Fanbois - Chill Out!

Ever since Nintendo and Sega went head to head with heavyweight consoles of the nineties, there have always been fanboys (or fanbois if you're down with the kids . I've always been fascinated by the animosity generated from the simple act of picking a console or even a game.

Most people are only going to pick one and it's pretty much guaranteed that your choice will open you up to some kind of fanboy abuse. Playstation owners berate XBOX owners, Microsoft fans attack Sony fans in return and both in turn scream at Nintendo fans. Nintendo fans attack no one at all because we are practically perfect in every way :P . The PC Master Race, of course, attack everyone!

My favourite people watching threads are PUBG vs Fortnite discussions. Which is better? And more importantly, who really cares? How does it affect your day what one person thinks of a game you enjoy playing?

I often wonder why it has become so bad. What actually causes it? I have some ideas:

1) People hate wasting their time and money

The purchase of a console or gaming PC is a big expense for you or your family. If someone turns round and says you've wasted your money because buying something else is better, you are going to want to defend your purchase.

Similarly, once you pick your system you will invariably invest a lot of hours into your gaming, and if someone turns round as says that you've wasted your time because you would have had a better experience someone, you will immediately want to justify your investment.

2) People love picking a team and arguing

Whether it's your favourite sports team, genre of music or even a political party, people will always pick a side and slag each other off! It's what we humans do. As an Arsenal FC fan, it's standard football etiquette that I hate Tottenham Hotspurs and must expect the same back from Spurs fans!

When I have arguments about music, it's usually because all I want is to share the joy I get from listening to someone like The Beatles, but if all they listen to is EDM, the only outcome is a butting of heads and no change of opinion!

3) Not knowing any better

As a Nintendo fanboi, an objection I often face is their games are for kids. Now, I know this isn't true as does every other Nintendo fan, but if you haven't sampled the delights of Mario, Link and the Pokemon crew, it's easy to see how it might look pretty childish.

On the flip side I would often turn round and say I don't want to play another generic first person shooter for the gazillionth time, but then I am denying myself the pleasure of playing masterpieces like Half-Life or Bioshock. Swings and roundabouts! The perfect situation of course is being able to play all the consoles, and this is something I am questing towards.

4) Anonymity and the internet

Something that wasn't around when this fanboy mess started was an active internet community. Love it or loathe it there will always be keyboard warriors that have gained a voice, as well as a courage created by their new found anonymity. If you read through the comments of pretty much anything you find online you will see a bitter, nasty rage and in gaming this is no different!

I love sharing examples of this kind of nonsense on my Facebook page, purely because it makes me laugh! Have you seen any good examples of what I'm talking about? Let me know, and definitely share it with me!