See, his attractive girlfriend thinks he’s a regular guy, but when she leaves the apartment we find out he’s really a closet Nintendo fan, which is horrible, right? More »
The epithet “fanboy” may be one of the useful verbal barbs one can sling at the faithful follower of technology—consumer electronics, video games or otherwise—as the console wars rage on. Where did this catch all insult come from? More »
While not directly addressing Chet Faliszek’s slap at PlayStation 3, the Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford – no stranger to stirring s—t with Valve – has taken a poke at the Left 4 Dead developer’s posture toward Sony. More »
Fanboys are crazy. We hate them. They do make us snicker, so here is a fill-in-the-blank fanboy letter courtesy of game site Hardcasual.
It’s just a tragic facet of the human condition – a tribal instinct that can pit friend against friend and brother against brother. Catholic v Protestant, Sunni vs Shia, Spectrum v Commodore 64 and now – perhaps most bitterly of all – Xbox 360 v PS3.
Building off of his essay where he asked ‘who’s winning the battle for the hardcore?’, Chris Bateman has posted an essay on ‘what makes fanboys tick?’. His answer? Much like fanatics on any side of sports rivalry, political divides, or religious divides, it’s cognitive dissonance at work. As Bateman explains, “When we come across situations that radically contradict our beliefs, we are filled with an uncomfortable feeling: to lessen this unpleasant experience (which is termed cognitive dissonance) we modify our beliefs in a way that will lessen the cognitive dissonance.” What does this have to do with console wars (and warring factions?):
Flaw or solid design decision? Bad content or work in progress? When you jump online to browse the forum of your favourite MMO, what are you likely to type out in response to criticism? Dave Kidd over at Trembling Hand has written a great piece that should help you identify whether you’re an MMO apologist or fan. From the story:
They’re ultra conservative about the state of the game, and they place enormous faith in the wisdom and work ethic of its creators. They’ll excuse clearly broken parts of the game as ‘design decisions’ and they see criticism as a personal attack on the developer — and thus themselves — and consequently respond defensively. It’s a black and white world for the Apologist and you’re either with him or against him.
Have you been caught out as a sycophant? You might find the answer is “yes”.
Are You a MMO Fan or an Apologist? [Trembling Hand] More »
Destructoid has a handy list, on the heels of TechRadar’s “Signs you are no longer a hardcore gamer.” Now, Kotaku is an open environment where fanboys are very evidently welcome. But fanboyism is, like terrible driving and owning yap dogs. In case of the former, no one admits to it. The latter, well, you’re just a better owner of a more well behaved yap dog. Or some other bullshit.
Among the 10 signs: • Any criticism of your chosen love is a result of bias • Call everyone else a “fanboy” before they call you one • Justify even the stupidest decisions/games
Well, I think we can all safely agree that none of these apply to any of us! And btw, I am toats not in the bag for Xbox 360, Rockstar sandboxers or any western-themed game.
Ten Golden Rules of Video Game Fanboyism [Destructoid]
