I ever did. Which were smashed to pieces while I would have been just somewhat disappointed. I'd say they are justified...I'm just a bit wary of the sheer number of people that had such high expectations to start off. I don't want to use the word with "rated" in it but it would fit here. BioWare somehow convinced many people to put way more faith in them than needed. Again, I don't want to come off wrong - I don't hate BioWare, I do think they are one of the better developers. But I thought that the "epic trilogy" that Mass Effect was flaunted as in the beginning was a bit beyond their reach. I mean, the only reason I took interest in the series was because it was going to be a trilogy and I wanted to see how BioWare would actually handle that - I had no high hopes or expectations, I even sort of expected to be pleasantly surprised

1. Bohemia Interactive Devs Imprisoned in Greece: I don't actually know. I never really looked into the whole issue, so I withhold any judgement on the matter.

 

[ischmalud]

na sorry 2012 wasnt bitchier than 2011 or 2010 or 2009 now you just have a larger variety of sites like the escapist making sure that more people hear about other players/ peoples opinions about certain *hot* topics - and the internet being one big bridge with a few million trolls living underneath said bridge alomst everything gets considered a big controversy. Now that happened before as well but you actually had to make an effort and go to the handfull of sites and geeky forums that would touch these topics.
so id say if anything gaming/ games/ gamers have simply become more mainstream hence we get more attention, now if thats a good or a bad thing is a whole other discusssion

 

[Guffe]

Oh well...
I haven't been raging at almost anything (except those LoL retards ) mainly since all I own is a Wii (Well now a WiiU and I've never even tried the first Bayonetta... is it any good?) so for me the year was pretty good actually, didn't play any of the overhyped controversial stuff (just like last year ) and now I finally have a console that keeps up with PS3 and Xbox360 xD
So no, not a bithy year for me, just been reading on this site a little but since I know nothing of the games since I haven't played them I don't think I should join into those discussions, unless the topic is also simultaneously applied to normal life, then I might give a small input, otherwise I stay out. Like with the ME3 ending.

 

[DustyDrB]

10. Lara Croft and the whole "rape" thing. Justified, to a point. I mean you can get angry as he put it a bit...stupidly, so at least that's worth being angry about. Not to a shitstorm proportions, I don't think, though.

To be honest, this is the one thing out of the list that I'm the least familiar with. I've never been into Tomb Raider games and didn't really follow the news on this as it happened because I was burnt out on gender discussions (if I remember correctly, this story came up at the tail end of the deluge of gender topics that peaked when people went crazy at Anita Sarkeesian. The guy's comments seem more derpy than offensive. I think people may have just been primed on the topic of sexism and looked too far into this one particular comment, but what do I know?

7. Bayonetta 2, Wii U Exclusive: I dunno, feels...bad. Then again, I'm not a Bayonetta fan, but I can feel for them. People are within their rights to be angry here.

Basically, I feel the line is simply like this: "Man, that sucks. I'm a Bayonetta fan but don't want a Wii U. Yadda yadda" is a fine comment. "Fuck you Nintendo/Platinum" is crazy pants. I get being annoyed, but being so contemptuous towards Nintendo and Platinum when it seems this is the only way the game would have been made is taking it a bit too far.

2. Mass Effect 3's ending: Personally, I wouldn't have reacted as strong as even the tamest of haters. But I do see where they are coming from - they did have way higher expectations than I ever did. Which were smashed to pieces while I would have been just somewhat disappointed. I'd say they are justified...I'm just a bit wary of the sheer number of people that had such high expectations to start off. I don't want to use the word with "rated" in it but it would fit here. BioWare somehow convinced many people to put way more faith in them than needed. Again, I don't want to come off wrong - I don't hate BioWare, I do think they are one of the better developers. But I thought that the "epic trilogy" that Mass Effect was flaunted as in the beginning was a bit beyond their reach. I mean, the only reason I took interest in the series was because it was going to be a trilogy and I wanted to see how BioWare would actually handle that - I had no high hopes or expectations, I even sort of expected to be pleasantly surprised

Like the Bayonetta 2 deal, it's just a case of going over the line. I'm really quite all right with even a lot of the most intense criticism towards the ending (it would be hard for me to not be all right with it, as I still participate in it from time to time). A lot of it was interesting, honestly. The Indoctrination Theory stuff seemed desperate, but I was also impressed with it at the same time. It's just the FTC, the threats, Retake Mass Effect's use of Child's Play as a PR stunt, and even the cupcake thing (harmless as it is, it just weirds me out). That represented a miniscule portion of dissatisfied Mass Effect fans. So really this was a "mostly justified, but definitely not for those people".

It was also very unprofessional for games journalists to call dissatisfied people "whiners". But most of the people who were doing such name-calling (such as Movie Bob) I don't really think ever had a pretense of being professional. Many of those people are pundits (and admit to being pundits), and it really shouldn't be shocking when they say such things. So eh...

 

[Ren_Li]

Tomb Raider/Hitman- Those two don't deserve to be put into the same category. Hitman trailers involving women dressed PURELY to be sexual being brutally beaten and killed is... pretty disturbing to me. The outcry was necessary, in my opinion.
However, the Tomb Raider thing? I'm actually on board with that. Sexual interaction IS used as a form of control and intimidation- that is a thing that happens, and not just to women. Mostly to women, but not solely. It makes the entire scene more gritty, more unpleasant, more nasty, and, yes- more real. It's NOT sexual, it's not titillating, it won't make you hot under the collar, because sexual violence is almost never about sex- it's about control, and (having experienced it first-hand) I thought that came across. It's a nasty insight into something which DOES happen, and I'm on board on shining a light on that and saying, "hey, look, it's a thing that happens." And, although obviously not under those circumstances, it happens a LOT- should we remove it because it's too "real"?

On the other hand, it's something that needs to be discussed. I wouldn't say it needs to be a "controversy" as such, but definitely a discussion. It's something that shouldn't be ignored, and shouldn't be blanked, and it shouldn't be treated as something that doesn't happen. But it does need to be done respectfully and correctly- and the only way that is going to happen is if it's TALKED ABOUT. It wasn't handled perfectly, but I've got respect for the fact that it was handled at all.

Diablo III- It was called, it was a mistake, and hopefully the outcry will help people learn and move forwards. Possibly not, but we can hope. I have no idea why Blizzard didn't see it coming, but there we are.

WarZ- I dunno why this isn't a legal issue. End of opinion.

Bayonetta 2- The fact that it wouldn't exist if Nintendo didn't want to make it for the WiiU is sort of... a thing that I can't not focus on. It does feel disrespectful to the people who liked the first game; but on the other hand, it's probably a tactic to try and drum up interest in the WiiU in the hope that people might actually buy it. I can understand the anger behind it, though.

On-disk DLC, well, that's a long on-going discussion, and it'll keep on going until it's resolved- which it may never be.

Copywrite issues- ...Why is this only coming up now? There's been a lot of copywrite stuff going on, much of which is illegal and/or problematic.
Also how are people still blind to the fact that sharing stuff online is a GOOD THING for businesses...?
I'm unsurprised at it, basically. I just hope something can change for the better, instead of for the worse.

Halo 4- Do I need to say anything...? (Other than that I'm damned glad I was never interested in the game.)

Mass Effect 3- I was surprised this wasn't number one- until I heard what number one was.
If they had put the DLC ending on the disk, I think the reaction would've been "eh, it's not a great ending, but it doesn't ruin my experience with the series." The more hardcore fans would probably still being "WHAAAAT THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE" but it sure wouldn't have had the massive back-lash it did.
The problem most people outside of the fan base don't seem to realise is that the ending was hated so much because it turned away from the most important aspects of the series. The writing, the way it sticks to the lore, the way it tries to have an explanation for all the science, for one major thing. For another is the focus on characters and character development.
People didn't hate the ending because it was sad, or even because it was bad- they hated it because it was so far from what made Mass Effect, Mass Effect. I felt like it was written by someone who didn't really know anything about the series, and didn't care; someone who went "okay, it's sci-fi, this works right, okay ending done let's do something more important." Even now I can't work out how the writers and quality control okay'd it.
So yeah, that was a very important controversy- and in the end, it led to an important discussion between the gamers, and the game companies. Discussion is important, and I think this one did a lot of good beyond just the ending of ONE game; it told the game companies that endings matter, that sticking to what makes a game or series unique and gives it character is important, and that if they want to listen to the fans and give them input (and they did, throughout the series, listen to the fans) then they need to KEEP doing that- and they need to understand what's important to those fans. I think that's important.

Dev imprisonment- HOW did I not hear about this?! It's... beyond bizarre and messed up. I need to do more research into that before I can wrap my head around it.


Discussion can be a very good thing; and controversies happen when people have something to say, and care about saying it loudly. That's not a bad thing- but how it's handled can be very, very bad. Still- we live, and with any luck, we learn. Sometimes.

Anyway, you asked for thoughts, there are mine.

 

[Woodsey]

The Mass Effect 3 thing was way overblown, for every reason that people gave for complaining about it. It was certainly worthy of criticism, but not whatever the hell all that crap was that followed.

Tomb Raider controversy was completely undeserved, as was the Borderlands 2 "girlfriend mode" argument. The Hitman: Absolution one was on the money however, because it seemed clear with that trailer that they didn't really understand why Blood Money had hyper-sexualised characters.

 

[unindexedsearchengine]

True, 2012 was unusually filled with rage, we are talking about the gaming community, we have a tendency get get angry at absolutely fucking everything. With multiple long running series getting and ending or reboot this year, it was predictable.

 

[chadachada123]

I think it's a good thing that this year was so angry.

Gamers finally are starting to realize that putting up with bullshit isn't helping anything, except to line the pockets of greedy CEOs.

Yes, a good deal of the hate was misdirected, and some went over the top, but the *general* hate, I feel, was very beneficial.

 

[Beryl77]

I liked it the more bitching the better in my opinion. Some may have overdone it but that's part of it and inevitable in such a large group. I hope people won't stop this year either.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

You're not a part of the gaming community, as there is no such thing.

He's completely correct in that there is no unified community. It's a little ridiculous to hear people whine about how unhappy they are with "a community" when they're often reacting to extremely vocal minorities.

We're damn near as bad as sports fans.

As someone who occasionally frequents a sports forum...and one of the more intelligent, measured ones at that...no "we're" not, and it's not even remotely close. Imagine if the ratio here was about 9 Zeels for every 1 normal human being, and you'd be halfway to how bad a sports forum can get. Go post during the playoffs and you'll want to cut yourself after about 15 minutes. You think people get emotional about video games? Sports are religion.

OT: It was a good list, and most if not all of those were fairly justified controversies. It seems like this was the year that a lot of publisher/consumer tension came to a head, what with day one DLC, always online DRM, journalistic "integrity", etc getting their turn for scrutiny. Even the ME3 controversy, which seemed to largely be about dashed expectations, pushed the sycophantic relationship between gaming media and developers/publishers into the harsh light of day. It's good that we're having these discussions. It's unfortunate that it felt like we were having them all at the same time.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

As someone who occasionally frequents a sports forum...and one of the more intelligent, measured ones at that...no "we're" not, and it's not even remotely close. Imagine if the ratio here was about 9 Zeels for every 1 normal human being, and you'd be halfway to how bad a sports forum can get. Go post during the playoffs and you'll want to cut yourself after about 15 minutes. You think people get emotional about video games? Sports are religion.

9 Zeels? I think i'd just turn my computer off right there, short of having my brain explode with all the blood rushing to it.

I do find it a bit funny when people talk about how bad gaming people can get, when you can take one look at *any* physical sport and it's easily 10x worse.

OT: I didn't quite pay attention close enough to a few of those events, so i'm not going to say much on some of them.

Bayonetta 2- It sucks, can't blame the customers there from the previous game, however nintendo did buy it, so them the ropes i guess..if you need the game that badly then wiiU it is for you.

Diablo III- yeah, i definitely got quite peeved about this one, they built that game from the ground up to be designed around the auction house and online portion, which is such a major fucking pain in the ass for all customers of the game, good luck in inferno mode without using it. Plus I like to crack on actiblizz whenever i can, i hate their business policies.

Lara croft-the guy said some stupid shit, however i think too many people were loaded still from other gender debates so this one took off where the gender wars had been stopped, so a bit unjustified.

 

[Atmos Duality]

He's completely correct in that there is no unified community. It's a little ridiculous to hear people whine about how unhappy they are with "a community" when they're often reacting to extremely vocal minorities.

I disagreed with him already, I'm disagreeing here, and he is only correct in the most idealized sense.

We have a population of several gaming fans congregating online to discuss games. We may not share a unified agenda (and realistically, few large entities do anyway), but we do all play and (try to) enjoy games. The general term makes sense to me, especially in this context.

As for the "vocal minority misrepresenting the silent majority", welcome to the real world!

People make stupid decisions and develop misconceptions solely based on the opinions of the minority all the time.
I've been the victim of such false assumptions and conclusions before due to the actions of the minority (thanks Columbine!)

I'm not saying to act fearful, but be more mindful of those who share interests with you.
It sounds stupid? We live in a stupid world. A VERY stupid world.

As someone who occasionally frequents a sports forum...and one of the more intelligent, measured ones at that...no "we're" not, and it's not even remotely close. Imagine if the ratio here was about 9 Zeels for every 1 normal human being, and you'd be halfway to how bad a sports forum can get. Go post during the playoffs and you'll want to cut yourself after about 15 minutes. You think people get emotional about video games? Sports are religion.

OK, we're not to the point of rioting (yet), but the religious argument isn't that far off for some fanbases.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I disagreed with him already, I'm disagreeing here, and he is only correct in the most idealized sense.

We have a population of several gaming fans congregating online to discuss games. We may not share a unified agenda (and realistically, few large entities do anyway), but we do all play and (try to) enjoy games. The general term makes sense to me, especially in this context.

As for the "vocal minority misrepresenting the silent majority", welcome to the real world!

People make stupid decisions and develop misconceptions solely based on the opinions of the minority all the time.
I've been the victim of such false assumptions and conclusions before due to the actions of the minority (thanks Columbine!)

I'm not saying to act fearful, but be more mindful of those who share interests with you.
It sounds stupid? We live in a stupid world. A VERY stupid world.

Here's your closest definition:

a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually preceded by the ): the business community; the community of scholars.

Gaming is no longer a fringe hobby, and does not share a community any moreso than television watchers share a community. When I discuss TV shows on TWOP, I don't consider myself a "part of the television watching community". And I certainly don't consider myself ashamed when someone else says something I disagree with. I'm not associated with them in any way, shape or form. The fact we share a hobby is completely incidental. What if we also shared a favorite food, or drove the same car? Should I feel shamed as a result of their opinions? It's ridiculous.

I'm not sure why you're handing out "welcome to the real world" lessons when you're the individual fretting about the words and deeds of people who have absolutely no relation to you whatsoever aside from their hobby. It does seem like you're packing some emotional baggage because once you got teased or had someone make a rude assumption about you based on your hobby, and you want to chalk it up to the bad behavior of other hobbyists rather than chalking it up to the ignorance of the people who were jumping to conclusions.

The only community you can really claim membership in as far as games are concerned is this forum, as we all choose to post here, and this forum is not even close to being of one mind on any issue, certainly not to to the point where I'd be "ashamed" to be associated with it. Who would even know or care that I posted here? I could tell the people who loved me the most that I posted on the Escapist and that some people there sometimes had silly opinions about games, and it would be the most irrelevant piece of non-news I could ever hope to utter.

TLDR - You have a remarkably low shame threshold.

 

[DoPo]

I finally watched the video and...more or less I agree with the guy. Although one thing stood irritated me the most in the video and I have to share it with you (even if it's off topic) - Ivan. It's pronounced Ee-van, people, not Hi-van. It uses the I sound like in in or the E sound of when you pronounce just the letter E, if you wish.
That really grated me as he went on how it was shameful the two guys were imprisoned. OK, I get that if you're only reading the name, you can then mispronounce it, but seriously - the audio at the very end (30:15-ish) mentioned Ivan pronouncing it Eevan.

I'm not trying to be pedantic, I don't expect people to pronounce foreign names exactly the same way they are to be pronounced (heck, I can't do it) but changing a whole syllable, entirely, in a two syllable name just sounds wrong.

 

[Atmos Duality]

... a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually preceded by the ): the business community; the community of scholars.

Gaming is no longer a fringe hobby, and ...

And I'll have to stop you right there, because even the definition you just provided has communities as broadly defined as gaming in it (video gaming, if you want to be pedantic here).

It does seem like you're packing some emotional baggage because once you got teased or had someone make a rude assumption about you based on your hobby, and you want to chalk it up to the bad behavior of other hobbyists rather than chalking it up to the ignorance of the people who were jumping to conclusions.

I chalk it up to both ignorant people and the "bad hobbyists", actually.
You can't start a fire without fuel and a source of ignition.

As for the "baggage" it wasn't just teasing or a rude remark. I had punishments for crimes uncommitted* dealt to me by a paranoid school system more concerned with lawsuits than the well being of their students.

It's ignorant profiling, and one of MANY examples I could list.

(*Seriously. I got into one argument with a group of kids, and they suspended me for 3 days over it. No violence. Why? Because I was just "anti-social" and played games as a hobby. They even brought that up with their bullshit "counseling" sessions.)

Ideally, we would all recognize that the actions of a few do not represent the greater whole, but we don't live in that world. So until we reach that ideal world, I will keep handing out my "welcome to the real world lessons".

TLDR - You have a remarkably low shame threshold.

Blah blah snide remark about my persona, blah.

Don't ascribe their behavior to an entire "community" and then hold yourself above it. Couple that with your high-horse mentality about the "real world" (which I find particularly hilarious, given our respective ages) and you're certainly not in any position to be throwing stones about snide remarks.

You made a snide remark, claim it isn't a snide remark...fine.
But then DEFEND THAT REMARK AS IF IT WERE SNIDE BY TRYING TO COW ME WITH ANOTHER SNIDE REMARK.

Fantastic logic on display there.

So if someone in the business community had an opinion you disagreed with, you would be full of shame?

So now we've gone from "it's just a few bad apples" to "one person".
Nice loaded question there.

You're meant to fight against that, not use it an excuse for why you do it too.

So...let me get this straight.
I'm a hypocrite because I note how a few bad apples plus ignorant people = unjust treatment.
And...now you're saying that I'm doing the same thing because I called the overwhelmingly negative attitude of a LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE out?

That is the most contrived insult I've ever seen someone pull on me on this website. Well done!
It's as stupid as the "You're a hypocrite because you're whining about whining!" crap teenagers whip out when they think they're being clever.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

And I'll have to stop you right there, because even the definition you just provided has communities as broadly defined as gaming in it (video gaming, if you want to be pedantic here).

So if someone in the business community had an opinion you disagreed with, you would be full of shame?

It's ignorant profiling, and one of MANY examples I could list.

One of many anecdotal experiences, yes, I'm certain. My anecdotal experience says otherwise, but that doesn't mean it cancels yours out. It also doesn't make it a compelling foundation for an argument. People use anecdotal experience for all kinds of terrible prejudices. You're meant to fight against that, not use it an excuse for why you do it too. This is the very essence of hypocrisy.

Ideally, we would all recognize that the actions of a few do not represent the greater whole, but we don't live in that world. So until we reach that ideal world, I will keep handing out my "welcome to the real world lessons".

Blah blah snide remark about my persona, blah.

It was hardly a snide remark, it was a perfectly cogent observation. Stating that you feel 'ashamed' by the actions of people you don't know and probably have next to nothing in common with is absurdly over-dramatic. If you're discontent with the behavior of certain individuals, address those individuals. Don't ascribe their behavior to an entire "community" and then hold yourself above it. Couple that with your high-horse mentality about the "real world" (which I find particularly hilarious, given our respective ages) and you're certainly not in any position to be throwing stones about snide remarks.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

I may get some flak for this, but I still think that the controversy over the ME3 ending was well deserved, and I still think that the Tomb Raider controversy was undeserved

You should go to wrong town, because you are being wrong. I have stated my opinion on ME3 too much to say any more. And the Tomb Raider "You will want to protect her" controversy was deserved. The developer acted as if male players wouldn't be able to connect with a female like he would to another man. Which is wrong.

 

[Erttheking]

I may get some flak for this, but I still think that the controversy over the ME3 ending was well deserved, and I still think that the Tomb Raider controversy was undeserved

You should go to wrong town, because you are being wrong. I have stated my opinion on ME3 too much to say any more. And the Tomb Raider "You will want to protect her" controversy was deserved. The developer acted as if male players wouldn't be able to connect with a female like he would to another man. Which is wrong.

I refuse to believe that any opinion is "wrong"

 

[DoPo]

I may get some flak for this, but I still think that the controversy over the ME3 ending was well deserved, and I still think that the Tomb Raider controversy was undeserved

You should go to wrong town, because you are being wrong. I have stated my opinion on ME3 too much to say any more. And the Tomb Raider "You will want to protect her" controversy was deserved. The developer acted as if male players wouldn't be able to connect with a female like he would to another man. Which is wrong.

I refuse to believe that any opinion is "wrong"

But what if...your opinion on opinions not being wrong is actually wrong?!

Did I blow your mind?

Because maybe opinions that opinions not being wrong are wrong, are wrong themselves.

Yeah, I'm too am not entirely sure if that makes sense.

 

[Erttheking]

I refuse to believe that any opinion is "wrong"

Well, Boudica was of the opinion that "Hitler was a good man".

[sub]Yes, I went there...[/sub]

Godwin's law has been invoked, you automatically loose