Love to hate you baby: Gaming's public enemies
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Mar 2nd 2007 at 6:13PM }
Talking about things in the industry that the public love to hate, there are a few things that float right to the top. Games.net published their list of the obvious members of this "love to hate" club and go into some detail about how they can turn the hate around. The honored members are:- Sony
- EA
- ESRB
- Gamestop
- Gamepro Magazine
- Xbox Live Marketplace
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Psaakyrn @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:21PM
No Nintendo? Sure, they're been making good moves recently, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to hate. (like selling revisions of the same console at higher prices, using propetry disks, not getting online up, etc..)
Psaakyrn @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:23PM
to #1 Psaakyrn
(Multiple revisions beaning GBA and GBA SP, DS and DS Lite. It does NOT mean Gc and Wii)
AoE @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:28PM
What about Activision and THQ? Activision's the obnoxious kid who looks up to the neighborhood bully (EA) and tries to copy his every move (including releasing mostly average-to-shitty games.) And THQ? If you look at their releases over the years, EA and Activision both start to look like saints.
Wonderdog @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:32PM
Games.net is run by Gamepro.com, which we all know has a habit of churning out less than stellar stories. It doesn't surprise that this list follows in that tradition.
Tom @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:51PM
No one I know hates live market place...no one. many hate Ea(godfather) sega(chromehounds)Bethesda(horse armour) for thier prices one thier micro transactions but I dont know why they would blame MS. Live is the greatest thing in gameing.
REUYL @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:38PM
Where's Nintendo on the list?
jcmschwa @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:41PM
AoE, THQ has had some stellar success in Dawn of War and Company of Heroes over the past 2.5-3 years (I don't remember when DoW came out). That alone is enough of a reason not to hate them.
steve17 @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:47PM
no 1&2 are obvious. but wtf is the live marketplace doing up there?
and i agree AoE. THQ deserves a spot. they lost me after red faction way back in the day.
steve17 @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:51PM
ok yes. dawn of war is an awesome game. but so was the first medal of honor. now look what EA cranks out. same with THQ
airpolgas @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:54PM
Err... Jack Thompson?
Zachary Hinchliffe @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:54PM
I think that no matter what alliance you have, this is a dumb article. =/
CJC @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:54PM
The thing you guys have to understand is that these "enemies" are enemies because of consistent problems and annoyances to a lare quantity of gamers, not just a bad game or two.
I don't think the ESRB belong here, though. They've really cleaned up their act recently.
Cutriss @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:03PM
"(Multiple revisions beaning GBA and GBA SP, DS and DS Lite. It does NOT mean Gc and Wii)"
How are they more expensive? Every time one of the newer hardware bits has come out, the old one was subsequently dropped in price. The DS was $149 and then later dropped to $129, and the DS Lite was introduced at $129.
The GBA was already $99 when the SP was introduced. The GB Micro was introduced at $99.
Also, they have never used proprietary discs. The GameCube discs were mini-DVDs with your normal run-of-the-mill console copy protection. People mistook them for "proprietary" because mini-DVDs have never been very widespread, unlike mini-CDs. Wii uses normal DVD media.
As far as cartridges go, sure, they've used proprietary media there. But then, who hasn't?
I'm not defending Nintendo or anything, but please - pick some better things to complain about, like the EU price-fixing business.
otisgibbon @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:16PM
Why do people bitch about the proprietary format thing all the time. outside of the n64 (where it made things more expensive to buy and to produce for) the only reason to complain about proprietary formats is that you can't pirate the games easily. That's like not shopping at a store because they have the little alarm at the doors that goes off when you try to shoplift.
Mr Khan @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:24PM
Nintendo doesn't use proprietary discs, just (in the case of the GC) very obscure or (in the case of the Wii) heavily encrypted discs
Nintendo belonged on this list until the release of the GameCube, since then they haven't really done anything particularly stickling
And i believe Live Marketplace is on the list due to Horse Armor-gate and Lumines Live-gate
Fatass of Kickassness @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:25PM
Lovely, how the only thing those Sony fanbots can say is, "err... where's Nintendo on that list, heh".
That being said, I'll say the same thing - Ninty is nice and all, but they really should be on that list until their third party developers up the ante and stop pumping out third-rate POSs.
Also on that list should be fanboys of ANYTHING Microsoft. I'm not just talking about the Xbox. I'm talking about MS/OS or Zune fanboys too. Apple fanboys have reason to like Apple, but they're some serious prickwads to anyone who disagrees with them.
james @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:30PM
Console revisions are good. They take consumer criticism and improve on it.
Moaning about newer models is like hating on Apple for updating and improving their iPods. ie- a bit stupid. The newer models don't make your investment worthless. Its not impossible to not upgrade you know.
Fatass of Kickassness @ Mar 2nd 2007 7:41PM
@James
Exactly. I always see people whining about console/Apple revisions as though they are forced to upgrade.
Still though.... It always seems a little bit unfair when you find out you spent more money on an inferior product just because you had to early-adopt (something thats gonna hit PSP owners and probably DS OR DS-lite owners hard within the next few years)
windsof @ Mar 3rd 2007 7:39AM
since the SNES Nintendo have consistently been a let down (except for Ocarina of Time) accumalting in sham that was the GameCube and the WII novelty.
bighit24 @ Mar 2nd 2007 8:07PM
Why would the Live Marketplace be bad?!
refinedsugar @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:38PM
Did anyone else laugh when they saw Gamepro magazine. That was a good one.
Screwed @ Mar 2nd 2007 8:15PM
Indeed wazzup with hate with live marketplace, they're the gold standard of online consoles marketplace. They shouldn't be hate? WTF.
As much as I love PS3, i will still give full credit to live marketplace. That's what sony need to copy. Yeah and I dont care who copy who. I'm the end user, i'm the one who get the benefit.
Judd @ Mar 2nd 2007 8:17PM
I can kind of see the ESRB. They did kind of bitch out with making San Andreas, a game full of murder, AO because there is a clothed sex scene hidden deep in the code. And Elder Scrolls IV M because some guy makes a topless mod.
But speaking of Elder Scrolls, the only bad thing I can think about with Xbox Live Marketplace is something like the horse armor pack. But otherwise it's great. It's definitely better than the Playstation Network. And although Nintendo may have the best classic games, XBLA seems to be supportive of the independent developer, with things like Castle Crashers and different syles of games like Settlers of Catan. Ok, I don't like the conversion rate(400 points=$5), but the Marketplace is the best example of the future not only of gaming, but entertainment as a whole.
With an HD-DVD movies and television download service, demos of many major titles before the game arrives, and upcoming IPTV, how is this not of the best things in gaming?
required @ Mar 2nd 2007 8:44PM
I used to love Nintendo and was ambivalent towards Sony. Now I like Sony and simply do not care about Nintendo (though in retrospect I should hate Nintedo).
Evan @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:17PM
From the article: "The hatred for GamePro is largely a byproduct of the generation of gamers that read it when they were younger. With your average hardcore gamer in his late teens or twenties, the need to rebel is one that still exists. GamePro was a magazine that catered to a younger crowd long after other magazines shifted to an older demographic. Though GamePro has attempted to shift to appeal to an older demographic, it has fallen on deaf ears as the magazine was ultimately the last of the big three multiplatform mags to do so, as Game Informer and EGM made bigger shifts earlier"
Now replace with Nintendo: "The hatred for Nintendo is largely a byproduct of the generation of gamers that read it when they were younger. With your average hardcore gamer in his late teens or twenties, the need to rebel is one that still exists. Nintendo made consoles that catered to a younger crowd long after other consoles shifted to an older demographic. Though Nintendo has attempted to shift to appeal to an older demographic, it has fallen on deaf ears as they were ultimately the last of the big three console makers to do so, as Microsoft and Sony made bigger shifts earlier"
That pretty much sums up the hatred I see for Nintendo.
Ed81240 @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:29PM
To # 21
The ESRB has been put in place for a reason. And I'm really sorry that your upset because they needed to hold a standard (Let me guess your 15 and couldn't buy San Andreas.. Boo Hoo) But this is an alternative wich is much better than government regulation. Would you rather we all played Barnie the Dinosaur games because congressman A, B, and C are on a pollitical rampage. So I'm real sorry you have to wait untill your 18 to watch pollygons have sex, but at least when you turn 18 you'll be able to freely, unlike if the government takes over and begins dictating and censoring.
ghnvt @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:32PM
I think microtransactions were inevitable especially with the integration of the internet and the home console, but I think it allows for more indy developers to publish their content. These also allow older games through the VC and PSN to get the old games that aren't as readily available as they use to be.
rio @ Mar 2nd 2007 10:53PM
Nintendo shouldn't be on the list. I mean nintendo is on the up and way up. Sony is on the down and waaay down!
NintendoFanbot @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:08PM
"No Nintendo? Sure, they're been making good moves recently, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to hate. (like selling revisions of the same console at higher prices, using propetry disks, not getting online up, etc..)"
I guess one good thing about Sony aping Nintendo is that Sony can screw them up twice as much.
Judd @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:19PM
#24 Ed81240
Wow, you made a lot of assumptions.
A. Actually, I'm 20. Although San Andreas would've been released when I was 17, by the time the ESRB changed its rating I was 18. I have no idea why you would just think for no reason that I was 15.
B. I don't even play Grand Theft Auto games.
C. I don't own a PS2.
D. I've never modded anything in my life, and I wouldn't know how to put in Hot Coffee even if I wanted to.
E. We are on the internet. Nobody needs to be 18 anymore to see sex, polygonal or not.
It's the principle. I don't care if a game shows boobies or not. But I will defend their right to show it if they want to.
While I agree with you that this is better than government regulation, it's actions like this by the ESRB that make it seem like they are wrong, thereby allowing Congress to feel like they should regulate games. If the ESRB just stood up for themselves and said what the entire game community is saying "The ESRB has tighter regulations than the MPAA. In Titanic a PG-13 movie a breast was shown, yet in this case a game rated M for mature, someone illegaly hacked into the code of the game to discover a sex scene where the characters are fully clothed.Furthermore, we find it strange that the depiction of violence in television and movies as well as video games is more acceptable than the sight of a human body."
If they grew some balls, they'd get a lot more respect from the gaming community, and maybe Congress would see that they knew what the fuck they were talking about.
Steve 3.2 @ Mar 3rd 2007 1:52AM
Nintendo only belongs on the list b/c some misguided people love the hate them. These include:
1. People who think that playing games with violent themes makes them more mature than others. I'm 32 and don't play GTA. Does that make me less of an adult?
2. They think that their loyalty to Microsoft or Sony is in jeopardy by liking Nintendo. Get over it! All of consoles have their pluses and minuses. When you limit yourself to just one console, you really miss out on some great games.
3. People who weren't loved by their mothers. :)
And I wholeheartedly agree with otisgibbon (#13). I'm truly sorry that Nintendo has created a system where it's difficult for you to illegally copy their games. And if you don't like proprietary formats, wtf are you doing supporting Sony and it's Memory Stick, UMD, Blu-Ray and countless other worthless attempts to control the format wars?
samfish @ Mar 3rd 2007 6:54AM
"Apple fanboys have reason to like Apple, but they're some serious prickwads to anyone who disagrees with them."
While it should be obvious, I'm generalizing here:
I've found that Apple fanboys (God damnit, I hate that word) are more like Nintendo fanboys than anything. They're basically cheer leaders. They're basically cheer leaders who'll tell you how great their console/computer/MP3 player/company/whatever is. They're also more likely to be the same off the internet as they are on it. Meaning, you're more likely to find a Nintendo/Apple fanboy who is willing to ramble on about how great Nintendo/Apple is to your face.
MS (Windows) fanboys are most like Sony fanboys. IE- they're huge pricks who defend the big guy who's kind of gone stagnant. I'm sure everyone who reads this site regularly can think of at least 3 Sony fanboys who take a dump on every thread they can. They also tend to whine about how the less popular competition gets all the attention.
There's no correlation between 360 and Linux fanboys, though. Linux users tend to be more like a combination of Windows and OS X fanboys...like the head cheerleader having a raging period.
Honestly, though, you never hear from the 360 fanboys. They're a quiet bunch...TOO quiet.
...And they're the ones you gotta watch...
Also, #23 hit it right on the head.
DrmChsr0 @ Mar 3rd 2007 4:17PM
Sony fanboys are the worst.
Trust me, I live in a country where Sony is king, and Nintendo is a non-entity. These guys have the nerve to threaten to wreck someone's XBOX360 just because it ain't Sony.
brent @ Mar 3rd 2007 5:02PM
"since the SNES Nintendo have consistently been a let down (except for Ocarina of Time) accumalting in sham that was the GameCube and the WII novelty."
Yeah, pioneering console use of Rumble, Analog Sticks, Motion Controls, 3d Platformers, first person shooters, etc.
Really big letdowns, I totally hate them for blazing the trail that brought all consoles to where we are today.
whodat @ Mar 5th 2007 8:37PM
33 MS will wreck your 360 themselves; no fanboy help necessary. As far as Ninty on the list, old school sega fans have good reason to hate them. Luckily the PS1 came along and offered a good alternitive to owning a nintendo. NES: beast, SNES: beast (remember super mario world? f-zero? mario kart?) n64: beast (no? golden eye alone gives the system beast status, it worked for halo and the xbox). thats plenty reason to hate them...
nebraskaguy @ Mar 4th 2007 9:02PM
Gotta hate Gamestop, not only do they give you pennies on the dollar for used games that are weeks old. They then sell them for 4 bucks under the price for a brand new one. That's crap. Oh yeah, don't get on any of their call lists or they'll harass you to no end about bringing in some used game they're short on. The bad thing is they're the only ones in town that carry a selection of good DS games. Best Buy's selection is a joke.
nebraskaguy @ Mar 4th 2007 9:04PM
Could we add (parents that buy M rated games for 5 year-old Timmy only to see the violent content later and blame and threaten to sue everyone from the retail outlet to the developer themselves and fuck it up for the rest of us) to that list?