770°

How No Man’s Sky and Mass Effect Andromeda has shown the growing toxicity among gamers

WGTC writes: Death threats for a two month delay? Insulting Tweets due to a game's poor facial animation?The passion of gamers is clear, but when does it go too far?

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FTLmaster2635d ago

Good piece -- the toxicity that has seeped into the gaming community is a legit issue that needs to stop. It's embarrassing.

UCForce2635d ago (Edited 2635d ago )

Criticism is good for consumers and developers, but going too far like death threats. Yeah, that's the problem. Even I do know No Man Sky is flaw and a lie, but I don't go too far with it. I rather wait and let them fix their mistakes. And Hello Games did fixed the mistake. About ME:A, the game deserves get criticism, but it's seem people gone too far with it by death threat. "Sigh" Mass Effect 3 writer got death threat for poor ending, and she left Bioware because of it. I do criticize people flaw and their performance, but I don't go too far with it. Otherwise, it won't help people. They would be feel threatened and misunderstanding. I have been with video games for 18 years and I know my place in video games. Maybe i don't have longer experience like the veteran, but I do know enough already.

michaelpb2635d ago

Agreed. Constructive criticism is one thing, but not if it devolves into a bitter attack on 'Game X'.

trooper_2635d ago

Wow...death threats?!

I understand the game wasn't the greatest since sliced bread but that's going too.gar.

jaymacx2634d ago (Edited 2634d ago )

there is two types of criticism mainly used in our forums and discussions (Constructive criticism & Destructive criticism). As gamers we won't always like something but the best way to show devs and publishers how we feel is through Constructive criticism. It helps explain what is wrong and offers a solution. Destructive criticism is what is often displayed and is toxic. Its only purpose is to destroy the very thing being discussed. Wanting to destroy the thing you have a problem with is unhealthy and doesn't help you or the product in question.

Anzil2634d ago

Some to most of the criticism for ME:A is insanely overblown. Same with Marvels tv show Iron Fist. Completely overblown.

VenomUK2634d ago

NeoGaf over the past two weeks has been especially toxic.
Colin Moriarty.
JonTron.
No Man's Sky & Mass Effect Andromeda.
Trump vs Clinton.

People don't just have a difference of opinion they have enemies.
Anybody with a different opinion is the enemy.
Everyone taking the moral high ground and using labels on anyone else who doesn't think the same. Everyone shouting down everybody else.
What happened to respecting different opinions?
It seems to be mainly a problem with gamers in the USA. I suspect it is something to do with the big political divide there at the moment but it is bad news and I hope this period passes. Gamers it's time to grow up!

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2634d ago
-Foxtrot2635d ago

Soooooo it's our fault?

No no no

You create something good you get praise and love

You create something poor with a backlog of problems which shows that they didn't seem to care what they were doing you get criticism and anger

You can't just focus on trolls who are always there with the most extreme comments WHATEVER the issue is because you are then taking something which applies to everything and making it out it's contained just to a certain issue when it's not.

Like the cosplayer who had no experience EA hired to work as a lead facial animator on Mass Effect

http://theralphretort.com/a...

Suddenly the focus is on the trolls who are "attacking" her NOT the main focus which is EA hired someone with no experience thus explaining the issues with the final games quality.

Lon3wolf2635d ago

It's not the criticism, it's the threats of DDOS and violence against devs, reviewers etc. are you happy when that stuff happens?

UCForce2635d ago

@Lon3wolf is right. Even I know she doesn't have any experiences. And yes she deserves to be criticized, but I don't want to go too far with it. Otherwise, she would be misunderstanding us. You see the problem here ? Criticism is good, but if you go too far with it and turn it into death threat. Yeah, that would be a problem. A big one.

UCForce2635d ago

And seriously, do you really want to threat her and her family ? That's the question I want you to answer.

2635d ago
SgtPepper2635d ago

I don't think No Mans Sky was a disappointment for many because the designers/creators didn't care. Have you seen the interviews with Sean Murray before it's release? He treated that game like his child and was very excited about it. His pure love for his creation got me more excited than I would usually get over a game pre release. The hype made my imagination run away from me. I don't think anybody could have pulled off the game I wanted in the end.
I think we expect more nowadays which is fair enough as games aren't cheap but I don't think people deliberately make a bad game generally.

-Foxtrot2635d ago

@Lon3wolf

Like I said that kind of shitty stuff applies to SO MANY things. Trolls are always on the internet and make a hobby of finding anything to have a go at

Even things which are good, whatever they are, you see trolls do shitty things.

The point here is that people take threats, personal attacks and DDOS attacks as it being everyone as a way of playing down the criticism the game in question has gotten. It's like "Shit...our game isn't going well with our consumers...I KNOW lets make out these trolls represent everyone to try and make out that anyone giving us criticism are just mindless awful trolls"

It's just using trolls which sniff around anything as a way to deflect any controversy where we feel sorry for them.

zaherdab2635d ago

They create something you don't like you just don't buy it ... why do the need to spread the hate or be toxic about it?
the negativity over mass effect started before the game was even released just based on some gifs and quirky animations doesn't make the game bad just lacks polish and the game developers don't owe you anything really. it's your choice to buy their product or not.

People tend to forget that there are real people working on developing these games not robots... they make mistakes they have families to go to at the end of the day and they do the best they can but sometimes it just doesn't pan out.

Nu2635d ago

lol EA hiring cosplayers.

Xb1ps42635d ago

Sounds like it's you sending death threats and extreme comments to those ppl.. lol that's what this is about.

UCForce2635d ago (Edited 2635d ago )

These things aren't simple to be honest. The old days was much so simple and easy to understand, but now they are just complicated. The media have changed ever since 2010s. And I don't know it's for the best or worse. Like I said, I do criticize people performance and their flaw, but I don't go too far with it. Otherwise, everyone will feel misleading.

Edit : My opinion about game journalism and media changed and game community." Sigh" Those are just mix bag.

yeahokwhatever2635d ago

People want their damn participation trophies.

freshslicepizza2635d ago (Edited 2635d ago )

Ok, fine, she didn't do a good job. So how does that support some of the behavior? It doesn't. It happens on Twitter and multiple sites. The anonymity should not protect these idiots.

It is very hard to have civil debate when you have these people doing whatever they can for attention. There was even a case where someone got banned in Xbox live and the person hacked the moderators account. Is everyone just supposed to let it go and ignore them?

It's videogames and so many take the hobby so seriously.

ginganinja2634d ago

So, despite ME:A having a development staff in the hundreds, despite it being in development for several years, despite EA investing several millions to support its creation, we're going to pin all of its shortcomings onto one single person - who, according to EA, worked at EAs motion capture labs and not with Bioware itself.
But no, let's assume that piece of lying garbage site you linked is true. Let's mercilessly attack, sorry 'criticise', this one person for the games shortcomings despite them not being picked up by QA testers or several more senior people along the way.

Realms2634d ago

No some of these a holes are giving gamers a bad name with their behavior, just because you didn't like a game or think it was badly made. Here is a though how about people research the developer before buying a game it works both ways. People need to take responsibility for their own actions if you didn't like their game the most effective way of sending them a message is not with death threats or DDoSing someone but with your wallet. It's really simple just don't buy their games I guarantee you that it will be ten times more effective than the BS these knuckle heads are doing.

ChickeyCantor2634d ago

@lon3wolf

DDOS are usually performend by ONE person. I'm not going to let one asshole lump me in to his shit.

2634d ago
+ Show (13) more repliesLast reply 2634d ago
mastiffchild2635d ago

Foxtrot has a point. So do you but I also think that EVERY community has its fools who take grief way too far and allow focus to be drawn.away from whoever caused the original uproar. We shouldnt forget that Bioware were below par here or Hello dishonest there just because a few babies make daft threats.

Certainly death threats and actual denial.of service attacks need policing correctly but mustnt allow us to ignore the original issue. Also, EVERY community with a big online element has over zealous babies that will offer these threats and while its embarrassing its definitely not just a gamer issue.

Lon3wolf2635d ago

@mastiffchild

Never said there wasn't an issue with the games only the extreme response some over zealous types can give it. As I said criticism is fine and agree that these company's should be held accountable.

AngelicIceDiamond2635d ago

Toxicity and especially entitlement has been in gaming for years. As far as ME goes I'm not all too shocked considering its ones of the biggest Ip's of last gen garnering millions of fans. Its obviously not necessary or warranted. Though it didn't help that EA made it sound like Andromeda was gonna be the biggest game for the past 3 to 4 years.

Fist4achin2635d ago

There's just a lot of negativity out there. I'll admit I have my moments, but I refuse to live in a toxic state of mind. Sure sometimes companies/developers sometimes do things that piss off fans, but instead of constantly griping, we need to speak with our dollars.

Nu2635d ago

Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom

Artemidorus2634d ago

Disagree, it keeps the greedy men in suits that really own the gaming world in check.

starchild2634d ago

I totally agree, DChaundy. I've been noticing this trend for years and it only seems to be getting worse.

jaymacx2634d ago

there is a difference between a troll and a person who is genuinely upset about a purchase they made and want it to be rectified. A troll most likely doesn't even own the game. They just like stirring the pot and causing trouble. But there are legit owners of games outraged . This outrage sometimes comes from having a sense of entitlement. The best way to correct a situation like "No mans sky" is to just demand a refund and leave it at that. I think Kickstarter stuff really gets people heated. The main thing we as people must do is love and show respect toward one another. Treat these people (devs &employees) as yourself.

Rachel_Alucard2634d ago (Edited 2634d ago )

I think people need to seperate toxicity and bantz instead of lumping everything into one home. Toxicity is threats and general hate. Bantz is something that has existed since competitive enviroments were made and general banter is reinforced between the 2 teams. Nowadays banter in gaming is seen as toxicity and even saying a phrase like gg ez is toxic and too much for peoples spines. Its pathetic.

NecoTehSergal2634d ago

I blame Liberalism, as the Left have grown and taken control of media, it becomes the norm of how many think is how they should think, which then seeps the SJW and Politically-correct culture, it promotes self-entitlement and College Daycare ideologies which in turn? Is the testament and result that ends with Toxicity, because it's Empty-people with minimal education who all feel they are Special - who are Nobodies, who all have a Voice, or perceive such, and scream expecting the world to change for them rather than our ancestors who Worked to create change.

Now we got screaming children and grown-ups who act like children crying about feelings and their emotions, Feels over Reals and 'Feels' trumping over Science itself, Science also being trumped by Junk Science rather than Facts, as the science community became infected with Political correctness and undertones of fear of speaking truth and corruption.

Articuno762634d ago (Edited 2634d ago )

Yeah. I don't think anyone can argue that.

But it didn't really seep 'into' the community, it's always been there because the game community is an online community first and foremost and an in-person community (conventions, for example) secondarily. For that reason you get all the worst parts of internet culture as a whole as part and parcel of the online gaming community.

Whereas other communities like, say, breakdancing/popping (I use this as an example because it is one I have noticed) is more about meeting people in person, so they tend to have less of an issue (because toxicity in real life gets you punched in the face).

What I will say is, there's a very big difference between inundating someone with negative feedback, and sending them a death or rape threat. The former sucks (not least because its not constructive) whilst the latter is criminal. But hey, not everyone is capable of giving constructive criticism, not least because they might not be 100% sure why they don't like something.

Both are forms of toxicity, though.

But there are further forms of toxicity yet: such as the superiority complex of many PCMRs (it's fine and well to love your superior experience, not to conflate that actually being a superior person) that that sub-community is doing nothing to tackle, and general rampant fanboyism.

fiveby92634d ago

I think human emotional reactions to games is not different today. However social networking is has lowered the bar for what was once considered improper social interaction. Civil discourse in gaming is dreadfully low. Hubris, excessive pride, immaturity , perceived anonymity, and lack of consequences are all traits that in person we would never deem acceptable.

Anzil2634d ago

Media as a whole is right fukked up. If you watch young YouTube critics and news as they get bigger they are forced to be sheepish hahaha people absolutely have to stop taking what others say for granted. At least learn to sort out the BS from the informative.

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Audiosoldier19902635d ago

Games are getting more expensive and publishers are hyping them more than ever to push sales. The problem resides with more than just the players themselves, but the very commercial machine driving these titles. Of course, gamers could learn to be more impartial too.

CrimzonRazor2635d ago

You cant blame the marketing for children making death threats get real.

meka26112635d ago

Yes because all of those death threats from 12 year olds are credible, grow up. I'm sure if you have played a multiplayer game you have had people say, "I'm gonna find you and kill you." Do you honestly take those seriously?

Gh05t2634d ago

Sure, but you also can't blame the gaming community at large for a statistically irrelevant percentage of "children" making death threats.

robtion2634d ago

I loved the initial Mass Effect Trilogy, with my favourite by far being ME2.

I also really enjoyed Dragon Age Inquisition.

As for Andromeda I have completed the prologue/first mission and arrived at the Nexus. I'm only 3 hours in so far (2 hours really as I spent an hour in character creation making Honey Ryder).

Impression so far(on Pro):

The good:
- It's more Mass Effect so a cool setting.
- The first plant looked nice with some cool effect, textures, lighting.
- Some nice art design. The space armour looks cool.
- I managed to make a fairly good looking female Ryder with customisation.
- The Jet pack/boosting is cool.

The bad:
- B grade production. This does not feel like the previous games quality wise.
- Ridiculous facial animations. Going crosseyed, staring blankly, horrid looking mouth and smiles. Really immersion breaking and poorly done.
- Poorly written. The wit, jokes, and charisma of previous games is missing.
- Boring. So far it has been fairly boring with a few good moments.
- Aiming controls on PS4 are twitchy/off. A pain when using sniper rifles.
- Lots of aliasing. Really jagged looking edges all over the place.

So overall, a very disappointing first impression. I am still really hoping it improves as I really like this series but something has obviously gone wrong here.

Leftfoot12634d ago

The Customization was aweful. B grade animations across the board. I'm at the first planet and I'll say it is growing on me. I'm really beginning to enjoy exploration although I have a feeling its going to become repetitive. Brightside is it does improve.

_LarZen_2635d ago

People not capable of showing normal netiquette should get warnings and fines just as you would do in the real world if you behave like a idiot.

CP_Company2635d ago

so,okey,i come to your house,steal some things,and you have to watch it and shut up,because if you go to police,you will get a fine for complaining for your rights :)

CrimzonRazor2635d ago

So you want goverment enforcement over the internet, well a few ? for you then who's goverment gets the power and are you really this stupid.

_LarZen_2635d ago

Read my answer to meka2611

_LarZen_2635d ago

Instead of having a tantrum. Why dont you try to explain yourself why you think that writing things online that you would otherwise be legally prosecuted for in real life is ok?

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meka26112635d ago

Yea there we go, just destroy free speech more than it already is.

_LarZen_2635d ago

You cant say whatever you want in real life without consequences. It has nothing to do with free speech but netiquette. Dont write shit you couldn't say to someone without facing legal actions. That's all.

meka26112635d ago

If you don't like it walk away, but what you are asking is a slippery slope. Guess what, hate speech is still free speech. I don't like people spouting that shit as much as the next person, but I will defend their right to say it. And fuck your etiquette, who are you to say what is etiquette, or if you don't deside then who? All of this is subjective, some people are butthurt if you don't use their damn pronouns, should they say what is allowed to be said?

_LarZen_2635d ago

Slippery slope? If you say real offensive crap to someone in real life and there are witnesses you risk getting fined or even thrown in jail. Depending on what crazy shit you say. If you honestly think it's in anyone's "right" to say whatever they want without consequences then you are a fool.

If so walk up to the white house or any official building and say "whatever you want". And see what happens. Say stupid shit and it's your ass. As it should be online also.

Net etiquette is just a other word of being brought up right. Not being a asshole with no fucking moral compass.

GameCrateEd2635d ago

Death threats are not covered by free speech protections.

meka26112635d ago

And you are proving my point larzen, it is free speech but we can't say it because it is already being annihilated. We need to protect our free speech because it's the best weapon we have. And yes threats of violence are illegal but they are talking about trolls here, not would be assassins.

The_Sage2635d ago

Free speech doesn't allow you to threaten someone's life directly.

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Ogygian2635d ago

You know, you can disapprove of something without going full-on fascist, right?

InTheZoneAC2635d ago

Can you stop saying netiquette, just delete it from your phone whatever that's saved for

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CrimzonRazor2635d ago

The gaming community has always been toxic not sure what rock this person lives under, hell look at the comments on anything ign has done in the last 10 years its all toxic.

meka26112635d ago

Yea, because gamers were so toxic when I was younger. You know getting called a nerd, and a loser. We have always been toixc. /s

AspiringProGenji2635d ago

There were toxicity in our younger days too. It was not that bad because there was no internet, but I do remember toxicity among N64, PS1, and Sega Genesis owners

meka26112635d ago

Yea but what your talking about is competition, not toxicity. That was just people going back and forth on which console is better, and it was a lot better back then. Most kids I knew didn't care who had what console, we just wanted to see it. Bottom line is gaming is no more "toxic" then football fans are or any kind of fan for that matter.

uth112635d ago

That should be "have" not "has". How headlines show the growing ignorance of game journalists :p

Show all comments (143)
80°

No Man's Sky Adrift Expedition Trailer

Introducing..No Man's Sky: Adrift.A lot has changed in the years since No Man’s Sky released.

210°

No Man's Sky Is Easily One Of Gaming's Greatest Comeback Stories

Despite No Man Sky's rocky launch, Hello Games managed to turn it into one of the best space exploration RPGs out there.

darksky34d ago

HG could have stopped after making 3-4 updates and the debt would have been paid to those why are crying about paying full price. However, they have continously provided free updates for the last 6-7 years. No other developer in hostory has ever done this and probably never will.
There are many AAA games that disappointed but the devs normally move on or close the studio rather than fix the game.

-Foxtrot35d ago

I hate the whole concept of "comeback story" because at the end of the day it doesn't remove the core issue we had in the first place, that we were lied to, it was disappointing and it launched with bare content to what was promised for years.

Any bad game can have a comeback story if it's supported enough after launch but for me if you launch in a terrible state then you had your chance. I can applaud you for what you've done after but at the end of the day there's not much of a choice since most gamers would blank your next product if you ditched your last game so fast, it's not about repairing the game but spending your time repairing gamers trust before you launch your next product otherwise it would be dead on arrival.

With these stories and the games being updated, the only way is up most of the time so of course it's going to improve the game and feel better over all, getting better and better as time passes. No Mans Sky, Sea of Thieves, Fallout 76 etc but then you have games like Anthem, Suicide Squad, Redfall and The Avengers where the devs just clearly moved on, now if they have another product people won't be as exited for it, I mean hell Guardians of the Galaxy was a great game but because of the Avengers it didn't help its sales since people were obviously still sour at that point.

I still think despite the improvements to games like No Mans Sky and Cyberpunk along with being better now overall the games are still not up there to what was promised and hyped as for years.

If we keep celebrating these “comeback stories” then unfortunately it only strongly supports the concept that these studios / publishers can continue to push half arsed broken products out for the sake of quick sales instead of waiting until they are fully finished. We need to condemn this awful behaviour or sadly we lose all voice and power as consumers.

Sonic188134d ago (Edited 34d ago )

I feel the same way about Cyberpunk 2077. I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm not a fan of comeback stories as well. But No man sky developer was a small indie team compared to CDPR. It's worse when it's coming from a AAA developer

Nacho_Z34d ago

"Any bad game can have a comeback story if it's supported enough after launch"

You make it sound so simple and easy. It's not. After release Hello Games poured countless hours into getting their game closer to what they originally wanted, without charging a penny to anyone. That's not normal.

The reason NMS and HG are held in such high esteem and calling them liars is a weak stance is the amount of work they've put into it, for free. They're not chasing a quick buck, they've dedicated their lives over the last few years to giving their fans the game everyone wanted.

-Foxtrot34d ago (Edited 34d ago )

They are liars though...

We are not revising history here, I'm sorry but we're not

They built this game up for years and they launched it knowing full well it wasn't up to scratch to what they originally showed off or hyped it up to be.

"They're not chasing a quick buck, they've dedicated their lives over the last few years to giving their fans the game everyone wanted"

And like I said above most of that comes from the fact that if they had just moved on straight away nobody would have supported their next game. They've washed most of that sour taste away after supporting No Mans Sky so now they are doing a new game which more people feel like they can support and get excited for.

Anyway how can you say "You make it sound so simple and easy. It's not" and then make the point that "Hello Games poured countless hours into getting their game closer to what they originally wanted, without charging a penny to anyone"

This means that if a small team like this can turn a game around then big AAA games like Suicide Squad, Redfall, Anthem and the like should have been able to do it no problem, oh but that's right they didn't want to put the time or effort into it. They can do it but some people just decide not to.

Blad3runner0034d ago (Edited 34d ago )

"You make it sound so simple and easy. It's not. After release Hello Games poured countless hours into getting their game closer to what they originally wanted, without charging a penny to anyone. That's not normal."

People paid for the game at launch and got lied to. Now the game is what it SHOULD have been from the start (what people paid for) and we should be happy they aren't charging EXTRA? Its free because people ALREADY paid for the game at launch.

People PAID for what the game is in its current state (what it should have been at launch), not what it was when it released. Charging people AGAIN would result in even more backlash.

anast34d ago

"You make it sound so simple and easy. It's not. After release Hello Games poured countless hours into getting their game closer to what they originally wanted, without charging a penny to anyone. That's not normal."

They already charged for the full price game. All of that work is owed because it was already paid for.

JackBNimble34d ago

Fox ... sure HG made a huge mistake, but they have also done more then any development team that I have seen to fix the problem and go way beyond in supporting the game. And every update has been free, so I don't really get why you are holding on to this grudge.

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milohighclub34d ago (Edited 34d ago )

Whatever happened at launch is in the past. By your logic they could have supported it for a year got it to the project they promised then stopped but they didn't. They're still supporting it to this they, they've released more content post than pretty much any game I can think off. More than most MMOs. They didn't have to go this far but they have and don't have any plans of stopping. All for free too.
Yeah they had a shit launch and they've apologised, learned and more than made up for it. I was pissed off at them at launch, but not petty enough to keep slandering them 7 years later.
You have much bigger studios releasing half assed games and fixing it later or even worse not even bothering.

anast34d ago

The DLC costs money. But yeah, people are hanging on to this one longer because of their previous reputation.

TheCaptainKuchiki34d ago

And it doesn't change the fact that the game is a boring procedurally generated environment in which your repeat the same actions over and over again with no real purpose. I hate when they say that the game became good.

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thorstein35d ago

I really enjoyed it at launch and had every trophy by August 2016.

The experience I had is no longer in the game: It was just me and my ship. It was a survival game and the feeling of loneliness in the universe was pervasive. There was no way to ruin too far from your ship and, in an emergency, you grenaded a hole in the ground to survive.

I miss that aspect, but since then, I love what they've done.

Hugodastrevas34d ago

I'd say it's THE definitive comeback story

TheGamingHounds34d ago

Final Fantasy 14 takes that one imho

CrimsonWing6934d ago (Edited 34d ago )

Yep and the way they actually did it where Bahamut destroyed the original FF14 and the realm was “reborn” seals it as the best way to do something like this, lol.

jwillj2k434d ago

Oh great another story about the cleanest shirt in a bin of dirty laundry.

Show all comments (26)
80°

Latest No Man’s Sky update adds ship customisation, space station overhaul, and more

Orbital update drops today, also bringing with it engine improvements and UI refresh.

Read Full Story >>
blog.playstation.com
Zeke6874d ago

The game that keeps on giving 🦾🥳✌️

Christopher73d ago

The support they've given this game only makes me more interested in their next game.

Zeke6873d ago

Agree, curious what they are cooking up for that one?!