Topic: Why are video gaming fanboys the worst?

I hope this is an ok discussion here its not meant to start anything but a thought occurred to me today when I read an article about Microsoft's Phil Spencer saying the worst thing about gaming are the fanboys.

I mean fanboys aren't just a video game thing you have them in everything from clothing to store to even drinks yet you don't see the animosity between those products like you do video games. I mean I don't see on the Internet where people are insulted or called out for liking Pepsi over Coke or Nike over Converse or Snickers over 3 Musketeers, but for some reason people do when it comes to Nintendo/Playstation/Xbox. Why is that?

The only theory I can think of is it goes back to the 16 bit gen back with the old Sega does what Nintendon't adds where it seemed cool to be a fanboy and insult the other group. Maybe I am wrong but it just seems odd that gamers in general are that way anyone else have an idea?

Let's try to keep this positive.

Video games to people can be a very passionate subject. Many people will fight tooth and nail to defend their favorite games over other peoples opinions even if it means that some harassment would be involved. I know I would defend Xenoblade to the bitter end but I would do my best to keep my opinions to be just that-opinions. Some people just love to take their opinions on their games and state them as fact causing the previously mentioned arguments.
Fanboy's are not trolls nor do they damage the gaming community. If a gamer wants to actively defend their game that shows that they are invested as gaming as a whole. I really don't see how fanboys diminish the value of gaming when all it does is tie us closer to the games we love. Then again I don't run a company so my say has a little less importance than his. Besides I'm just as biased as everyone else so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

There will always be fan boys for ever media space(Comics, movies, music etc..) it wont ever go away. Also food don't really have dedicated fan bases lol.

Plus everyone is a fanboy/girl for something. everyone has a passion for at least one thing.

Agreed.

Just for example, try observing a "discussion" between Marvel fanboys and DC fanboys and you'll see it's much the same as video game fanboy "discussions". Or Star Trek fanboys vs Star Wars fanboys (though admittedly that "feud" seems to have calmed down somewhat with the evolutions of each franchise compared to where the imagined rivalry was back in the 80s and 90s).

Reminds me of this video:

Anything that consumes a large amount of time, money or energy will be avidly defended by those who partake in it as an effort to maintain the notion that one's resources were not wasted.

Videogames are not only one of the most expensive hobbies (aside from wargaming, but that hobby mandates patience by design) but also the most time-consuming one per product.

Because everyone has an opinion and cannot agree that mine is the only valid one

Fanboys in general are just...well, you know...I just stay out of it.

@Tops: Hmmm that's a valid point I mean to only other thing I noticed that is as bad as video gamers are sports fans lol. But yeah I will admit I don't follow things as much as video games but even so I would think one would see that somewhere else.

@Blathers That was my second idea. Since gaming is expensive people look for validation for spending the amount of money/time on video games and I guess the thought that console/game X is worst or not as good as console/game Y when they have console/game X people in general feel the need to justify why theirs is better.

@Tasuki: Funny you mention sports fans, as shortly after i posted above, i thought about the sports scene here in New York, and it's a perfect example: Mets fans vs Yankees fans, Jets fans vs Giants fans, Rangers fans vs Islanders fans ... i remember back in grade school there would even occasionally be actual physical fights borne out of Mets/Yankees disputes.

I think it has a lot to do with what games are. You pointed to Pepsi vs Coke and how people don't really get animated about that preference. Well part of the reason for that is because there is no social or financial pressure on that choice. You pick one or the other and then next time you can pick the other kind. Most people are just after a cold drink to go with their meal. Games aren't like that. When you like a particular game console it's not only a statement of taste but you're also putting money down for it.

To split it up into those two think about it this way. What music you like is a point of discussion and fanboyism. But there's no real reason why someone can't like all kinds of music right? In terms of the cost it's kinda more like Coke vs Pepsi. But what music you like is a statement of taste. In the same way that someone who says they like Zelda, The Last of Us, CoD or Candy Crush is saying what sort of game they like. If you and I like similar sorts of things? Well then we're part of a group. Which is the start of a fandom.

However ontop of that gaming is also something you put a fair amount of money down for. Compare it to your TV, nobody cares what brand TV you get. You probably didn't even care what brand it was before you went into researching it. But it's still a reasonable amount of money to spend. So afterwards you go through a process of convincing yourself that you got the best deal. The same thing happens with a console or PC.

Some exaggerated examples from myself as someone who has both a PC and Wii U:
Statement of taste from a person who just brought a Wii U, not unlike "band A is better than band B"
"The Wii U is the best console because it has all of the best games. Oh, those other games? Well who needs those generic shooters, they're all the same old thing anyway. The real games are ones which put gameplay above graphics. If you're a real gamer you'll like stuff like Splatoon, Super Mario Maker and Smash Bros"

Statement of financial defence from someone who just got a PC. Not unlike the "TV defence"
"Obviously a PC is the best gaming platform. There's just so much more you can do with it than you can on a PS4 or XBOne. Also if you want to you can get a better GPU and smash them in terms of visuals. And anyways, most people need a PC of some kinda anyways. It's not much more than the cost of the console to turn that PC into a pretty impressive gaming PC"

I think part of it's that we're more involved in gaming, so we get it more. It does exist every where, and worse can soemtimes be a matter of perspective. Example, ignorant anti-rap fanboys claim it isn't music; at least game fanboys admit the rival console makes games lol. Sports fanboys are probably at least as bad too, but society has accepted it more. The worst fanboys though, are soccer fanboys. While it doesn't happen in NA, actual violence arises from it. I've heard stories of people charging each other with flares because they were fans of opposing teams. The story was from Europe too I believe.

The soccer fanboys that goes to the matches for violence are generally people who just wants to fight, and the team support is secondary. These kind of fans are often a problem for the soccer fan clubs.

Video gaming fanboyism are often based on the economy aspect: people who can't afford every gaming platform often defend their own choice much more. Another aspect is that the gaming experience is often deeper than a pure consumer experience with no interaction like listening to music or watching a movie.

I think it's because whenever someone outside of gaming says something remotely similar to an attack (even if it's actually someone outside of gaming taking games seriously), we do this:

Video game "fanboys" aren't the worst. Some people use their fandom as an excuse to do some horrible things, but wars and mass murder haven't happened over video game fandom.

They seem the worst because they're the closest to you, so you notice them more.

@Morpheel This, pretty much. Unless you obsess over something yourself, you eventually start to notice the "dark side" of what ever you like. I had that with MLP, Senran Kagura, Nintendo, and Monster Hunter, but anything is just as susceptible to such observations.

It's the "my side is better than your side" mentality. Similar to politics, tech companies, and just about anything else.

i feel like im one of those that isn't a fanboy i owned all of consoles Wii, Wii U, PS3, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, N64, PS, GC, DS, 3DS etc.
why does Fanboys/Girls fight over which console is better. beats me. but it gets really old quickly reading them fighting which one is better.

I don't know about anyone else, but I defend Nintendo when there's nothing wrong in what they do. Personally, with the exception of a few of their decisions like having GBA games on Wii U instead of the 3DS, I never have any issues with Nintendo. The reason being is that they make quality games.....who the hell can argue about that fact? It doesn't matter what Nintendo system you play on. You can't deny that they all have quality games in each one of them. Sure, its a subjective matter, but then when you see which games are finished mostly with no bugs and glitches and whatsoever, Nintendo comes to mind and frankly, even if there are some minor games, Its not done intentionally unlike some third parties that I know would otherwise do.

I guess we want to accept with who we decide to support so we defend them as much as we want until it comes to the point that they done something terrible and that's when we stop.

I don't only see this with video games, though it's one of the mediums that I notice the most as I'm interested in them. I originally lived out in the sticks, and the two most common arguments were on truck brand (Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge) and what baseball team you rooted for.

When opinions are backed by reason and explained constructively, there's no problem with fanboys/fangirls. Unfortunately, those that give fanboyism/fangirlism a bad name are a very vocal minority, particularly due to the anonymity of the internet. Some of these blindly defend what they find faultless (even when there's evidence to the contrary) and viciously find nothing but the bad in everything else that dare challenges the superiority of what they defend.

For example, I prefer the DC universe over Marvel, mainly because I'm more fond of the characters and storylines of that universe. Does this mean I bash Marvel? Nope! There are plenty of things from the Marvel universe that I enjoy, and Magneto is still my favorite antihero.