How/When did gaming become so hostile?


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I can understand people getting agitated and angry when debating religion, or politics, or the economy. Ya know, **** that can really affect you. But a gaming system? Really? It's entirely trivial.)

the way i see it, its related to both pride & economic.

 

Gamers are required to spend money to acquire the gaming machine (PC/Consoles) and the game itself.

If the console and/or the game they bought were criticized, I knew some of the gamer would feel to critic were aimed at them, after all they did buy those.

whos the idots spend their money for that?

And thats where their prides were 'injured', and to protect it the defense mechanism starts to kick in,

often the manifestation of it were hostility toward those who have unfavorable opinion,

especially those who spout such opinion actually praising others, which then collectively will be branded as 'enemy camp',.

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This is absurd.

FPS games play fine on controller.

 

1080p looks great from my couch and the audio on my TV will always blow away what i get on PC. 

 

You simply can't interject personal choice as matter of fact.

 

Don't worry my computer is hooked up to my receiver which is hooked up to my wall mounted 60" Slim LED TV in the living room through HDMI so full 7.1 surround sound as well. Best of both worlds I'd say :)

 

720P is good enough for me honestly, 1080p I can't really make figures out too well and text is tiny (that is me being about 8 foot back from the TV.

 

See, I didn't have to attack you. I just stated a fact of my system, I enjoy it. I didn't even get defensive, just make a joke. As people should go, not go "SCREW UR CONSOLE MY PC HOOKED UP TO M YTVIDS THE WINXZ0S! Ur gay!"

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It depends on the game you're playing. Some games are known to have toxic players like the console versions of the Call of Duty games. Other games that have too many toxic players are League of Legends and Dota 2. Fortunately, it isn't an epidemic and it's mostly because the toxic players are pricks.

 

A game like StarCraft 2 is pretty neutral in terms of toxicity. And a game like Natural Selection 2 has players that are noticeably positive. I think it's attributed to the difficulty of the game because I've seen the same kind of positiveness in EVE Online. Players tend to help other players in difficult games and the same can't be said about standard first-person shooters. It's a little different in the Battlefield games simply because a game like that requires a coordinated effort to win unlike most game modes in the Call of Duty series.

 

As for when this started, I'm willing to bet it existed in the early days of online gaming. The difference is nowadays, a lot more people are playing video games.

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Another one of complex's "discussion" topics.

 

Does anyone know or remember when gaming went from a form of entertainment to a hostile defence of a piece of hardware/software? The hostile nature of a lot of gamers how seem to me to be a relativity new phenomenon. I remember as a kid if you owned one system and your friend owned another you'd defend your system, but it was rarely hostile. In fact, you'd exchange systems in order to play the games of the other system (if you could convince your parents to let you).

 

Now if you go onto any video site doing any reviews the comment section is awash with what can only be described as damn-near psychotic levels of hatred and bile from fanboys of all gaming persuasions. Some of the bickering on here is annoying but it is down-right civil compared to the craziness of your average YouTube video. I am curious to know if anyone has an explanation for this? DO people feel if they have paid for a certain system it is a matter of pride to defend it? As if not doing so will convince them they've wasted their money despite the fact they are otherwise happy with it? Is this just like supporting a sports team? You love your team and you can't understand why anyone would support a different one?

 

I can understand people getting agitated and angry when debating religion, or politics, or the economy. Ya know, **** that can really affect you. But a gaming system? Really? It's entirely trivial.

 

Just askin'  :D

 

(Note: I know some people think I am a Sony fanboy, and I kind of am because it has been the console in my house for years, but I don't think I have ever been abusive or hateful if I have advocated for the PS).

 

(Note 2: I am also aware that a topic of this subject matter is likely to cause a lot of the exact thing I am asking to be explained to me. Perhaps if you only have a snide or sarcastic comment you could go and post it on twitter or Facebook and not derail this topic? Please?)

 

It has become very hostile because younger and younger kids in general, who are growing up are living in this virtual world. They play games, make friends and basically live their life tied to this stuff.. When I was growing up gaming was so much fun. We were grouping together, drank and ate until early in the mornings at someone's house and rocked even online when internet came without much hatred towards another person. Sure there was talking smack about the games and stuff they supported but at the end of the day it was fairly decent. These types of gamers still exist but the sad reality is that young kids don't have their identities as we once had and now they are basically finding their own identity within the confines of game consoles, brands and companies. 

 

So when you take this into an account, you realize that if you say something that criticizes their choice of games or consoles or whatever, it's personal.  

 

In addition to all this, when I was growing up, most kids grew up in environments with parents, some values and we were taught to respect others. Today, due to increasingly more difficult economic times, more people than ever getting divorced, young kids are growing up in this world without guidance old generations had and they find their interactions within this virtual world.

 

Important to say though that a lot of kids today to find their creative outlets this way too, through Youtube and other things and actually find a unique way of socializing in a positive way, unfortunately a larger number of kids do not and that's why you have so many aggressive, raging kids with no real understanding on what they are doing is really bad and disrespectful.

 

Fanboys always existed, but it was never really hostile and aggressive as today. And sadly, I don't see it getting better. I just wonder if these kids will grow out of it, or we are breeding a generation of inapt, anti-social, rage driven individuals when they don't get what they believe they should.

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  • 3 months later...

I believe it is two factors.

 

Factor # 1 - The Internet

It became this way when the internet became something people used frequently, especially with the introduction of message boards and forums just like the one we are on now.

See people can be ###### and rude and just plain idiots as they hide behind the anonymity of a scree-name and are secluded behind a monitor and keyboard and mouse.

 

Factor # 2 - Society

I could probably write an entire college thesis paper on this one, so I will do my best to explain it shortly and to where it does not get all that deep.
Thanks to telling kids there are no such things as losers anymore when they participate in sports, contests, etc., we as a society have turned to other things to label as winners and losers. It is not just video games, but everything. But things have gotten out of control (mostly thanks to Factor #1 above) so people have to find things to hate on in order to make themselves feel better and seem acceptable to others.

 

So yeah honestly I blame the internet when all is said and done. I have been gaming 35 years now. Things were very different, but society was very different. Things just have changed for the worse.

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When did it become hostile? Probably around 1975 with the introduction of networked multiplayer gaming. Perhaps more realistically though, with the introduction of communication in to gaming. As the delivery of messages has sped up - from typing a response to being able to just say it and have the other players hear you - people tend to think less about what they say, and so they voice their frustration quicker.

That's the way I see it, anyway. At the end of the day I don't mind. I find it difficult to be insulted by someone whose voice hasn't yet broken. :laugh:

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Gaming became hostile when it became competitive.  It's a natural outcome.  The times you think it wasn't hostile was likely when one company was dominating so there was really no one to be seriously hostile with.

 

Starting with the NES (technically considered the 3rd generation of video game consoles but there was a large gap between the 2nd and 3rd were the industry practically ceased to exist).  The NES sold over 5x its nearest competitor (Sega Master System)... No real competition there.

 

The SNES and Sega Genesis were actually pretty close and I remember the rivalry getting pretty heated then but before it could turn into anything too big the PlayStation came out in the next generation and destroyed both Sega and Nintendo in sales.  So once again with the PS selling more than 3x it's nearest rival (N64) and the Sega Saturn getting only a small fraction of that the industry calmed down a bit with a single clearly dominant player.

 

The next generation saw Sony extend that lead with the PS2 selling over 6x it's nearest rival (Xbox) so once again there was not much hostility.

 

Things just ramped up again with the PS3/Xbox 360 because once again they were neck and neck and the one with the edge (especially early) was unseating the one who won the prior two generations.  That console generation also lasted unusually long and now a new one has finally launched that rivalry is rekindled.  If one starts regularly having multiple times the sales of the other though things will die down because there won't be much competition again but it's WAY too early to tell that right now and if things DO stay close (the sales of the leader being less than double the 2nd place) then you can expect it to stay hostile.  So again, the hostility is a natural (though unfortunate) side effect of an overall good thing... strong competition.

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I'm an old time gamer like some of you here and I have to agree with Dirty Larry's assessment.

The introduction of the internet was a big reason that the idea around 'console wars' really took off.

Before then, the affect was much more tame. The 'bit wars' of the early 90s were down right calm compared to today and recent years. During that time, it was mostly the marketing teams of various companies fighting the war. There was not this legion of console warriors that went on the war path for thier favorite platform.

I also think that those of use that have been gaming for decades have a much different perspective than the new generation of gamers. Society/cultures have changed a lot from when we were growing up. Combine that with the anonymity of the internet and you get what we have now. Virtual gangs that will rise up and crush the side they oppose.

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The internet mainly has caused this. I agree 100% with DirtyLarry. Plus he put much more eloquently than i would have :laugh:

 

I'm an old school gamer and nowadays really dislike the majority of the gaming community.

I understand people like one thing more than another but it is the aggression people have nowadays.

 

 

So yeah, it is the anonymous voice of the Internet that has caused this, but it isn't just gaming. Everything nowadays online has to be an argument not a discussion.

I bet if you met some of these people in the real world they are probably decent people. Some though probably aren't even allowed out.

It is mainly the youth who have been bought up by the Internet who have this attitude.

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fanboyism....or however you want to call it...has always been.  It is the media and how fast info is spread, and all the ways people have to comment and post their opinions, which has made this a big issue and widespread.

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Probably the Xbox 360 / ps3 generation is when the majority of people had the internet. Then all of a sudden there was an army of keyboard warriors because anyone with a keyboard and internet connection could get their voice heard.

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Never had any friends argue about one system being better than another. Most of my friends all had the same systems: NES, SNES and Genesis.

 

First time I ever seen any hostility was in an arcade. Was playing some older guy in Street Fighter 2 and kept beating him with Ken and Ryu. He would only use Chun-Li and did nothing but her kick move and that move she had where you could stomp on the other players head while jumping over them. He started screaming then said he'd take me down in Mortal Kombat. He had no clue I played it daily and I beat him once with Sub-Zero ending of course by ripping his head off and he screamed and put his hand through the plex-glass that protects the monitor. He went through enough that he hit the monitor and caused one of the top brackets to snap.

 

I'll never forget that. Guys hand was screwed and owner of the arcade was calling the cops and had people blocking all the doors so he couldn't leave. I was standing there laughing because I found it hilarious someone would get that mad over a video game. Still find it hilarious to this day. I rarely play online these days, but anytime I do and hear the whiners that keep losing because they can't be bothered to actually learn any skill required to play the game or trolls talking trash I just crack up and how pathetic they all are.

 

Same with all these people arguing over Xbox One/PS4 resolution and all that crap. People forget all about how the GAMEPLAY should be the most important thing. Just play the game and have fun. People can't seem to do that anymore. They create drama about resolution and ram.

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