So much has been written and argued about the three consoles themselves, so much analysis, so much debate focused on the specific hardware or software issues, that one particular area has not yet been touched on. The war and analysis between the fanboys and fangirls itself.
Playstation (PS) fans main talking points are the power of the PS3 and the extra tech stuff like HDMI, 1080p, Blu-Ray. They assume that Xbox (XB) and Nintendo fans are jealous of it. Their main attitude is a daily boasting and gloating about the systems power and tech.
Last-gen…They couldn’t admit that the PS2 was inferior in power and features to the Xbox. They couldn’t admit that the Gamecube could output better graphics. They couldn’t admit that of all three consoles the PS2 was the most buggy and prone to breaking down. Sure, some people never had a problem, but outside of one’s little world, the problems were there, and far outnumbered the amount of problems the Xbox or Gamecube had.
Whether they admitted it or not, the main debates they had, when XB fans would boast about the power, they would retort, “So what, it’s all about the games, we have a far bigger and better library. Even if the extra power of the Xbox meant that games run a little better, the bottom line is Xbox suffered from a lack of titles and therefore owning a PS2 was better, and sold 100 million consoles. So, haha.”
Next-Gen…The thing now is that due to their experiences last-gen, XB fans have matured a little more and accepted that winning the power race isn’t everything. In fact, it isn’t the race itself. Power can and can’t be good, but that raw extra power difference isn’t so important to a better gaming experience. XB fans have realized that games library is more important.
However, PS fans have degraded in time. After years of knowing deep down that the Xbox was more powerful and that Gamecube had the better graphics, it’s like they secretly were jealous all along. It’s become their main focus in next-gen. Both to Sony itself and PS fans. They have veered away from the games topic because their attitude has gone backwards to the power issue. Now, the XB and Nintendo fans are like, “So what, grow up, didn’t you learn anything from last-gen? It is not about the extra power, you were right, it is about the games.”
Yet, each day they are feverishly fixated on information and specifications about HDMI, 1080p, Blu-Ray, and that small percentage better performance in the Cell. XB and Nintendo fans laugh and/or tire of this because PS fans (and Sony) have become crazed obsessional types, like kids in a candy store, over anything to do with performance or hardware issues. PS fans now mistakenly think that what makes a game better or more enjoyable is purely graphical or power orientated.
They diss the ‘gameplay’ argument like they still don’t get it, or like they think Nintendo fans are playing some sly flame wars game. To them, it seems more important and the reason why a game is better is because the extra power means shirts and shorts can flap around, that instead of 100 twins in the crowd there can be 50, that textures on arms and clothing are rendered marginally or fairly better. Or, at best, they think that having these extra things can only be a good thing. Not realizing that this whole graphics focus forces developers to invest more time and money on coding for that than on actually making enjoyable or innovative gameplay.
The whole debate about which console is more powerful, or more efficient, is arguable anyway. Most of the info is theoritical. There are experts on both sides who say this or that. Sure, the consensus is that PS3 is slightly more powerful. However, mainly in an overall sense. There are specific things here and there which the X360 can do better, and things here and there that PS3 can do better. There are specific things here and there that the Wii is more efficient at.
The argument is still raging since E3 2005 only because PS fans cannot give and take. They cannot rest on the idea that the two consoles are fairly equal overall, or that the X360 is better at doing some things. They’re crazed and obsessional about these minor power topics that they have to keep debating it, keep denying any article/comment that says X360 is better at doing something than the PS3, or that Wii gameplay innovations might be more popular than raw PS3 graphics. Due to this, they’ve slowly but surely lost touch with the most essential topic – games, games library, gameplay.
It has become so bad that if X360 or Wii shows off some cool looking/playing game the PS fans have to jump in and quickly put it down – flaming the graphics compared to PS3, the shirts of players don’t billow as good as they do on PS3, the rendering capabilities are 3% worse than compared to PS3. They can’t seem to praise anything else because they have this inferiority/superiority complex now.
If a great game comes out on X360 and there’s a lot of praise/hype going around on the internet about it, they take it like a direct put down was made to the PS3 and to PS fans that they all rally together needing to throw water on the game, calling the developers liars, saying Microsoft paid them to tell lies, that the game will look better on PS3. They just can’t seem to give credit where credit is due because it’s all about boasting.
Meanwhile, most Nintendo and XB fans are more objective and can actually praise PS3 games that are good. If those fans aren’t overly impressed with a PS3 game, they take it like they’re lying, they’re jealous, it’s all some sly fanboyistic flame war. They refuse to acknowledge that it might just be an honest opinion or that the more popular opinion might be turning away from a graphics-centric attitude to a gameplay-centric attitude.
To be a PS fan means that power is everything, tech specs are very important, and graphics is the focus, and it’s all about every single game being better on the PS3 than any game on Wii or X360. They need to feel superior in every little way otherwise they feel inferior completely.
To be an XB fan means that you like a lot of power but ultimately it’s all about the games and the services – like XBL, Live Anywhere, etc.
To be a Nintendo fan means that it’s all about gameplay and innovation, fun and change, away from the whole power-centric focus. You do have graphic whoring appreciation, but not to the point where it starts detrimenting gameplay and in-game features/modes.
So, when Nintendo or XB fans talk about how good a particular game on their console is, PS fans automatically assume that everyone thinks like them, that power and graphics is everything, that tech specs are very important and that anything that Nintendo or XB fans judge to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is wrong because they’re not looking at it all like PS fans do. Seemingly, only the PS/Sony point of view is right.
PS fans just can’t seem to accept that perhaps more people are starting to not care anymore or as much about Hi-Def optical media, about HDMI, about Bluetooth, about a .5 ghz performance difference, etc. They seemingly cannot believe that the global consumer might be more inclined towards gameplay and services, not on sheer graphics.
PS fans think that when others mention the price and extranneous tech features as bad aspects about the PS3, or factors why they dont want one, that they’re only saying that because they’re jealous or because they hate Sony or the PS3. In reality, people are just starting to not care so much anymore, they’ve changed, grown, matured in their outlook about gaming, especially awoken to the scams and costs that ‘next-gen’ has meant already and will only grow to mean.
While Microsoft itself is determined to incorporate HDMI, 1080p, etc, it doesn’t mean that the XB fans themselves are overly impressed by them. Especially as it all means more cost to them. They’re thankful at least that they’re not being ‘forced’ into getting all those things, due to the design of the X360 meaning such things are add-ons, not built-in. They feel that if they had to have them, they will reasonably hope and wait for overall price cuts before they do – because while it’s good, it’s still not the important thing, so they can live and game quite happily without all that extra gadgetry.
Absurdly, the war rages in whatever industry where there is a product. Console gamers will take the same sides in an MP3 player debate. In a hand-held debate. In an OS debate. All done almost automatically. As though by very allegiance to one product it means an allegiance to brand name as well. Of course, not everyone is like this, and not everyone is so biased and brand-loyal. But it only takes a handful of these types in any forum around the world for matters to escalate and sides taken by the neutral ones.
In forums around the world, every day there are thousands of people aggravated and addicted to fanboyistic flame wars. While even rabid debate is a good thing, there are certain areas where the very Fanboy Wars have reached absurdity. At the center of it all is a need for all fans to give and take (or PWN and be PWNED) sincerely, not egotistically. As in, not continuing to assert something and fuel the flaming if one is proven wrong about something, or a consensus of agreement is reached about a particular topic.
Let’s all move on a bit from the attitude that at heart is some literal war or hatred among gamers with loyalties to other console manufacturers. The only reason at times there is a wave of anti-Sony, anti-PS3 or anti-PS fan sentiment is because the self-superiority, mockery, prejudice or flaming starts on the Sony or PS side of things. Or the obsessional tech-centric focus gets out of hand.
The onus is on you.
Gamers Paradise 