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• 10Mar 08

  "Fanboys"

  What is a Fanboy?

  A term for a forum guy who supports their multimedia platform of choice with blind loyalty.

  Inevitably, all fanboy's will engage in some point in something known as "System Wars".

  System Wars is basically platform bashing, and it occurs when two fanboy's on opposing sides clash in a war of words.

  Right, with that out of the way we get to the real point of this posting which is my opinion on what creates a fanboy in the first place.

  Simply put, I believe that fanboism is created when a given fanboy cannot afford to purchase every system out there.

  I think ideally that all consumers of electronic enterntainment would like it if every game was available on every system, but this is never the case.

  Each platform has what is known as franchise titles, or killer apps (system sellers). Basically if a game is exclusive to a given title AND is well received then it can be considered a killer app.

  An example of a killer app for the Sony platform would be the Gran Turismo series. People who want to play the next game in the series are gonna buy the PS3 period.

  Microsoft has Halo, which apparently people like.

  Point is, both systems have a killer app(s).

  So, the "hardcore gamer" is going to buy both systems (if those are games they want to play).

  Fanboys differ from the "hardcore gamer" in that, while they share the same trait of having an above average interest in gaming they will reject a system even if it has a game they would like to play.

  Why? That is to say what generates fanboism in the first place:

  Inadequate gaming budget.

  This is true, because as stated the "hardcore gamer" will buy both systems if they can afford it.

  Let me give a brief history on my gaming platform experience.

  "Back in the day" I was an Amiga guy. Right up until 1998 in fact - back then, I was rejecting the PC almost as a form of protest.

  Then, in 1998 (the year of great games apparently) I bought my first PC.

  So, I was PC guy for a while.

  When Gran Turismo 3 came out, I bought my first PS2. I still played my majority of games on PC however. I've bought 2 additional PS2's since then, due to the first 2 having worn out.

  These days, I play games on Nintendo DS, PC, Xbox 360, PS2 and once a year on PSP.

  As you can see, I no longer have platform bias. The one big change thats happened for me over the past year however, is that I've started to prefer playing games on the consoles over PC. In fact the ONLY game I have really played on PC in the past year has been World Of Warcraft.

  BUT, if you were to ask me what I think is the current best platform for games RIGHT NOW, I would argue in favour of the 360. My opinion would differ if certain key titles in the PS catalog had stayed PS only.

  Buying the 360 was a HUGE leap of faith on my part. I knew that PLAYSTATION OWNED the gaming market. The only problem is that the PS3 was not available for purchase at the time the 360 launched. I truly believe, that had it been out there first I would not even own a 360 at all, period.

  • Posted Mar 10, 2008 7:11 am PT
  • Category: Games
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• 14Feb 08

  I'm still alive.

  Jeff Gerstmann is still alive , and so am I.

  Boy it's been some time before I wrote something here (just as well nobody reads these things).

  I've updated my gamercard, I now have points.

  If you look at my gamercard you'd think the last 5 games I played are Mass Effect, Bomberman, Madden 08, Missile Command and Aegis Wing.

  Yes, I had a go at Bomberman after watching the Tourney here on Gamespot. It is confirmed - I really suck at this game.

  I popped Madden in after the Superbowl for about 20 mins.

  I have no memory of going anywhere near Missile Command or Aegis Wing.

  In fact, the game I've played the most of recently on the 360 is Mass Effect. After finishing the game, I've started a new game, and this time round I'm playing a real jerk. So, reporters are being assaulted, dudes are being shot in the face for their unscrupulous medical practices, and alien females of ambiguous sexuality are having their advances shot down after I'd been sending THEM signals - BOY am I being cruel this time round

  The other game which has seen the most time in my 360 recently is Oblivion (the usual suspect).

  Microsoft should change these icons to show the 5 games you have played the most overall - just a thought.

  World Of Warcraft patch 2.4 is looking amazing!

  That reminds me, I just bought "Orange Box" (read: Episode 2, Portal and TF2) over Steam...

  Reviews Pending:

  I'm gonna do one on Mass Effect, and I feel the need to comment on Valves games as well. I might even do one for Hellgate London when I've played that through at least one time.

  BTW: Played Halo via Xbox Live Originals, my first time ever playing the original Halo. It's interesting to note that all the problems I noticed in Halo 3 are carryovers from that first game. For example, you dont really need to kill anything if you can get to your next checkpoint in one piece. It also made me aware as a first time Halo player, that Halo 3 is a far far superior game.

  WOW is calling... I'm gone!

  • Posted Feb 14, 2008 10:51 pm PT
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• 7Mar 07

  And the winner is...

  Gears Of War!?

  Ah...no.

  • Posted Mar 7, 2007 11:54 pm PT
  • Category: Rant
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