So what exactly is the big deal with people arguing with others over their personal choice in gaming brands? You know what I am talking about. Nintendo vs SEGA, Sony vs Microsoft, Final Fantasy vs Mass Effect, Razor vs Turtlebeach or whatever people think counts when it comes to gaming accessories.
Growing up in an area where we were free from that viral 90's advertising war between Nintendo and SEGA, the whole idea of people becoming brand zealots was foreign to me. I was the only kid with an SNES that I knew, and my SEGA friends didn't care. I was one of the few whose parents invested in an N64 before a PS1, and the people who fell in love with Sony's new game console didn't feel the need to argue with me, but asked to come around to see games like Mario 64, Wave Race 64 and even Mario Kart 64 since they couldn't play them. In highschool I was one of 2 kids in my year level with a Gamecube, and the newly founded Xbox fan groups didn't care that I was playing Mario Kart whilst they were playing... Blinx the time sweeper (or another big title on the Xbox), and again were usually more curious as to how good the First Party Nintendo titles were, and not complaining about Nintendo keeping their in-house titles to their own line of consoles like in the year 2013.
It wasn't until I discovered the seedy underbelly that is the online gaming community (not online-gaming, but an online community about gaming) that I realized people actually DID seem to care about what other people were playing (or playing on) and they seemed to care enough to talk down to other people because their preferences were different. The first time I saw those "Sega does what NintenDON'T" advertisements I was in a state of total shock.
These days it seems to be everywhere, and I am sure alot of it has to do with the internet's ability to give people like me who are at their keyboard a way to express their opinion (or attempt to suppress others), and even to this day it is something that bothers me. PS3 vs Xbox 360 vs Wii. SNES vs Genesis. Wii-U vs everything else. It makes no sense simply because it shouldn't matter.
At the end of the day, shouldn't a gamer, just be worrying about whether the experience they are having is enjoyable to them? If I chose to sit down on my Wii-U and play something like Call of Duty Ghosts, why would that matter to someone who decided to play it on their flashy new Xbox One?Or if I sit here playing Nintendoland (again on my Wii-U, I just want to do a shout out for the little guy :D), then how does that effect "Mr/Mrs/Ms Xbox One: Day One Edition"?
The silly debates I see between gaming brands/companies/developers/studios, that are started by the PLAYERS no less (No viral advertisement campaigns are to blame these days) reminds me alot of those non-stop religious arguments that you have no doubt witnessed at least once in your life, but more silly since someones gaming choice literally makes no difference to anybody elses life.
Now enough ranting for one day, time to sit back and play some Wand of Gamelon on my Magnavox branded Phillips CD-i player. And you know what? Just remember that no matter whether I find the game dumb or even (unlikely) genuinely enjoyable, it doesn't matter to anybody else in the grand scheme of things. :) Let's keep the arguements to the online gaming arena, and fight about what really counts. The leadership scoreboard!