I’m on a train heading into London at the moment, whiling away time checking Twitter (as I do far too often) and seeing what’s new with people playing the same games as me, and also checking out ones I’m considering getting, like GT7 on PS5.

Now, far be it from me to throw shade about like cheap garden parasol in the wind, but HOLY BALLS do some of these fanboy attitudes suck!

Every franchise seems to have it’s comparable opposite on another format. It has been that way for ages, whether it be Sonic and Mario, Halo or Killzone (remember that?!) and at the moment, Forza and Gran Turismo. While I know there are many people who play many formats and enjoy a lot about the variety, there are always those who for some reason choose to wedge themselves firmly in one camp or another and spit bile about not just the games they see over the other side of the fence, but the people who enjoy them.

I’m pretty sure we all have our favourites, sure, and of course we all have opinions, but when it comes to games is it really the place of anyone else to tell me what I should and shouldn’t enjoy, or to tell me I’m any less of a gamer because I don’t subscribe to their cultish views? And I do mean cultish. Some of these tweets read like there’s nothing else in the world that means as much to the author than making people see why they’re so stupid, why frame rate dips mean a game has no merit, why lack of adaptive triggers ruins anything about other systems. Why having a white console is dumb (and many other strange and outlandish brain farts). Seems a huge focus when it comes to GT7 and / or Forza Horizon 5 is the state of the people who occasionally are seen at the side of the tracks.

Not the cars. Not the handling. Not the soundtrack or engine noises. Not the customisation options, not even microtransactions. But people. Waving or sitting. People you can’t interact with, have no need to notice in anything other that passing them at speed, who almost are part of the background noise of the game rather than a key aspect that made you part with £70 or whatever you paid. But they really do make for rage inducing keyboard action!

I suppose it’s really just something innately in us as humans. We seem to take joy in elevating ourselves above others using even the most petty of things, whether it be sports teams, the clothes we wear, or the increasingly filtered and unrealistic Instagram lifestyle images. Sports, maybe more so than many other hobbies, bonds us with others and I can only assume that fanboy bullshit does the same? But then doesn’t genuine appreciation of gaming in general? Maybe even gaming on specific systems without the need to belittle others?

It’s a shame more people can’t approach life with the attitude of “Just don’t be a dick to each other”, would make things so much simpler and more pleasant.

Love who you want to love, dress how you want to dress, play what you want to play, just don’t be dicks to each other.

Peace