So here's something I've been wondering as I look at different threads. It's often considered to be a bad thing to be a fanboy. I'm genuinely wondering why?
I am 34 with a career and a family. I love my Wii U and my 3DS XL. I don't have the time, the money or the physical space to get more than one home and one handheld console (in fact even that's probably excessive). And if I can only have one, I'd rather stick with Nintendo.
Does that mean I miss out on loads of great games by not having a PS4, Xbox One or a gaming PC? I'm sure it does. But I already miss out on loads of games for the Wii U and 3DS, just because of constraints of time and money. Does that mean I'm not a 'proper' gamer?
I love the games Nintendo puts out. I don't care that Nintendo systems are generally less powerful nowadays. I don't care about online multiplayer. I don't see a 'games drought' when there's far more already out than I could possibly play. Most of the third party games that have been released on the Wii U generally haven't interested me. I don't care about mediocre sales.
I guess by any standard I'm a fanboy - and so are lots of others who post here - but really, what's the problem with that?
People usually say "fanboy" to describe someone with an irrational bias in favor of or against something. Only sticking to Nintendo because of money and time does not make you a fanboy.
People usually say "fanboy" to describe someone with an irrational bias in favor of or against something. Only sticking to Nintendo because of money and time does not make you a fanboy.
This is the perfect reply. /thread
If you add me, I need to at least know you or I won't add you back.
People usually say "fanboy" to describe someone with an irrational bias in favor of or against something. Only sticking to Nintendo because of money and time does not make you a fanboy.
Hmmm... I'd say a clear preference for any one company is at least a bit irrational. After all, they're all ultimately just corporations seeking profit. For me, my love of Nintendo is at least in part stoked by a certain nostalgia, and probably increased by the group mentality of mainly reading Nintendo-exclusive sites.
While I personally feel no need to attack fans of Sony or Microsoft (is that what makes you a fanboy?!) I don't really care about what they're producing. And that's probably in part because deep down I suspect they're producing great stuff that would appeal to me (behind the FPS, sports and racing games that don't appeal). But there is, psychologically, an attraction to being part of a group, the 'Nintendo fans'. Which on one level is pretty arbitrary and silly and quite irrational. But at the same time I don't know if there's anything really wrong with being irrational about your hobbies?
A fanboy is a person who would die fighting for a company and hates the rest for no reason whatsoever except that isn't their favorite.And no you're not a fanboy,you sound like you have a life and don't have time for everything the gaming world has to offer.
The Harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
A fanboy is not someone who enjoys or buys a lot of stuff from one company. A fanboy is generally seen as someone who likes to believe 'their company' is the best, can do no wrong, and is better than all the rest in every way.
In video gaming it usually stems from the fact that most kids' parents only buy them one console, and as such when confronted with other people that have better or more consoles, they make themselves believe that the one they own is superior, simply because its the one they own.
Other times its simply because people don't know how to handle criticism of something they enjoy, and instead of understanding that even though they may enjoy it, it has flaws/problems, they choose to defend it to the death.
The fact of the matter is, I like family-oriented games; I like colorful, cartoon art styles and quirky humor; I like action games, platformers, and puzzles. Call me old-fashioned, but I dislike hardcore themes, such as excessive violence, unlikable protagonists, horror, and gore. Dramatic story-lines only work for me if the gameplay can get me hooked first. Realism only works well when it is mixed in with the unordinary, but never as the main focus. I game online occasionally, but not enough to justify paying to a subscription service. And finally, I find that I really enjoy hardware that is unique and unusual, featuring control schemes that get me out of my normal comfort zone of gaming.
Given all that, I don't think I'm in the wrong to assume that Nintendo's consoles are best at catering to my specific preferences that I have. I too have only enough money for two consoles per generation. I pay attention to other companies, I've played on friend's Xbox's and Playstations many times, and I even have a Steam account for those games I've really wanted to play that didn't make it to the world of Nintendo (though I've only bought two games so far). Looking up definitions of "fanboy" on Google, it's really no different than the word "fanatic," and I don't think it's a bad thing, at least in my case. It's not like I haven't branched out. If there is a game out there that I really wanted to play that wasn't available on a Nintendo console, I've likely played it in some way or fashion, even if I haven't spent money on it.
But to answer your question, being a fanatic alone is not a bad thing. Staying away from genres you've already sampled and decided to avoid is not a bad thing. Overcriticizing things you have never tried, getting angry at people for what they like, those are bad things.
I feel like Mother 3 won't ever come out, since 90% of the people who still want it already played it to some degree. Therefore most would not actually buy Mother 3, especially if they charge more for it (remember how many people complained when Earthbound was $10 instead of $8? Yeah...imagine how much more it would be if Translation costs had to be covered, too...)
@Storytime7 is exactly right - fanboyism is about bias.
Only buying Nintendo machines does not indicate bias, as presumably there is a good reason you prioritise them? Personally, I buy Nintendo consoles because I know they'll have a Zelda (ha ha), and very likely some other games that will interest me. The Zelda series is the one that has enthralled me the most (other than Dragon Quest) - not every game is a classic, but they're good enough to be worth trying every time - so for me it's one of the few games that justifies the console.
When I have the console, however, I don't think anything published by Nintendo is automatically better than everything else. To me, Etrian Odyssey IV is far better than Nintendo's Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario RPGs, just as Shantae 2 + 3 are better Metroidvanias than Nintendo has managed to come up with since the GBA. Similarly, Mighty Switch Force 1 + 2 are far more interesting to me than Nintendo's puzzlers such as Pullblox or Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and more appealing as platformers than Kirby or Yoshi.
At the end of the day, though, we all have to play what appeals to us personally.
Forums
Topic: On being a fanboy
Posts 1 to 13 of 13
This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.