What Drives Console Fanboyism?

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

the urge to belong.

Its not changed since the beginning of time.

I typically think

Buyers Remorse.

rationalize you made the right choice and your set, defend it and rationalize it. rinse repeat and unless the entire house of cards come falling down, you'll still feel like you got your money's worth.

jealousy. its easier to hate than to want.

Buyers Remorse.SaudiFury

I typically think

Buyers Remorse.

rationalize you made the right choice and your set, defend it and rationalize it. rinse repeat and unless the entire house of cards come falling down, you'll still feel like you got your money's worth.

SaudiFury

Interesting point, but I honestly believe it goes beyond that. As William said it could be a sense to belong, like how someone's a fan of a certain sports team but then loses interest. I bet you once these young fanboys grow up they'll look back and laugh at it, assuming all fanboys turn out like that.

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

I typically think

Buyers Remorse.

rationalize you made the right choice and your set, defend it and rationalize it. rinse repeat and unless the entire house of cards come falling down, you'll still feel like you got your money's worth.

Interesting point, but I honestly believe it goes beyond that. As William said it could be a sense to belong, like how someone's a fan of a certain sports team but then loses interest. I bet you once these young fanboys grow up they'll look back and laugh at it, assuming all fanboys turn out like that.

American consumer culture. People are no longer indentified by their own personality traits or character. It's about what car you drive, what brands of clothing you buy, whether you use a Mac or a PC, whether you game on Platform X over Platform Y. People always want to feel special about something, and the advertising wings of corporations have exploited that through the decades by pushing the idea that if you are loyal to a certain brand, it says something positive about your worth as a human being. It's exactly how brands that market **** non-utilitarian products manage to become the most successful, and frankly it fukin disgusts me. It is by far the biggest monkey wrench thrown into the American capitalistic system, where the products with the best advertising and marketing succeed over the ones that offer the best quality.

the urge to belong.

Its not changed since the beginning of time.

WilliamRLBaker

actually, it's the urge to further justify your purchase.

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"]Buyers Remorse.ThatsSimtastic

Hmmm, so my assumption that fanboys are below the age 14 isn't far off, they can't help but act immature. I have hope for these kinda fanboys the most because (hopefully) once they grow up they'll start to think about bigger more important issues and laugh at all of this.

This is another reason why I feel nostalgic for the 16-bit era, I don't remember much of this fanboysim, I always wanted a Genesis along with my SNES but my parents wouldn't buy one. Yes I'd be upset when I see good games on the Genesis I wanted back then but I wouldn't go to the point where I'd convince myself Nintendo is the king of all and brag about it. I just never noticed fanboyism back then, maybe the internet helped make it alot more visible than it was back in those days.

I saw a video on this the other day, about how people feel the need to justify their purchase by hating what they didn't get, identify with the group, etc. The whole thing was done with animations on a blackboard, anyone the one I'm talking about? I really wanna find that vid again.

Is there anything wrong with fanboyism? Doesn't hurt anyone so who cares, there are far worse things in this world than fanboys lol. Besides without fanboys System wars would be a normal gaming discussion board. The only people who are worse than fanboys are those who let it get to them and end up acting worse because of it. Now saying that no matter what one does in SW you are bound to be called a fanboy; prefer one game over another? fanboy, reckon one system has better graphics over another? fanboy etc etc. As far as what drives fanboyism, I reckon it's just justifying purchase and the feeling that you are part of a group? I think.

I saw a video on this the other day, about how people feel the need to justify their purchase by hating what they didn't get, identify with the group, etc. The whole thing was done with animations on a blackboard, anyone the one I'm talking about? I really wanna find that vid again.

darkmoney52

To be honest Buyer's Remorse never even crossed my mind as a cause until it was mentioned here because I also could only afford one console back when I was a kid (SNES/Genesis story mentioned above) but I never behaved as do fanboys do these days. The fact that I dunno anybody IRL who's a console fanboy (thank god) is also a factor I guess, so the only interaction and behavior I witness from them is via the net.

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

Aero5555

*facepalm* Failed :roll:

[QUOTE="darkmoney52"]

I saw a video on this the other day, about how people feel the need to justify their purchase by hating what they didn't get, identify with the group, etc. The whole thing was done with animations on a blackboard, anyone the one I'm talking about? I really wanna find that vid again.

Aero5555

To be honest Buyer's Remorse never even crossed my mind as a cause until it was mentioned here because I also could only afford one console back when I was a kid (SNES/Genesis story mentioned above) but I never behaved as do fanboys do these days. The fact that I dunno anybody IRL who's a console fanboy (thank god) is also a factor I guess, so the only interaction and behavior I witness from them is via the net.

Boredom.

The real question is is there anything wrong with fanboyism?

Swift_Boss_A

Annoying, damages console's image, feeds trolls, impossible to conduct constructive discussion, frustration (for those impatient), people who would benefit the community get turned off by it and leave... *the list goes on*

prefer one game over another? fanboy, reckon one system has better graphics over another? fanboy etc etc.

Swift_Boss_A

I believe you got it wrong.

Fans = people who have a passion and love for a certain something. e.g. (I love Daft Punk)

Fanboys = People who insist on their passion of a certain something to the point where it's flawless and anything else other than it is inferior. e.g. (Any artist other than Daft Punk sucks).

Hey, The PS3 is not the most powerful console of this Gen :PBloodSeeker1337

Apologies Bloodseeker, I read your first post wrong in a hurry, my bad :?

What you ask? Jealousy.

Edit: Right, some people beat me to it. Still a valid answer :P

[QUOTE="Swift_Boss_A"]

The real question is is there anything wrong with fanboyism?

Aero5555

Annoying, damages console's image, feeds trolls, impossible to conduct constructive discussion, frustration (for those impatient), people who would benefit the community get turned off by it and leave... *the list goes on*

prefer one game over another? fanboy, reckon one system has better graphics over another? fanboy etc etc.

Swift_Boss_A

I believe you got it wrong.

Fans = people who have a passion and love for a certain something. e.g. (I love Daft Punk)

Fanboys = People who insist on their passion of a certain something to the point where it's flawless and anything else other than it is inferior. e.g. (Any artist other than Daft Punk sucks).

Well expect to see a lot of the latter in SW :P

@TC

If there are no Fanboys:

*The internet would be 62% less entertaining without them

*Game communities would fade away faster without fanboys Gamers are an incredibly fickle bunch

*They persistently make noise about actual, real issues that are important

*Without them, there would be no one else to keep the spirit of old, long dead consoles

*No one wouldpay attention to all the boring slides at E3 press conferences.

Let's face it - there's a little bit of fanboy in all of us :)

@TC

If there are no Fanboys:

*The internet would be 62% less entertaining without them

*Game communities would fade away faster without fanboys Gamers are an incredibly fickle bunch

*They persistently make noise about actual, real issues that are important

*Without them, there would be no one else to keep the spirit of old, long dead consoles

*No one wouldpay attention to all the boring slides at E3 press conferences.

Let's face it - there's a little bit of fanboy in all of us :)

BloodSeeker1337

[QUOTE="BloodSeeker1337"]

@TC

If there are no Fanboys:

*The internet would be 62% less entertaining without them

*Game communities would fade away faster without fanboys Gamers are an incredibly fickle bunch

*They persistently make noise about actual, real issues that are important

*Without them, there would be no one else to keep the spirit of old, long dead consoles

*No one wouldpay attention to all the boring slides at E3 press conferences.

Let's face it - there's a little bit of fanboy in all of us :)

dog_dirt

[QUOTE="Aero5555"]

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

BloodSeeker1337

*facepalm* Failed :roll:

Why this isn't shown on multi-plats is simple and it's because the games are not optimized to use that extra performance. Ps3 exclusivse, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Mirrors edge etc are optimized to use that extra performance thus producing better visuals then what the 360 can or ever will be able to.

simple as that wither you'd like to believe that is up to you but on paper the Ps3 is superior in terms of hardware

as for which has the better games that's opinion.

[QUOTE="dog_dirt"][QUOTE="BloodSeeker1337"]

@TC

If there are no Fanboys:

*The internet would be 62% less entertaining without them

*Game communities would fade away faster without fanboys Gamers are an incredibly fickle bunch

*They persistently make noise about actual, real issues that are important

*Without them, there would be no one else to keep the spirit of old, long dead consoles

*No one wouldpay attention to all the boring slides at E3 press conferences.

Let's face it - there's a little bit of fanboy in all of us :)

darkmoney52

OP you hit on it with a couple of words in your own post

'below 14', 'immaturity'...I'll add 'puberty', someone said the 'need to belong'...all fit.

X360 is the best example of it. The system is technically garbage, but you have these lil kids all frothing at the mouth from Mtn Dew

swearing on their moms teets that X360 is the closest thing to NASA technology that we'll ever see in a console. It's silly.

Easy, insecurity.

Whenever I think: "Oh my god I really want to play Uncharted 2 (and I do)!"; I then think: nah but the ps3 is crap, PC is much better! In doing so I ensure myself that i've made the right choice, even though there is no such thing.

Blessed are those with large wallets they have not the need to create large Inferiority Complex'es do defend their minds!

That reminds me of the law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, the more we play our consoles, in time,the less satisfied we get the more we want some truly epic game that usually does not arrive. When we buy a Video Game we usually have a wrong conception of what really it is (we are largely driven to misconceptions because of Gaming Sites - they mostly serves as a paid PR to the producers), the gap between what we think it would be and what it isleads us to very distinct feeling : disapointment. Remember how PS3 was first promoted?

So I say that the life of a guy who likes to game is mostly filled with (in regard to this hobbie) with small disapointments. An personal example are the games that most disapointed me, all of them stellar: Mass Effect, Gears ofWar 2 (mostly because of mp), Call of Duty MW2 -and everyones favorite, GTA IV.

When you're given enough time it all comes round and whenthe broken expctations, the disapointment meets a stupid (and poor) insecure nerd, is when we have the psycological birth of a fanboy.

i dun have a clue, the last geberation i was an xbot, then i became a cow this generation, i think it's like love, it's fate.

Insecurity and/or retardation.

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

Ego.

The Mind.

Insecurity.

Identification with a particular console.

obviously takes a certain personality, more often than not they only have 1 system. People that take it to the point that they will blatantly lie about there consoles or other consoles to win an argument is just sad.

is it consider fanboyism to bash the other consoles because whatever they get doesn't excited you not even a litle?

[QUOTE="BloodSeeker1337"]

[QUOTE="Aero5555"]

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

XileLord

*facepalm* Failed :roll:

Why this isn't shown on multi-plats is simple and it's because the games are not optimized to use that extra performance. Ps3 exclusivse, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Mirrors edge etc are optimized to use that extra performance thus producing better visuals then what the 360 can or ever will be able to.

simple as that wither you'd like to believe that is up to you but on paper the Ps3 is superior in terms of hardware

as for which has the better games that's opinion.

Specs alone may decide wether something is more powerful, HOWEVER it does not show if one performs better.

ThePS3 may have better specs, but how is it built? Is it built in such a way to take full advantage of it's power, or is it built in such a way that it uses resources compensating for it's lack of other things?

For example, a Bugatti Veyron is more poweful then aFord Mondeo, that's a given. However depending on the track they are racing on, it's increase in power of the Ford may count for nothing.

This question has been on my mind ever since these ridiculous system wars began back in the 128-bit era (I think?). Why are console fanboys the way they are? I mean as an example the PS3 is technically the most powerful console of this gen by FACT and yet we get 360 fanboys so stubborn and fixated to the point of utter immaturity who inisist it's the other way around (regardless if he's convinced or just blindly loyal). Anytime I notice console fanboyism of any kind, be it Sony or Microsoft, I immediately assume without question that he is someone below the age of 14 or just a troll. I find it that immature.

Thoughts?

Aero5555

Buyers remorse. But it's not like the people on these forums who claim to not be fanboys are any better. Tell me you haven't ever responded to a fanboy post before with the intention of voicing your opinion or letting that person know the actual facts. All that keeps happening is we get stuck in this never ending circle.

If everyone were to just stop responding to the fanboys / trolls / fakeboys etc. we'd have a much nicer more productive forums to work with.

The inability to not purchase other consoles or the unwant to buy others based upon value placed on video games.

Humans want to have the best stuff. If they cannot have the best stuff, they try to justfiy what they have is the best.

[QUOTE="XileLord"]

[QUOTE="BloodSeeker1337"]

*facepalm* Failed :roll:

Stats_

Why this isn't shown on multi-plats is simple and it's because the games are not optimized to use that extra performance. Ps3 exclusivse, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Mirrors edge etc are optimized to use that extra performance thus producing better visuals then what the 360 can or ever will be able to.

simple as that wither you'd like to believe that is up to you but on paper the Ps3 is superior in terms of hardware

as for which has the better games that's opinion.

Specs alone may decide wether something is more powerful, HOWEVER it does not show if one performs better.

ThePS3 may have better specs, but how is it built? Is it built in such a way to take full advantage of it's power, or is it built in such a way that it uses resources compensating for it's lack of other things?

For example, a Bugatti Veyron is more poweful then aFord Mondeo, that's a given. However depending on the track they are racing on, it's increase in power of the Ford may count for nothing.

Love the example :P

[QUOTE="WilliamRLBaker"]

the urge to belong.

Its not changed since the beginning of time.

C_BozkurT_C

actually, it's the urge to further justify your purchase.

Are you a Turk, bro? :)

It is created by the natural human urge to reduce cognitive dissonance.dsmccracken