E3: The Problem with Post-Show Fanboyism and Critiques

The Electronic Entertainment Expo has come to a close. Conferences were streamed, games were played, and technology was shown off. The who's who of the video game industry made their appearances known. We have multiple new games coming out this year and many still waiting to see distribution in the future. In light of everything shown at E3, there is still the ever lingering problem seen from both gamers and journalists. That problem is fanboyism and pessimism.

Whether you're on IGN or GameTrailers or N4G, fanboys are abundant. Even worse are the pessimists out there. After watching the live streams of Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo (through different channels mind you), I bore witness to countless comments from people logged into the sites and on Twitter that shows that activities like trolling and fanboyism are alive and well. Needless to say, I'm not surprised; however, I also feel inclined to address these types of gamers and journalists who fashion themselves as aficionados of the industry and then turn around and criticize one game or company in a negative way. The main problem with such a mentality is that they are blinded from their own hypocrisy. Their words don't match their self-proclaimed openness to what is shown.

One common article piece making its rounds through the internet brings up the topic of who won E3. Such a topic is nothing short of being a personal opinion. I have my picks of who I think the winners and losers of E3 were. Do I think it's relevant to share online? Not really. I know there are many opinions out there that say that one company triumphed over the others. The issue is that gamers and journalists are actively condemning certain companies and each other over their picks. It doesn't make it worthwhile to bother sharing what one thinks about the outcome of E3. They will get hazed in the comment sections. You should be able to share your opinion without getting insulted by someone.

Another major thing that has grown from E3 is how fanboys are declaring how one company or another "don't have any games". I have always found this phrase funny for two reasons. One, the grammar being used isn't even correct. It implies that a company didn't have anything to show for E3 and that no third party developers are bringing their games to the company's platform. In reality, the statement is false because EVERY company had games to show. What they mean to say and would be more so accurate is that one company "doesn't have any games I'm interested in". Two, the gamer or journalist who says such a statement reveals that they are completely close-minded. They have absolutely no intention to give the slightest compliment or positive reinforcement to the announcements from E3. Their intention is to hurt the companies, but that is why I find them funny because I know not to take them seriously. If you are a journalist who makes such a wild statement, then your journalistic integrity flies right out of the window. If you are a gamer who says something like that, then I know I cannot converse with you because your fanboyism is very glaring.

Then there are the continued spats going on between one camp versus another. I have seen plenty of this already. You have Xbox fanboys saying that Sony had an inferior and boring conference. You have PC elitists cheering that Grand Theft Auto V is finally coming to PC, but are still digging a knife into console owners. You have gamers and journalists dismissing Electronic Arts and Ubisoft without a thought. Just yesterday I saw Nintendo's live stream being invaded by ignorant gamers who insisted that everything Nintendo showed was insignificant to the rest of E3. That last one I listed leads us to the final issue of critics who supersede all others I wrote about by a milestone.

The overall type of person that is the penultimate problem when it comes to the post-show of E3 are the cynics. We all know these guys. These are the gamers and journalists and just in general critics who claim that nothing from the show is worthwhile. They say that the entire event was pointless or second-rate. I have no envy for cynical people. There is nothing that can satisfy, impress, or interest them. They write about wanting new and interesting IPs, but when a game matches the criteria, they reject it. They want innovation, but don't know the first thing about the word or concept. These are the types of people commonly referred to as a "buzzkill". They prowl around spreading their discontent or hate for something in some unknown goal that they put so much effort into. They ruin everyone's good time. Why bother being in the industry if all you're going to do is complain?

E3 is supposed to be a time for companies to show what they have in store for the future of gaming. It is a time for them to flex their muscles and show off what their studios and teams have been working on. If all people are going to do is complain and get into a turf war, then what is the point of sharing thoughts from the event? The only defense I can think of is that you have to be the bigger person. You have to stand your ground and not let others push you around. No matter what fanboys or pessimists say about E3, we are all winners. Why? Because there is going to be a plethora of games that will hit stores soon. Level-headed gamers are the ones who will take the time to look up the new titles and decide on future purchases. They are the ones who don't obsess over a single company or reject everything they see. The question is, are you going to make decisions for yourself and be open-minded or close yourself off and let others' cynicism walk all over you?

[randomass171]

There is a lot of negative nancies out there. Some people are just never pleased with anything. While I have my own gripes and criticisms about E3 this year, I felt that the big three really pulled the ropes and brought us one of the best E3 in years. Sony's was my favorite, but holy cow if the other two has not given them a run for their money.

[Blacklash93]

I agree. Counting my blessings, E3 was pretty decent this year.

[Software_Lover]

I understand, after many classes, that it's all in the psychology of the individual. The mind is a powerful tool for the human race but if not nourished properly it can be a dangerous one.

You have people actually saying company B "DESTROYED, HUMILIATED" company A. I'm thinking............ did we watch the same e3. You have people saying "all company B did was show multiplats and a few exclusives", then in the next sentence say "Company A won because they showed BETTER multiplats".

Now I'm confused. Do mutiplats count or not?

Everything is subjective in the end. I think all 3 did respectfully well considering all 3 took a different approach. There were something disappointing about all 3 but many things to get excited about. The only thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was, and you can search my post history, that Sony rented out movie theaters as if they were just gonna blow everyone away and that just didn't happen for me. That was over hyping something if you ask me.

All in all, I enjoyed the show(s).

edited for grammar

[Tross]

Multiplats do count, especially if they include exclusive content for one system, or play better on one system, but they don't earn a company as many points as a good exclusive, which cannot be played on another system. I think all three brought it this year. I still think Sony edged out a win, but no one had a bad presentation, and everyone brought some good games to the table.

[uth11]

Multiplats only count when the 'other' side shows them. Same with Indies.

Really screw all these people. They are actually a vocal minority. Just look at Watch Dogs, with all the negativity, you'd think the game would bomb, but it set sales records.

Best just ignore them

[dedicatedtogamers]

E3 is literally a media PR event. Without the cynics, I think the hype and expectations would get out of control. Granted, I do not think it's valuable for a cynic to just shrug and say "everything sucked". However, isn't it fair that we critique the games and trailers on display?

Or are you suggesting we should simply accept and get excited about whatever we see and not take a closer look? I mean, devs NEVER bait-and-switch with E3 trailers compared to the final release, do they?

[caseh]

I have to raise my hand and say I fall into the pessimist camp. It's the first E3 I've really followed and most of the announcements were a bit...meh.

We constantly complain about the lack of new IPs yet 90% of announcements are sequels, EA and Ubisoft especially and this is applauded by the entire industry.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but have a few games that peaked my interest, namely Arkham Knight and Rainbow Six....both sequels, hmmm.

[HonestDragon]

It's incredibly fair to critique what is shown. I'm not saying we should stay excited and whatnot. I'm just addressing the overwhelming negativity that stems from people once E3 is all said and done. It's the breeding fanboyism and cynicism that I have a problem with.

[darthv72]

Of the big 3 only one could really stand there at the end of the show as having nothing but exclusive games. that is nintendo. All of their content was related to the wii-u or 3ds and were things that werent coming to any other platform.

When you look at Ms and Sony...they showed multi like it was some sort of exclusive. Despite timed or dlc its still a multi game after all. The exclusives shown we sort of already knew about. And ones that were announced day of are ones that are a given anyway.

Nintendo was full of first looks and surprises and no prior leaks unless it came from them or their developers. Perhaps all the attention of MS vs Sony has been the right angle for nintendo to make their presentation full of so many surprises.

the winner of E3 is the gamers. We get to play all of these games when they get released later on.

[HonestDragon]

"the winner of E3 is the gamers. We get to play all of these games when they get released later on."

Well said, indeed. And yeah, Nintendo had a great showing.

[thorstein]

Awesome blog, once again. Completely agree with this.

And I would add that E3 is also about ELECTRONICS, not just Games.

[rsnotz]

IMO a lot of the people were reading too much into megaton accouncements by "insiders" and forgot to keep hype in check. All in all E3 was good. Not great but good enough.

[MacDonagh]

Having watched the big 3 with their presentations; I was immediately struck by how Sony and Microsoft kept rolling out multi-plats, claiming exclusive betas, DLC etc and I thought to myself; exclusive DLC? Is that the most we can hope for now?

I'm a bit of a cynic. I bought a Wii U because the PS4 and XBone were so underwhelming and the games that they have on offer can be got on the PC.

Frankly, I'm also a PC elitist and the games that are shown on PS4 or XBone look and play better on PC. The fact that children want to whine how much better a game plays on their system miss the point completely. Idiots can keep whining about how the PS4 or XBone is better but there is only one truth and it's the fact that the Wii U is the only "real" video game console out there.

[EXVirtual]

Very fanboy-ish BS comment.
Wii U is the only 'real' console? Lol. In 2015, I'll be buying it, but the PS4 and XBO are consoles, no matter how you slice and dice it, the fastest selling at that.

The fact of the matter is that multiplats being at E3 aren't new. Yeah, Nintendo had the most fully exclusive content (if I'm remembering correctly), but there are an EXTREMELY limited amount of third party support. Not to mention the fact that they making new games of the same series (not inherently a bad thing, hyped for Zelda)

And let's face it, 3rd party support is essential. The PS4 and XBO are getting flooded with support in 2015 first and third party. The Wii U? While it is getting a decent amount of games there are no where near the lineup of AAA games that the PS4 and XBO are getting.

It's also funny, because people like this would have been saying that the PS4 and XBO have no games, disregarding the concept of forward thinking and what happens every gen (loads of exclusives and games in general a while after launch). Now that they are getting games, people are complaining.

I also think that people set unrealistic expectations. People complain about everything though, so I shouldn't really be surprised.

[MacDonagh]

"Very fanboy-ish BS comment.
Wii U is the only 'real' console? Lol. In 2015, I'll be buying it, but the PS4 and XBO are consoles, no matter how you slice and dice it, the fastest selling at that."

Fastest selling? The Wii sold 3.8 million in a month while the PS4 has sold about 7 million as of April 2014 according to the PS4 Wiki article. The idea that the PS4 or XBone are the fastest selling ever is utterly balderdash. Fastest selling after 24 hours is great but it's not so amazing if you fail to keep count after the first day.

"The fact of the matter is that multiplats being at E3 aren't new."

Fact of the matter is if the multiplats play and look better on the PC; what is the draw to go and get an inferior version of it? Dead Rising 3 for instance is going to be releasing on PC which really is the nail in the coffin for 3rd party "exclusives". What happens when the next Metal Gear game appears on PC now? There was a real genuine reason for a PC gamer to get a console when there are games only available on that format.

"Yeah, Nintendo had the most fully exclusive content (if I'm remembering correctly), but there are an EXTREMELY limited amount of third party support. Not to mention the fact that they making new games of the same series (not inherently a bad thing, hyped for Zelda)"

Nintendo hasn't had proper 3rd party support since the SNES and I've seen enough new titles to keep my interest up for the foreseeable future. Clearly, Nintendo wants exclusive games that you can't get anywhere else but the 3rd parties are unwilling to provide that because of development costs or greed. Either/or.

"And let's face it, 3rd party support is essential. The PS4 and XBO are getting flooded with support in 2015 first and third party. The Wii U? While it is getting a decent amount of games there are no where near the lineup of AAA games that the PS4 and XBO are getting."

Am I the only one who isn't moved by much of the 3rd party content? I wanted Sony and Microsoft to give me a solid reason why I should buy one of their consoles but it seems as if they are waiting until 2015 to show it off and to be honest; titles such as the Division, Little Big Planet 3, The Order 1866, Battlefield:Hardline and GTA V does little to inspire confidence for me personally.

"It's also funny, because people like this would have been saying that the PS4 and XBO have no games, disregarding the concept of forward thinking and what happens every gen (loads of exclusives and games in general a while after launch). Now that they are getting games, people are complaining."

If there is one thing that I've learned from this generation of consoles; it's that gamers would rather claim that they enjoy crappy games like Knack or Killzone:Shadowfall rather than face the prospect that they've just dropped $400-600 on a useless rectangular brick with games coming as quickly as molasses in January.

"I also think that people set unrealistic expectations. People complain about everything though, so I shouldn't really be surprised."

I've been wondering about this. Is it because fans are irrational or is it simply because the console makers have made bold claims that their asses can't cash? Arkham Knight wasn't even running on a PS4 but a high-end PC and I'm expected to believe that the PS4 is capable of that? Sony allowed that to be shown; knowing full well that the game isn't representative of the final product.

At least with the Wii U; the games that were shown look like they would actually work on the console.

[WitWolfy]

Happens EVERY YEAR. Fans get hyped beyond expectations, then go defcon 5 when it didn't meet their impossible standards.. God I hate fanboys.