So today at Gamescom Bioware revealed that Mass Effect 2 would be coming to the PS3 in January and reading articles about it at IGN and elsewhere I keep coming across comments in the talk-backs  like ‘RIP Xbox 360’ and all of this ridiculous sort of smack talk back and forth from fanboys on either side and I really have to say that this, coupled with the whining from bitchy Star Wars fans over the blu-ray release, is making me  really fucking tired of all of the rampant fanboyism, negativity about everything and basing one’s self esteem and personal identity on what console you play. It is absolutely ridiculous and I have completely lost my patience with it.

Anyone reading an article like this probably already knows what a fanboy is but since there are different definitions and interpretations of the concept I will offer up this as an operational definition from www.urbandictionary.com  :

Fanboy: n) Technocratic zealots; evangelicals of geekery. Characterized by irrational advocacy of a particular OS, console, company, or franchise.
Most commonly used to delegitimize contrary opinions in gaming forums.

Ex. “Waht the #@%? Darkrev0r jus a nintendo fanboy dont bother with him.”

So okay here we have a person who is hopelessly and blindly devoted to something and every attack on that thing is an attack on them by proxy. Not only that but the success or failure of that thing’s closest rival also has a profound effect on their well being and sense of self worth. This is not at all a new thing and it has been going on forever. You can see very clear examples in  sports fandom where it has become pretty much the expected norm but it seems like the internet has really opened things up for the geekier fans who might have only really encountered each other at conventions or some kind of chance Anchorman like bloodbath on the streets in the past. Yankees and Red Sox fans see each other at every game the two teams play against each other and now geek fanboys encounter each other in comments sections on their favorite (or favorite to hate)  websites. It doesn’t really matter what geeky shit you are talking about either. I see it at movie sites, music sites, comic sites, game sites, TV sites, German scheis…well all over.

To hone in a little on this console issue, I get it to a point. When I was in Jr High I was only allowed to have Nintendo. My parents, because they didn’t give two shits about my desire to play Space Harrier or an arcade version of Strider, would only allow me to have one console at a time. So I went with Nintendo which sealed all the goodies Sega had off to me. I responded at first with a general resentment towards Sega. If I could convince myself that everything sucked about Sega then I wouldn’t feel those pangs of desire for the other platform’s games. And I did that for awhile but even that young I realized that what I was doing was emotionally dishonest and I really wanted to play those games and wished I could. Even back then I realized that it was bullshit to talk shit about the other consoles games just because they were the other consoles games.

When I was in college and I could make my own purchasing decisions, I decided that I didn’t want to be in a position where something would come out that I wanted to play and couldn’t due to system limitations and I got a Playstation to supplement my N64. Resident Evil 2 and Castlevania Symphony of Night were just way too cool to pass up. From then on out I have made sure that anything I wanted to play I could.

It isn’t because I am made of money or something. I have saved a lot for this stuff and have done a lot of trading in and selling to make sure I could get these systems (okay I went into pretty massive credit card debit for the Dreamcast and PS2 but that is why I don’t have credit cards now, lesson learned). My parents were never the sorts to just give me stuff I wanted growing up so I had to work and save money to afford systems and games. You have no idea how many weeds I had to rake and toilets at my parent’s business I had to clean to finance my NES and eventually SNES. For the N64 I had to help my dad tear down a fucking building.

So the point is here, I can play what I want now because I decided a long time ago that was a priority to me. Because of this, I really have no vested interest whatsoever in what system gets what exclusive. But I generally don’t get everything on launch day either. If it is a system I REALLY want because there is something compelling day one then I will pick it up but other than that I wait until it makes sense for me to buy it  be that when the price drops or when there is something interesting for it. In the meantime I don’t go on message boards and attack people who have the thing I don’t have and laugh when I get something that was an exclusive of theirs. And I wouldn’t have back then either (had the internet been invented yet) because I was too busy playing the things I had or looking forward to what was coming that I could get.

Now, all that being said, there is a difference between real criticism and fanboy bullshit. I was fairly vocal about my disapproval of the original X-Box and the PS3 leading up to and after launch. Generally, it was for similar reasons too. The game companies weren’t listening to consumers at all and delivering what they thought gamers wanted instead of what gamers were asking for. When the X-Box launched with a controller that resembled a loaf of bread with analog sticks stuck in there and people complained they were too big, they said ‘Test marketing shows people like them.’ Then they had to redesign the controllers because they were too big for an entire race of people. Sony was equally arrogant leading up to the launch of the PS3, removing vibration from the controllers because ‘nobody wanted it anymore’ and pitching a console that was way too expensive (just two of several issues). This hubris on both companies parts kept me from buying at launch and I was pretty vocal about it. But the thing that kept it from being fanboy ranting is that it was not motivated by brand loyalty and when the issues I had with the systems were fixed and the software for each was compelling, I bought them and enjoyed them.

Okay so I understand the thoughts that go into jealousy and the psychological gymnastics people do to get over it but when we look at a case like Mass Effect 2 going multi-platform it makes less sense because at this point the system’s success and failure is nothing more than an ersatz version of your own sense of self worth. At bottom, you are losing something that makes your system special which in turn makes you feel less special. The same thing happens when people are into some niche thing and get pissy when it becomes popular and they then turn their backs on it because it is popular. I find that very irritating as well and plays into the same issue here.

For me, if I am into something I really want it to succeed because then there is a better chance of me getting more of it. If it is a film or game franchise, success means a continuation of that franchise.  Same thing with a show. Good ratings equals more seasons. Music, more albums. I used to be into the band Stabbing Westward in a big way and was heavily involved in their fan emailing list. Now we would probably have a message board but back then it was just an email list. I met a lot of cool people and got a lot more access to the band and band related things than I would have otherwise. But Stabbing Westward wasn’t huge. They had a couple of decent sized hits and their music was featured in some movies (most notably Mortal Kombat but they weren’t on the soundtrack) but for the most part they had a small and devoted following. People on the list broke down two ways: those of us who wanted them to get bigger and those who wanted to keep them small. The people in the latter group derived a feeling of uniqueness for liking this little known band and that played heavily into their sense of self-worth. The former wanted the band to get more successful so they could keep on putting out records. The group who labeled commercial success as selling out won and now there is no Stabbing Westward. Way to go guys, now nobody gets to enjoy new Stabbing Westward music (although the lead singer has formed the Dreaming and they are awesome).

This hoarding to me is as ridiculous as it is short-sighted. It seems to me that if you love something and you want more of it then you should root for its success. In the case of Mass Effect, I finished Mass Effect 2 months ago and I loved it. Mass Effect 3 is a foregone conclusion, but now more people get to enjoy it and that will mean more revenue going to Bioware which they can use to make more awesome games like Mass Effect. I am glad people who only have PS3s get to experience the game. It is a great experience and it is too bad that a large segment of the gaming community have had to go without. As for this spelling the imminent demise of the 360 I doubt that a year old game being available on a different platform is going to impact sales given that most people who wanted to play the game on 360 have already done so.

It is worth noting, of course, that the game companies themselves want you to feel this way. They way to ignite class warfare over their systems and fervent brand loyalty means your dollars continue to funnel into their accounts. So of course they perpetuate the rivalry in advertising and interviews because that is their job. But the effectiveness of this is really kind of embarrassing when you think about it. If you are supporting these companies to feel special, how special do you feel when you realize you are their tool?

At the end of the day, I don’t need my console to make me feel good or bad about myself and when I have white-hot blinding jealousy about something (like I feel for anyone who has a better phone than me i.e. everyone) I don’t take it out on the thing or the person, I recognize what is going on and I take steps to acquire that thing or to come to terms with the fact that I am going to have to wait. We all have preferences and choices are made as to what brand to buy and why but the viciousness of attacks on other fans are ridiculous. If you find yourself having anger responses at this kind of news it is really time to step back and reassess your priorities especially if your first impulse is to lash out at others. All I am asking for is for people to step back and examine why they are acting this way and maybe exercise some civility in discourse.  Excitement and disappointment is fine but when that is taken at the expense of someone else it really isn’t cool.