Tag: Fanboy

Next Gen Consoles = The Death of Gaming

You don’t have to do a lot of googling to find out some of the rumors pouring out into the interwebs.  The XBox 720 seems destined to be an ‘always online’ DRM machine designed to say, No you can’t take your new game to a friends house.  Make those cheapskates buy the game too.  We are entering what might be the twilight of console gaming as we have known it for the

ok... Maybe it wasn't ever really like this, but it has changed quite a bit.
ok… Maybe it wasn’t ever really like this, but it has changed quite a bit.

better part of 30 years.

Whether or not you want to take the incredibly negative interaction between ex-Micro$soft employee Adam Orth and upset gamers or the non-denial denial from M$ that their console will always be online, the fact of the matter is that this stuff has been a long time coming.

Many of you have iPods that have some sort of DRM protection from Apple (a company that is highly supported by hipsters the world over) and then there are others that have been playing games on the PC client, Steam.  Either way you roll with these different examples of DRM and online functionality it is safe to say that ‘The Matrix Has You’.

While the Playstation 4 seems to be what every angry former Microsoft fanboy is cheering for, it is interesting to see them flock to a console that hasn’t actually been shown to the public.  We have seen videos of games that don’t look much better than current PC titles (or even current console titles for that matter) and we also have yet to hear what type of paid service they will demand for their console.  Sony doesn’t exactly have the best record for internet privacy or security.

If you are set on getting a new console this holiday season there isn’t much I can do to stop you from spending your money.  I personally think you would be better off saving the $500 on a new video card for a gaming rig and never have to worry about consoles running your gaming world from an ‘always online perspective’.

Whatever happened to single player games and other people having some privacy?  In a world full of instagrams and shameful skynetspring break videos it really shouldn’t surprise my seemingly old-crotchety self that consoles are going towards this same style of social networking.  Afterall, it is vital for everyone to know exactly what you are doing at all times no matter when or where.  It seems that John Connor has failed after a long fight against the corporate machines.

Skynet will become self-aware this holiday season.

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Are You A Fanboy? – Five Ways To Find Out If You Are

Fanboys (and Fangirls) are everywhere in entertainment – TV shows, movies, comics and especially video games.  When you start looking at how people interact on message boards and forums or on the comments section of YouTube videos it can be made abundantly clear that some people are devoted to a fault.

Fanboy – (noun) An extreme fan or follower of a particular medium or concept, whether it be sports, television, film directors, video games (the most common usage), etc.

Here are five ways to figure out if you are a dreaded Fanboy.

  1. You Call Yourself a Fanboy – This is self explanatory.  If you refer to yourself as ‘the ultimate fan’ or the ‘most dedicated’ member of a certain franchise’s community.  You are a fanboy.
  2. You Blindly Support Every Marketing Strategy – When a developer or franchise starts a commercial campaign or screen shot reveal and you gush over or J.I.Y.P. after every release like it is the ultimate moment of nirvana… You are a fanboy.
  3. You Truly Believe Nothing Compares – If you believe your preference in a game like Call of Duty’s killstreak rewards are the best thing to ever happen to a game and playing any game without killstreak rewards is terrible – You are a fanboy.
  4. You Become A Troll On Other Game Community Sites – They are everywhere.  Trolls.  You are so devoted to your game being better than another game that you decide to invade the sovereign territory of another website to start trash talking or  disrespecting the people that enjoy something you don’t approve of… you now wear two (2) hats – you are a Troll and a Fanboy.
  5. You Get A Tattoo (Make Yourself into a Billboard) – Believe it or not, this has been done.  This really doesn’t require any further explanation, but just remember that your body is sacred and if you choose to freely advertise a product that you aren’t making money off of you are a fanboy… and a fool.  (If you are making money off of it, you might lose the ‘fool’ label… but you will not lose the ‘fanboy’ moniker.