Why the Negativity?

[Whytewulf]

Has anyone noticed recently that this site has become very negative? I started coming here to get reviews and insight from users on games and other entertainment, plus a sense of gaming community. I found Yahtzee to be funny and got some value from his reviews even though he found lots of "bad stuff" with the games he plays, that was always his niche.

Lately almost every one of these "articles" about gaming seem so biased and unfavorable. From the Nintendo to Xbox and PlayStation, which you would think would be a good bit of the bread and butter for this site. They can't seem to do much right, can they? I am not saying they are rainbows and glitter, but I can't read an article from here anymore without a snide comment. And then the users just jump on board. Misinformation is stated once, never corrected and just goes on. No one reads anyone's posts and just keeps going and going.

Thank goodness for some of the original content/features and things like Miracle of Sound and Lisa Foiles, otherwise I might not even come here anymore. And they may not care, but I assume they want to make money and I want them to stick around, even as a fellow North Carolinian). I don't expect this to be unbiased regurgitated news, but we are in an age of awesome, I am excited to be playing in it.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Because a lot of the more recent practices of the industry are really fucking shit, and the longer we pretend they aren't the worse it's going to get. I'm quite impressed by the fact many contributors are willing to criticise idiotic, greedy and insulting business practices, instead of bending over and asking for more. If businesses feel that they can get away with these things, what's going to encourage them to change?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Every forum in the history of ever has harnessed negativity. People can complain about anything, anytime, to anybody, for free.

 

[FalloutJack]

Every forum in the history of ever has harnessed negativity. People can complain about anything, anytime, to anybody, for free.

Some have a reason to, and some are jaded. A number of the big ones around here have been justified, including a few against the forum itself (like with EC).

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

Has anyone noticed recently that this site has become very negative? I started coming here to get reviews and insight from users on games and other entertainment, plus a sense of gaming community. I found Yahtzee to be funny and got some value from his reviews even though he found lots of "bad stuff" with the games he plays, that was always his niche.

Lately almost every one of these "articles" about gaming seem so biased and unfavorable. From the Nintendo to Xbox and PlayStation, which you would think would be a good bit of the bread and butter for this site. They can't seem to do much right, can they? I am not saying they are rainbows and glitter, but I can't read an article from here anymore without a snide comment. And then the users just jump on board. Misinformation is stated once, never corrected and just goes on. No one reads anyone's posts and just keeps going and going.

Thank goodness for some of the original content/features and things like Miracle of Sound and Lisa Foiles, otherwise I might not even come here anymore. And they may not care, but I assume they want to make money and I want them to stick around, even as a fellow North Carolinian). I don't expect this to be unbiased regurgitated news, but we are in an age of awesome, I am excited to be playing in it.

I would rather have honesty in the articles than a site that is paid to only say nice things. There are PLENTY of sites that are paid to say only nice things, the problem with that is when you get the product and it wasn't as nice as they made it out to be, you learn not to trust those sites because they convinced you to buy garbage.

I would rather hear the good, the bad and the ugly for what it is rather than have them powder puff it for me.
As for the Xbox one article for example, what I read here as actually much nicer than what the majority of the gaming community has to say on the subject right now. EVERYONE I know is dropping xbox over it, so you would think that this should be reflected in the articles so people don't go drop the cash on it only to find out about the fees later.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Has anyone noticed recently that this site has become very negative?

No.

...

Seriously though, not really. There's a lot of complaints about the industry, but I think this is at least in part because it's easier to point at a feature and say "this'll be bad" than to say it'll be good, which is more subjective. Easier to make something everyone hates than something everyone loves.

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Look on the bright side, at least people aren't posting depressing news stories for seemingly no reason so much anymore. I swear recently we used to get a different 'Man gets brutally murdered by demon watermelon' story every week.

 

[Korolev]

Because we can say stuff on the internet that we can't say in real life. I have the suspicion that many of us have negative thoughts much of the time, but we don't say it in public because it makes us look bad. However, here, we can say that stuff and although there are rules and we can't be excessively rude, we can be ruder than we would be in real life.

Also, because cynicism makes you look cooler, son! Optimism is for the naive and childish (or so the internet thinks) and the best way to prove that you are not naive and childish is to be cynical as all get out (or so the internet thinks). Being optimistic opens one up to ridicule, whereas being cynical might open you up to criticism, it hardly ever opens you up to ridicule. It's emotional armor for the brittle at heart, which is why I'm so negative all the time! Because that way I desperately hope you won't see the hole of anguish and desperation for acceptance that gnaws away at my very soul, every single minute of every single hour of every single day of every single week of every single month of every single year of my dark, miserable life!

"EVERYTHING SUCKS!" I say.... because... truth be told..... I don't want you to see the tears of loneliness and disappointment (pause for dramatic effect).

And that's why we're so negative on the internet!

 

[SecondPrize]

To be fair, the truth about the Xbox One at the moment does lend itself towards a negative bias.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Just a sec, man.
Let me put the blissful, rainbow goggles full of happiness, hope and joy back on you.
There we go. Now take 'em off again!

But snark and some attempt at humor aside, this really isn't an "age of awesome". Or rather, should I say that it was and then we've since made some unsettling revelations...
With your supposed good things come the bad. It just so happens that we've only really began to get critical and more vocal to bad business practices as of late. The Wii-U wasn't what the customers wanted it to be, and the consumer's worst nightmares of EA and the new Xbox are seemingly becoming reality.

The industry is hitting some unfortunate twists and turns and you as a consumer must hold yourself responsible in part for what happens. It is correct that all the details aren't released, but is in the same light as the friendly chef saying parts of your meal will be poisoned but you might not exactly know which parts? A rational, informed individual would say "no thanks" and leave. Others in turn will need to know of that restaurant's practices and be faced with the choice as to whether or not to willingly consume toxic material.

I, for one, applaud the people concerned at what is becoming of their hobby and the people that provide their entertainment products.
Those concerned people shouldn't be the ones that make you upset. Look at the companies and reassess your principles.
You can have some shallow enjoyment now (purposely ignoring the truth) with more of your consumer rights being violated by tomorrow, or you can say "that's wrong" and change your plan of action. A wary and informed customer is one of the most powerful tools in the market world and paramount to shaping tomorrow.

It might not be the thing you want to hear, it might not even be the thing you want to do.
And as with everything in this world, what I've typed might not even be correct. Just an observation, a subsequent hypothesis and an at least partially educated guess as to what the future holds if x parameters are met...

Huh, reading that over I sound like one of those conspiracy blokes.
Or a half decent politician...

tl;dr
Don't ignore the negatives, take them into consideration and above all be cautious of whom you choose to support with your wallet.

 

[bojackx]

Has this website ever been a basin of butterflies and rainbow stickers? I'm pretty sure it's always around this level of negativity.

Because it's much more fun to rip into something and point out its flaws than it is to praise it. Also, you can hardly say there's as much stuff to love right now in the gaming world than there is to hate, what with the "glorified TV box" being a thing.

I really don't see any problem with negative threads, you can just not go on them.

 

[Manji187]

OP, you must understand that a lot of that negativity has a genuine source/ cause. Also, it not as if things will automatically improve if only people stay cheerful. Fucked up business practices, for instance, remain fucked up...whether one is smiley or sadfaced.

 

[Vetta E-dom]

Has anyone noticed recently that this site has become very negative? I started coming here to get reviews and insight from users on games and other entertainment, plus a sense of gaming community. I found Yahtzee to be funny and got some value from his reviews even though he found lots of "bad stuff" with the games he plays, that was always his niche.

Thank goodness for some of the original content/features and things like Miracle of Sound and Lisa Foiles, otherwise I might not even come here anymore. And they may not care, but I assume they want to make money and I want them to stick around, even as a fellow North Carolinian). I don't expect this to be unbiased regurgitated news, but we are in an age of awesome, I am excited to be playing in it.

Completely agree, I'd have to rank the escapist forums as probably the most negative/ vile forum I visit which is honestly a real shame seeing how good some of the content is from the contributors.

Because a lot of the more recent practices of the industry are really fucking shit, and the longer we pretend they aren't the worse it's going to get. I'm quite impressed by the fact many contributors are willing to criticise idiotic, greedy and insulting business practices, instead of bending over and asking for more. If businesses feel that they can get away with these things, what's going to encourage them to change?

You know a really great way to encourage change and weed out bad business practices in the industry? Instead of going to a random forum and bitching (not directed at you, but instead all gamers)about the issue's that you want changed. Perhaps write up a letter or email to said company and actually tell them what's up (Not with an aggressive tone). I absolutely guarantee that if gamers dropped the bullshit of keeping the anger dialed up to 11, and instead "acted" appropriately to issues in gaming, actual change could happen. But instead what will happen; Don't like the amount of content in game, want sequels to IP's you love, Don't want always online, Don't want an always on kinect- ***** into the proverbial empty hallway that is the internet forums with the megaphones of negativity.

 

[blackrave]

Has anyone noticed recently that this site has become very negative? I started coming here to get reviews and insight from users on games and other entertainment, plus a sense of gaming community. I found Yahtzee to be funny and got some value from his reviews even though he found lots of "bad stuff" with the games he plays, that was always his niche.

Thank goodness for some of the original content/features and things like Miracle of Sound and Lisa Foiles, otherwise I might not even come here anymore. And they may not care, but I assume they want to make money and I want them to stick around, even as a fellow North Carolinian). I don't expect this to be unbiased regurgitated news, but we are in an age of awesome, I am excited to be playing in it.

Completely agree, I'd have to rank the escapist forums as probably the most negative/ vile forum I visit which is honestly a real shame seeing how good some of the content is from the contributors.

Really?
Alright you wrote "probably" and "I visit', but still, "the most negative/ vile forum"?
REALLY?
While things can go quite harsh occasionally for a most part the forum here is filled with wonderful, intelligent and open-minded people.
People who like to discuss things and argue about topics they seriously care about.
Yes I said it. People who CARE. And when you care about something you tend to become more emotional then usually, and when you become emotional you might say/write things you will regret later (and saying "I'm sorry" is really hard).
So no, I disagree with your claim.
The Escapist forums are great and fellow Escapees are wonderful people

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Well...I think it's partially because a fair few of us are cynical bastards and more prominently because there aren't a lot of good things to say about the next consoles at this point. The PS4 only looks decent because where it indulges ina bit of social silliness, the Xbone is almost anti-consumer with its approach to used games and online capability. To be honest, there are a lot of shitty things going on in the gaming industry, and if anyone is likely to resent that it's users on this site.

But then you see some silly thread about which conditional superpower you'd rather have and faith in humanity is restored.

 

[Doclector]

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but my country is currently spiralling into xenophobia due to the tragic murder of an off duty british soldier in the street by a couple of mental bastards with machetes, unemployment doesn't seem to be getting any better, individuality is being damn near systematically wiped out, everything's always getting more expensive, the xbox one is unbelievably, god awfully bad and anti-consumer, personally my tutors are dicks who don't seem to know what the hell they're talking about, telling us to constantly read completely irrelevent bullshit whilst seemingly not reading our essays properly before marking them (I'm serious, my last feedback ran almost completely counter to the actual essay, no this is not all in my head it outright contradicted what the essay actually contained), the people i'm supposed to be getting therapy from appear to be ignoring me, and a lifetime of loneliness and rejection by everything from girls to society itself has never looked more likely.

Yeah, i'm running low on things to be positive about, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's spotted the recent pile of shit dumped on the world. At least the nostalgia critic seems to be getting better again.

Oh, and if you're thinking of saying something like "WELL YOU HAS ELECTRICITY AND INTERNET" just don't. We all know that shit only helps on a bit of a bad day, it doesn't do shit against a major downer.

 

[Silva]

This thread is an example of the thing it is complaining about. Is this really a productive discussion to be having? Kidding, kidding.

The fact is that when people come together anonymously on the Internet to discuss things, a whole lot of activity is going to be their daily complaints. If it isn't daily complaints, it's powerful reactions to news and current affairs.

Apart from "that's awesome", which lasts about two seconds and doesn't really generate long discussions or debates, the other common knee-jerk reaction is "that's awful". When we complain, we are more likely to mention "why" we are complaining - because it helps us to relax to let this out in a safe place like an internet forum. The "why" here is the key to what actually keeps forums active in the first place.

You worry about negativity on The Escapist? It could be worse. I mean, this could be 4chan. Or worse, Reddit (again, kidding). Negativity can be productive for creating discussions and movement towards the improvement of the games industry, and I think in many ways it does here. It could be simple offence throwing or juvenile humour, but mostly this place is made of better stuff.

If anything, it's a little too productive here for me. Sometimes I need more craziness in my reading. But that's one reason why other sites exist.

 

[Galletea]

Because a lot of the more recent practices of the industry are really fucking shit, and the longer we pretend they aren't the worse it's going to get. I'm quite impressed by the fact many contributors are willing to criticise idiotic, greedy and insulting business practices, instead of bending over and asking for more. If businesses feel that they can get away with these things, what's going to encourage them to change?

I was going to have a rant, but this says most of what I'm feeling for me.
We shouldn't have to put up with sub-standard half finished rubbish from big businesses who assume we're all idiots.
I don't even get excited about new releases anymore, I just assume they'll be broken or half arsed. And that's once I've navigated my way through all the fucking media menus to get to whatever I downloaded.

 

[rob_simple]

This is a very negative time to be a gamer. Well, not really, but if you put all your eggs in the console basket then things are probably looking pretty grim. Again, that's only if you subscribe to the theory that we actually need these new consoles, instead of just sticking to the ones we have and the hundreds of games readily available.

Personally, I think all the negativity is a good thing. It's nice that people aren't swallowing this shit anymore, and it plays nicely into my hopes that the mainstream console industry is going to collapse and make way for a revival that's about games and not tech.

 

[manic_depressive13]

You know a really great way to encourage change and weed out bad business practices in the industry? Instead of going to a random forum and bitching (not directed at you, but instead all gamers)about the issue's that you want changed. Perhaps write up a letter or email to said company and actually tell them what's up (Not with an aggressive tone). I absolutely guarantee that if gamers dropped the bullshit of keeping the anger dialed up to 11, and instead "acted" appropriately to issues in gaming, actual change could happen. But instead what will happen; Don't like the amount of content in game, want sequels to IP's you love, Don't want always online, Don't want an always on kinect- ***** into the proverbial empty hallway that is the internet forums with the megaphones of negativity.

I was under the impression the OP was talking about the content contributors of the Escapist, who are more likely to be heard than a random person on the forums.

Besides, how spectacularly naive can you be to think if some people wrote polite letters these disgusting business practices would change? These corporations aren't retarded. They knew that things like always online, lack of backwards compatibility and inability to play used games would piss a lot of people off, but they did it anyway because they though they could get away with it. So I am going to react appropriately to the gaming industry by treating it like the joke it's apparently determined to be, and not buying into their bullshit anymore.