Fanboys, Forums and Children

I am old enough to remember some famous match ups in the video game industry. I was one of the playground foot soldiers fighting the corner for my beloved Speccy against the heathen C64 clan. I was there when the Atari ST and the Amiga fought to the death. I watched as Mario and Sonic beat the hell out of each other. When the Dreamcast was finally finished off by the PS1 before the PS2 had even got into it's stride, I was there to bid it farewell. Sony's dominance of course extended against the Xbox, but it was much closer than anyone expected. No-one dies. And now we are back to the traditional one on one bloodfest. PS3 v Xbox 360.

Now before any Nintendo fans jump down my throat I should say that I have not forgotten the Wii. On the contrary, the Wii is a huge (and inexplicable!) success. But it was Nintendo themselves who went to great lengths to tell us that the Wii was not next gen, but "new gen". They have cleverly placed the Wii in its own little place. So let's leave it there.

So it's Microsoft v Sony. Two companies that instantly generate opinions in the gaming world. MS is of course viewed as an evil corporation and peddler of sub standard products. Sony meanwhile is viewed by many older gamers as the scourge of gamer, putting quantity firmly before quality. And attracting lots and lots of kids. But what both sides have their own global PR departments. They don't hire any staff. They don't even publicly recognise that they are there. But both companies use them none the less. Fanboys.

First off let me immediately acknowledge Fangirls. This is not something which is unique to males. But the term Fanboy has come to be more of a generic term, so that's what I'll use here. So. Fanboy. Let's turn to our lexicon of all things, Wikipedia for a definition.

"Fanboy is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version fangirl may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. Fanboys remain loyal to their particular obsession, disregarding any factors that differ from their point of view."

Sound familiar? Thought so, particularly the part about "disregarding any factors that differ from their point of view". That's important because without that you become a little more rational.

So we have one set of people screaming on about the PS3 being the best thing ever, while at the same time mocking any and every aspect of the Xbox 360. Two way traffic here though, as the 360 owners ate pointing at the PS3 and doing exactly the same thing. So what? As I said this has been happening for years. Nothing new. Well there are a couple of subtle differences this time round. Firstly people have far more access to the internet now than in the past. So it's easier for someone to post their views up on a forum. Moreover, there is less responsibility required because of the faceless nature of forums. You can rant on in the most illogical and ill-informed manner you like. There’s no real comeback.

The second difference is the one that mystifies me. Fanboys are not boys anymore. They are men and women. The pursuit of childish division is now carried out with gusto by otherwise rational adults. Why? Are these just fanboys who have grown up only to find that part of their brain hasn't developed? It's very odd. And very. very boring. I frequent a number of forums that purport to be aimed at mature gamers. Mature? Are you kidding?! Go onto an Xbox 360 or PS3 forum and mention the other machine and you will often be met with a barrage of childish, inaccurate and downright pathetic comments. Others will constantly snipe, hiding behind the façade of “just having a laugh”. And these are “adults” remember. Even more bizarre is the situation faced but people like myself who own both systems. Some people simply cannot handle that you could enjoy the different games offered by both systems. Why do they do this?

I guess there are a few factors. All fans are like this. Ask a football supporter what he or she thinks of their fierce local rival and you will rarely get an answer of “yeah they are a good team, play attractive football”. So maybe I am expecting too much. The companies involved certainly don’t want it to stop. They drip feed information and misinformation to their loyal fans and then leave them to evangelise their systems and games all over the place. I think that one of the biggest factors might be money.

If you buy a games console you are investing a lot of money. If you have bought a PS3 then right now the stark reality is that you have spent hundreds of pounds on a system that has so far failed to deliver a game that goes anywhere near justifying that investment. The 360 meanwhile will be 2 years old this year, and so will plateau in the next 6 months. Do you really want to admit that the system that you have been pouring money into for the last 2 years is getting on a bit?

So maybe todays fanboys and girls aren’t trying to convince anyone else that their system is the best one. Maybe they are trying to convince themselves. But keep it down will you? While you are banging on about hardware architecture, servers and subscription fees some of us are trying to play games.