Industry of Cynics

So I was hoping to get some insight about a big trend I have started noticing, and that is cynicism running wild in the video game industry. Maybe I haven't noticed it until 2012, but it really hit me about 2 months ago. For whatever reason I decided to boot up diablo 3 again and it really hooked me. I started a new character and have sunk about 50 hours in him since then. Of course my interest in everything diablo 3 peaked, so I started going to the official forums. Upon my arrival I was stunned by the excessive amount of negative threads on literally every single board. There was an overwhelming barrage of people just bitching about how horrible the game is, what the devs NEED to do, and how they think diablo was a waste of their money.

Other cases like this have arisen recently as well. The obvious DmC scandal is worth mentioning. Brad's review was a battlefield in the comments section and angry fans flooded review systems, such as amazons, and dragged the games rating down significantly out of spite. I even noticed the forums for Sim City are becoming like this. I thought the beta was really fun, and to my amazement the forums are filled with the same bitching threads as Diablo 3.

So what is going on here? Am I simply noticing the ugliness of the internet more or are people generally just becoming really cynical and entitled when it comes to their video games? I honestly don't recall this kind of hatred except on the old System Wars board at gamespot, but maybe I am just remembering the past in a better light then it actually was.

Earlier today I started playing DmC Devil May Cry and the cynicism was dripping from me, about the two CAPCOM title screens in the beginning, about the dialogue, the hack and slash repetition, the no-way-back checkpoints, the cutscenes every 3 minutes, and so many other things.

And then I asked myself, "what the hell happened to you? You used to feel excited like a little boy on Christmas whenever you started A NEW VIDEO GAME, now it's cynical expectations and bullshit."

I really blame the internet for this. We've dissected and discussed so much, figured out the patterns and ins and outs of game design and how the industry financially operates, that it's just one big observation for us now. The magic is gone...

Ignorance is bliss. I really envy those we call "casuals" because they enjoy the ride in excitement without the disgusting level of observation and critique we feel the need to apply.

@OfficeGamer said:

Earlier today I started playing DmC Devil May Cry and the cynicism was dripping from me. About the two CAPCOM title screens in the beginning, about the dialogue, the hack and slash repetition, and so many other things.

And then I asked myself, "what the hell happened to you? You used to feel excited like a little boy on Christmas whenever you started A NEW VIDEO GAME, now it's cynical expectations and bullshit."

I really blame the internet for this. We've dissected and discussed so much, figured out the patterns and ins and outs of game design and how the industry financially operates, that it's just one big observation for us now.

Ignorance is bliss. I really envy those we call "casuals" because they enjoy the ride in excitement without the disgusting level of observation and critique we feel the need to apply.

What a terrifying deconstruction of the "hardcore" gamer mind. Bravo!

entitled

videogames

@OfficeGamer said:

Earlier today I started playing DmC Devil May Cry and the cynicism was dripping from me. About the two CAPCOM title screens in the beginning, about the dialogue, the hack and slash repetition, and so many other things.

And then I asked myself, "what the hell happened to you? You used to feel excited like a little boy on Christmas whenever you started A NEW VIDEO GAME, now it's cynical expectations and bullshit."

I really blame the internet for this. We've dissected and discussed so much, figured out the patterns and ins and outs of game design and how the industry financially operates, that it's just one big observation for us now. The magic is gone...

Ignorance is bliss. I really envy those we call "casuals" because they enjoy the ride in excitement without the disgusting level of observation and critique we feel the need to apply.

I don't think that's quite it. I think that so much of this cynicism comes from people not getting the exact same "high" from sequels that they got when they first played them.

Having a critical attitude toward the games you play does not mean that you can't be wowed and excited by games. I'm perfectly aware of the flaws of the games I enjoy, yet I still really enjoy them, in much the same way that a movie critic sees problems that the rest of us can't but can still enjoy something. Unfortunately, the gaming community seems to be full of entitled pedants who buy every game and then call it shit because it isn't absolutely magnificent in every way.

@OfficeGamer said:

Earlier today I started playing DmC Devil May Cry and the cynicism was dripping from me. About the two CAPCOM title screens in the beginning, about the dialogue, the hack and slash repetition, and so many other things.

And then I asked myself, "what the hell happened to you? You used to feel excited like a little boy on Christmas whenever you started A NEW VIDEO GAME, now it's cynical expectations and bullshit."

I really blame the internet for this. We've dissected and discussed so much, figured out the patterns and ins and outs of game design and how the industry financially operates, that it's just one big observation for us now.

Ignorance is bliss. I really blame those we call "casuals" because they enjoy the ride without the disgusting level of observation and critique we feel the need to apply.

I agree with you 100%. I find myself trying to critique games while I'm playing them and judging stuff like is the length of the campaign worth the money I paid? Sometimes I just stop thinking about having fun. Back in the day I used to play terrible games but still think they were fun because I was young and ignorant about game criticisms. I didn't read forums about the games or reviews, so I never heard all these complaints. my only critique about a game when I was younger was am I having fun? Often the answer was yes. While I am glad that the game industry is constantly under such heavy critique by game journalists and by the people who are paying their hard earned money for them, sometimes I wish people would back lighten up a bit. Of course if you do lighten then maybe we will just get more games that aren't fun anyway. I have no idea whether DmC is actually a good game or not (I loved the original) but people lowering its score just because they have some strange hatred because "Dante doesn't look like old Dante" is really weird to me. If people want to be critical they need to critique the game itself, not run onto forums and review sites bashing it because Dante doesn't have white hair.

I think a clear distinction should be drawn between the attitudes of the games industry, and the attitude of the gaming community.

I think it's easy to brush it off as "it's always been like this, welcome to the internet", but I do think things have gotten a lot more heated in recent years. You could say that a lot of the aggression has migrated from the old system wars days into a focus on developers and publishers.

For example, Remember how people used to talk about Bioware, Blizzard, and Valve as the holy trinity of game development? I think that kind of praise was a part of why Bioware and EA became so damn divisive. Perhaps it was this sort of built up expectation that people started to acquire over time. When games like Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 came out, it was a constant shit storm. We don't have to beat that dead horse again, but I think it's important to reflect on it.

Blizzard had a similar situation with Diablo 3. Here we have a game that's a sequel to one of the most popular and influential RPGs ever made, and on top of that, it's been in development for over 6 years. There was so much hype and expectation surrounding D3 that it was almost bound to fail. Remember the petition years before the game came out where people were pissed of because the game looked too colorful? People were anticipating it. Then the game came out. It sold 10 million copies and was a huge financial success for blizzard. So why was everyone so upset about it? As you pointed out, the D3 forums were a god damn mess. I became so frustrated with the vile filth of hatred on those forums that I swore them off and haven't returned since. I too asked myself why people were being so angry and cynical about what I saw as a pretty awesome game. Sure, it had faults. Namely, the auction house was a huge mistake, in my opinion. That didn't make me want to throw the baby out with the bath water, however. Others saw it differently. Keep in mind, we're not even talking about press here. Diablo 3 was critically acclaimed and the only time press really turned on the game is when they saw how the community reacted. A very similar thing happened with Mass Effect 3. It got great reviews, but it was only after the shitstorm of the internet did the press start the echo the sentiment. Most of them did it in a much more civil way, thankfully.

Then Torchlight 2 and Path of Exile came out. Now we have two underdogs to root for in the face of the monolith oppressor people knew as Diablo 3! Here's the thing. People love to root for the underdog. They love the David and Goliath story. Now, everyone is entitled to their opinions but I don't think path of exile is that good. I think it's getting a bit of a pass because it's a small humble team of developers and people so desperately want to throw it in the face of Blizzard. (I, personally think Torchlight 2 is awesome, but that is neither here nor there.)

All that's left is Valve. And go figure, they have a highly anticipated sequel that's been in development for 6 years and are planning on entering the hardware business. What could go wrong.

So has the internet become more cynical? Maybe and maybe not. Like I said before, I think it's just evolved into a different kind of cynicism. People expect a lot from developers these days and we're so much more knowledgeable then we used to be. We can talk directly to the devs through twitter and forums. Developers have embraced the idea of open betas and showing off their games well before release (see Diablo 3). Things have changed. Whether for better or worse is for you to decide.

What a weird thing the internet has become. I think we all can agree on that.

Don't get caught up in the hype, managed your expectations and wait a month or 2 for the inevitable price drop. Also, finding stuff you like about a particular game and not everything that's wrong helps.

Yeah. It's a disgusting attitude. Earlier today I was looking for some more info on Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem and people were already claiming the game is a "trainwreck".

@Trilogy: Very interesting post, and sad to say the least. All of these 'failed' games have a similar build up where people treat them as the next coming, and when their expectations fail, they tear their previously said savior to shreds. I literally held off on buying mass effect 3 because of the reaction it got. I am a bit ashamed I did because, despite the ending, it was one of the best games I played last year.

Also I await Sim City as the next case in this example. Like Diablo, it has had a few announcements that have stirred the anger of its fans(always online, city limit size), and yet it was the most pre-ordered game for greenman gamings latest sale. I expect it to review and sell well, but I just await the inevitable outcry from 'fans' about how their beloved franchise has been destroyed by EA.

It does seem that way don't it. I am sorta there too. I am far more critical of games and the industry then I used to be and it seems this is just the way talking about games is evolving. I can still enjoy a game with this mindset but I have to step back sometimes whenever i'm not enjoying a game i'm actively critiquing it and trying to figure out why.

But dude, when a game does impress and blow me away, I am really impressed, that is awesome feeling.

This always makes me think about my favorite Shaw quote - "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it."

Not that this is necessarily true all the time, but I still like it.

Maybe people that play videogames are just getting better at knowing whats good and what isnt? Like any other hobby/sport/activity in the world? Some people might call that just having an eye for quality that takes some years of experience. When I was 10 I'd rent the most awful piece of shit games and have fun, because I didn't know any better at the time. That said, when I find a game I like currently I still love it as much as back then. And it's not just us, it's definitely the industry as well that's changing. Think about how mainstream video games have become, to the point theres advertising everywhere. It got the 'hollywood touch' lately, which can't exactly be ignored when thinking about fan reaction.

Oh definitely. At times I wonder if I should even read and participate in online gaming communities at all anymore.

Your Diablo 3 example can be taken to reddit.com/r/games.

Once a subreddit with pretty good discussions it has now become large and the quality has taken a nose dive. Every time there's a Diablo 3 thread the game will be bashed to no end and everyone cycle-jerks one another. So pretty much every day you I see a highly upvoted anti-Diablo 3 thread. I liked the game. I think the game does have flaws but the reactions and the fucking negativity on the internet - man it just fucking sucks.

These cynicism cyclejerks are so darn annoying. Heck, recently after the Starcraft HotS and Elder Scrolls Online trailers people start creating more and more "CGI Trailers are misleading garbage!" threads. What the fuck man. Now apparently Blizzard's beautiful, pre-rendered Cinematics are some bad? Because if you're a moron and look at it from a retarded point of view these trailers try to mislead you into buying the game purely based on these the trailer... Like there aren't 200 billion gameplay video when you google the term Starcraft. Oh and "Blizzard's writers are literally retarded Hitler" has to be the most upvoted comment too, of course. Wouldn't wanna miss mention that, right?

All the cynicism feels fun as long as you agree with it. But when you realize it has reached a ridiculous point where everything the particular community isn't already loving gets shit on, well fuck.

Reddit is just one of the plenty examples. Giantbomb itself isn't much better. Reading through the comments has become a rather bad experience by now and I'm barely even bothering. Has partially to do with the size of the community again, the bigger it gets the more likely it's going to turn to complete shit.

You think Video game fans are bad? I follow MMA pretty religiously, and it has literally the worst fans. I do think it is dumb how negative people are, but on the internet people love to hate.

I think that part of the problem is that in the past few years, publishers have been marketing their games to extraordinary and maybe ridiculous levels. Now as intelligent, informed consumers we like to think we can see through all the hype and marketing and we'll know what to get and what not to get. But I think that actually it's only gotten harder to predict what we will enjoy and what will be a stinker. The result is we buy games that we think will be good but really aren't.

Personal case in point: Assassins Creed series

So I've been an AC fan for a awhile, beat AC1 and AC2. I played brotherhood and revelations at a friends house and started to feel like the series was getting exhausted. So I was leery about getting AC3. But I bought into the hype. New setting, culmination of story arcs, new characters, new weapons. A fresh take. And of course everyone online goes nuts over how excited they are for it and that energy is contagious. But all this runs counter to some plain, simple facts. This is a series that has adopted a yearly release business model. The games have been getting worse for three entries in a row, and the marketing doesn't suggest that they are going to be introducing anything really new except naval combat. And that looks more like a mini game. Point is, I should have known that I wouldn't like AC3 and I shouldn't have wasted my money on it. It's my job to know what I like, and what I don't like, not Ubisoft's.

TLDR: Bottom line, we are smart, well informed consumers but at the same time, everyone is a bigger sucker than they realize, and we are consumers in an industry that is becoming increasingly marketed.

@JoeyRavn said:

Earlier today I was looking for some more info on Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem and people were already claiming the game is a "trainwreck".

I have a message for such crazies.

I feel like a sociology major would have a field day trying to deconstruct why the gaming community is the way it is. Really, I'm just going to say it all boils down to unrealistic expectations and the inability to temper them responsibly. Why that is so I cannot say. I don't think I've ever raged about anything on the internet in particular. I've even defended Dragon Age II, and I know that game isn't great.

@ArbitraryWater said:

I feel like a sociology major would have a field day trying to deconstruct why the gaming community is the way it is. Really, I'm just going to say it all boils down to unrealistic expectations and the inability to temper them responsibly. Why that is so I cannot say. I don't think I've ever raged about anything on the internet in particular. I've even defended Dragon Age II, and I know that game isn't great.

People have become so hyperbolic, yeah DA2 was not great, it was a let down compared to the original, but DA2 was still a decent game. DA2 was flawed but it was far away from being the giant piece of shit people make it out to be. DA2 is not Superman 64 (or other truly bad games). That is the problem, people want perfection and when they only get decent-good they go ape shit and call it the worst game ever.

I'm just glad I'm able to get excited about new stuff. I always look for the positive qualities something has to offer. Maybe I just play stuff that I think is good or I find some way to have fun. Give everything your presented a chance and don't get upset if it doesn't blow your mind.

@MB said:

This always makes me think about my favorite Shaw quote - "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it."

Not that this is necessarily true all the time, but I still like it.

Oddly enough that is a very cynical way to view things.

I don't get the same excitement from a new game like I used to, but I chalk that up to getting older. I don't get too excited about a lot of things, really. I look forward to stuff sure, but I don't count the hours and the minutes until I can get my hands on Mass Effect 2, as an example. That was the last time I felt genuine, uncontrolled excitement for a game.

Point being, I think, that the older we get the less "excitement" carries us away on a hype train. It's kind of funny, because I used to wonder why Jeff is never enthusiastic about anything. Turns out it's not a lack of enthusiasm, it's just a more measured, laid back response to hype.

Big publishers generally have become more concerned with mass market appeal than trying to make good games and show off their quality. As an example, Capcom stopped making Street Fighters partially because the developers said they'd mastered the genre with Third Strike, so why bother? In this age of SSFIVHDT&A edition, that thinking seems a long ways away. I don't think there's a sense anymore with big developers, that they are pushing the boundaries in ways that fans like, but are more out to broaden the userbase, and that obviously makes the fans feel ignored. That's sequels, and currently publishers rarely bank on new IPs.

There's also something to be said for simply getting older. I don't really get excited much about games anymore, not nearly as much as five, ten years ago, partially because the internet gives you such easy access to everything about a game's development. It's hard to be optimistic about a game that has been repeatedly dissected for years. I still get excited but after so many disappointments as well, it's harder to get hyped for anything, partially because of what I said in my first paragraph.

Post retracted.

@Jay_Ray said:

@ArbitraryWater said:

I feel like a sociology major would have a field day trying to deconstruct why the gaming community is the way it is. Really, I'm just going to say it all boils down to unrealistic expectations and the inability to temper them responsibly. Why that is so I cannot say. I don't think I've ever raged about anything on the internet in particular. I've even defended Dragon Age II, and I know that game isn't great.

People have become so hyperbolic, yeah DA2 was not great, it was a let down compared to the original, but DA2 was still a decent game. DA2 was flawed but it was far away from being the giant piece of shit people make it out to be. DA2 is not Superman 64 (or other truly bad games). That is the problem, people want perfection and when they only get decent-good they go ape shit and call it the worst game ever.

Well said, that's one of the bigger issues.

It's funny, if there was none else complaining about Diablo 3 I myself would probably point out many, many issues I see with the game that I would like to see addressed. But what people complain about is ALWAYS so overblown (or sometimes not the complaint itself but what people do/say in response etc.) that I feel like I Just have to defend the game or developer. You know, you feel like a complete apologist because you keep defending something again and again, even if you do your "I want to preface this by saying I do acknowledge the issues but what you guys say is just..." phrases.

The problem is that there are insanely many dumb, vocal people out there. So EVERY TIME there's an issue some of these people will blow it completely out of proportions, which then in turn often negatively affects the opinion of someone who had only little interest or knowledge at first and bam, a cycle of hatred arises. And when you try to make some reasonable comments those just get drowned within the surge of moronic arguments, that aren't even arguments.

I think another factor is choice (This is something many don't have as kids with little purchasing power, which i think is significant in how much more patience and enjoyment we got out of a game as a kid. We pay attention to what's in front of us because it is what we have). We have so many choices now in our entertainment. With advances in the internet, technology, etc., there is now a constant avalanche of new new new, to the point that people become more critical of everything because they can always drop it for something different. I think when we have less choices we are less critical and more grateful, or perhaps more patient. We are in the frame of mind to really pay attention and get everything we can out of an experience, good or bad.

When we have 100 alternate choices, we are impatient, critical, and honestly a little stressed out at the thought of wasting our time and money when there are so many other things we could spend it on. If we start a movie, or a video game, and don't immediately love it, there are 10 or a 100 other movies or video games we could switch to in that moment. I think the endless choice leads not just to a somewhat spoiled, ungrateful attitude, but an anxious, impatient one. Our time on this earth isn't endless, and there's far too much to experience in one lifetime, even from the safety of our living rooms. We want our entertainment to be immediately engaging, mind blowing, easy to understand, to have instant reassurance we are spending our time with the "right" choice out of the 1000 we had to choose from today. And we want to get through it as fast as possible because there are still those other 999 options floating out there. And the tomorrow there will be 1000 more.

Sounds more like 'gamers' are cynics, but the developers, press, and industry is just fine.   That that way I see it, gamers are starting to believe their own hype.  They don't know much, and their own ignorance is ALL they believe in.  The media says, hey sexism, racism, and other issues are real issues.  But gamers have tantrums like toddlers if they are even asked to sit back for even one second to think about such issues.   Developers say, were not getting paid enough, our hours are crazy, and there is no job security.  But gamers say, games cost too much and I don't want to pay for anything... so I'm gonna steal them.

i find enthusiasts of any particular medium tend to be cynical- it's part-and-parcel of being invested. one tends to be critical because you're thinking critically about the thing you love, so a large portion of negativity seems inevitable. and it isn't just limited to games- go to any enthusiast site- be it movies, books, music, food even...and the common refrain is "it isn't like it used to be." so maybe it's just a part of getting older- both for the individual and the industry as a whole.

I have gone out of my way to try and ignore the opinions people have on upcoming games and hearing what the popular view is on why a game is going to suck or not and just go with my views based on what I see from trailers for a while now, and it's still not great. So I don't think it has to do with the community around games. For me personally it's been that for the longest time the genres of games I liked just stopped getting made and the few times people tried they always ended up sucking or being so low budget that they couldn't stand up to decade old games in the same genre. Combine that with the rise of crap I can't stand like cutting content from games for DLC, pre-order bonuses and the lack of change and stagnation in a lot of the genres I like, by the time I get to play the actual game I'm already exhausted and annoyed with the thing for all the annoying loop holes I had to jump through to try and get the full game.

The next few years there seem to be a bit of a return to the genres I like, turn based strategy/space sims/RTS, so we will see if that helps any. So far nothing has really blown me away, but we will see how this all ends up. It's going to live or die on whether or not these devs actually innovate in these genres or if they just make the same games we had 10-15 years ago with prettier and more sparkly graphics. Plus, with new consoles coming out this will be the only time we have a chance to see the big boys attempt some kind of innovation with their franchises, or at least repackage the same old in a slightly new design that will hopefully mask it's flaws. Until we get tired of all that new stuff a few years later.

It's easy to point the finger at the loud, obnoxious fans and call them cynical, but I think the way the big publishers like Actitvision, EA, Capcom and Ubisoft treat their customers is a far worse kind of cynicism that is poisoning the entire gaming experience. While I still really appreciate any time these publishers want to release something of quality, they seem far more dedicated to shitting all over their customer base and trying to wring as much cash out of them as possible while oversaturating the market with half-assed games.

Vinny already nailed it. "The internet sucks." I didn't work for about 18 months. It was nice getting a job at the end of last year, for a lot of reasons, but it was most amazing to get back into the habit of "oh yeah, not all people are complete dicks all the time." Sure, some are, sure some want to be but not on their face, outwardly, the entire time and that's the difference. When you talk to real life people they don't always want to be a complete raging asshole to everyone else all the time.

I enjoy that difference.

@Vortextk said:

Vinny already nailed it. "The internet sucks." I didn't work for about 18 months. It was nice getting a job at the end of last year, for a lot of reasons, but it was most amazing to get back into the habit of "oh yeah, not all people are complete dicks all the time." Sure, some are, sure some want to be but not on their face, outwardly, the entire time and that's the difference. When you talk to real life people they don't always want to be a complete raging asshole to everyone else all the time.

I enjoy that difference.

It's strange how different people can be on the internet compared to in person.

@CJduke said:

@OfficeGamer said:

Earlier today I started playing DmC Devil May Cry and the cynicism was dripping from me. About the two CAPCOM title screens in the beginning, about the dialogue, the hack and slash repetition, and so many other things.

And then I asked myself, "what the hell happened to you? You used to feel excited like a little boy on Christmas whenever you started A NEW VIDEO GAME, now it's cynical expectations and bullshit."

I really blame the internet for this. We've dissected and discussed so much, figured out the patterns and ins and outs of game design and how the industry financially operates, that it's just one big observation for us now.

Ignorance is bliss. I really blame those we call "casuals" because they enjoy the ride without the disgusting level of observation and critique we feel the need to apply.

I agree with you 100%. I find myself trying to critique games while I'm playing them and judging stuff like is the length of the campaign worth the money I paid? Sometimes I just stop thinking about having fun. Back in the day I used to play terrible games but still think they were fun because I was young and ignorant about game criticisms. I didn't read forums about the games or reviews, so I never heard all these complaints. my only critique about a game when I was younger was am I having fun? Often the answer was yes.

Those were better times.

@MonkeyKing1969 said:

Sounds more like 'gamers' are cynics, but the developers, press, and industry is just fine.

I kind of think everyone has a share in this particular issue. The faux battlefield vs. CoD marketing was a bit of shambling cynical work. And there are usually a couple incidents a month where a company or developer has to apologize for some form of gross miss-step (tomahawks, statues, commentary toward other devs.....). Not to mention that some of the really crazy game sand-bagging that ends up being spear-headed by game journalists on some titles (and current trend toward a large % of industry press articles being devoted to public navel gazing- in terms of original content).

My expectation is that maybe some of this will shake out more as communities become more established and stable. At least then all the ugliness would stay out of the general interest type forums. E.g. flamewar centric stuff and trolling as an artform will end up in their own corner.

@MonkeyKing1969 said:

Sounds more like 'gamers' are cynics, but the developers, press, and industry is just fine. That that way I see it, gamers are starting to believe their own hype. They don't know much, and their own ignorance is ALL they believe in. The media says, hey sexism, racism, and other issues are real issues. But gamers have tantrums like toddlers if they are even asked to sit back for even one second to think about such issues. Developers say, were not getting paid enough, our hours are crazy, and there is no job security. But gamers say, games cost too much and I don't want to pay for anything... so I'm gonna steal them.

Looks like you have a case of the klepek. I suggest resting for a few days and a few long looks in the mirror.

@ArbitraryWater: Why people are a bit mad when they get lied to and are overloaded with promotion of something thats the next best thing ever and all that stuff. Then they get to spend 60% and receive something sub-par? Its like getting a spit in the face and acting like its rain. After a while you will go crazy.

There's a very vocal minority that gets upset.

A think a simple fact may be getting overlooked here, and that that's unhappy people are simply more vocal and drown out any praise.

Using the example of Simcity, I went to those forums earlier today to see if there was anything I could be missing in the beta and damn, that place is pretty terrible already. There were many threads talking shit about EA, Maxis, or the game itself. The worst was a thread where a dude gave a review of the beta and said it was a 1/10 (going back to that hyperbole point someone brought up). His reasoning being it wasn't near as good as Simcity 4 and that all games should be judged on what came before, not on their own merits (he also used his "30 years of gaming experience" to try and dismiss the opinion of someone who was enjoying the game, despite that person not having said how long they had been gaming). Fucking asshole.

Honestly after spending about 10 minutes on those forums and seeing people that were digging the game being called sheep and EA employee, I just left without saying one good thing. What's the point? I'll just play the game and be happy. Or maybe talk about it here as I find it's usually official forums that are the worst for that type of stuff.

People are more prone to be vocal when unsatisfied and when you combine that with an outlet that can foster a hivemind mentality then, yeah, you're likely to see more negativity.

Yeah, I find the cynicism in the gaming circles to be pretty obnoxious. It's why I rarely read comments on articles and can only handle forums in short bursts.

@Danteveli said:

@ArbitraryWater: Why people are a bit mad when they get lied to and are overloaded with promotion of something thats the next best thing ever and all that stuff. Then they get to spend 60% and receive something sub-par? Its like getting a spit in the face and acting like its rain. After a while you will go crazy.

I wouldn't call the reaction to Mass Effect 3 "a bit mad".

I think most "cynicism" is largely justified.

The anonymity of the internet and the power to say whatever comes to one mind without fear of prosecution from the main social society is essentially what makes the cynicism. As @Vortextk stated, most people in real life would not state their opinion in a vale manner. Certainly it does happen, but social pressures keep us in check. The internet has no social pressure. It is far more different when you have a person that is face to face, rather than a funny picture and username. In the end, I think you just have to ignore that small vocal minority. Should they dictate what you think is fun? Hell to the motherfucking NO!

If you enjoy the games you play, then play it.

Proper criticisms of a game are always welcomed. Blatant, offensive comments are no means forms of criticisms and should never be read.

@Bane122 said:

A think a simple fact may be getting overlooked here, and that that's unhappy people are simply more vocal and drown out any praise.

Using the example of Simcity, I went to those forums earlier today to see if there was anything I could be missing in the beta and damn, that place is pretty terrible already. There were many threads talking shit about EA, Maxis, or the game itself. The worst was a thread where a dude gave a review of the beta and said it was a 1/10 (going back to that hyperbole point someone brought up). His reasoning being it wasn't near as good as Simcity 4 and that all games should be judged on what came before, not on their own merits (he also used his "30 years of gaming experience" to try and dismiss the opinion of someone who was enjoying the game, despite that person not having said how long they had been gaming). Fucking asshole.

Honestly after spending about 10 minutes on those forums and seeing people that were digging the game being called sheep and EA employee, I just left without saying one good thing. What's the point? I'll just play the game and be happy. Or maybe talk about it here as I find it's usually official forums that are the worst for that type of stuff.

People are more prone to be vocal when unsatisfied and when you combine that with an outlet that can foster a hivemind mentality then, yeah, you're likely to see more negativity.

That was my exact same experience. In fact that post that you are mentioning where the asshole uses his 30+ years of gaming experience is the very reason i made this thread. Such a fucking shame because I thought the beta was fantastic.

I'm cynical about games because, when it comes to games, I've seen it all. Nothing about new games surprises me anymore unless the developer comes up with something really new and innovative.

A game like New Super Mario Bros is a complete bore to me, because it's just more of what the SNES offered. D3 offered almost nothing new. Shooters haven't changed from "aim for the head then shoot" since Goldeneye, so that's an entire genre that's mostly pointless to me. Sometimes games offer something new, like a JPRG that offers a good combat system, but then the developers bury the fun under hours and hours of unoriginal story, needless traveling, and general time-wasting activities.

Conclusion: games like Portal and Braid are fun for me, while Skyrim/Borderlands/Infamous are more of a chore regardless of production values.

I think the problem is not "gamers" or "the internet." Specifically the problem is that forums are the perfect environment to nurture a certain type of asshole. They're a minority, but they quickly begin to dominate the conversation, and the effect snowballs as the community size grows. The only solution is strong moderating. Moderators need to ban the troublemakers, or just accept that the level of discourse is going to go to shit.

@SSully: It really is. I'm playing it right now and am loving it. I don't even mind having to constantly start over as it's a great excuse to experiment with layouts, the amounts of stuff to build, and the order to build it in.

Both game communities and websites have become more cynical. I enjoy what I enjoy but the bitching of people pisses me off. If you don't like video games why are you here? 

Simply playing games less often has fixed that attitude for me personally at least. Video games are no longer a daily thing for me (with a few exceptions when I'm just completely hooked on something), and I quite like it that way.

@Prestige said:

I think the problem is not "gamers" or "the internet." Specifically the problem is that forums are the perfect environment to nurture a certain type of asshole. They're a minority, but they quickly begin to dominate the conversation, and the effect snowballs as the community size grows. The only solution is strong moderating. Moderators need to ban the troublemakers, or just accept that the level of discourse is going to go to shit.

I agree to a certain extent, though I do think part of the problem is how the internet works. Anonymity is one part, but the biggest part of all is specialized communities.

What do I mean by specialized community? Bascially, any site, forum, or whatever that caters to a specific topic or like. NeoGAF, Giant Bomb, the many gaming subreddits over at reddit.com (r/gaming and r/games being the two big ones).

Now, this isn't inherently a bad thing. It becomes a problem, however, when that specialized community turns negative. It becomes an echo chamber; the mad people yell, and everyone echoes those sentiments. It becomes this feedback loop of negativity. It's what happens in places like the WoW forums, the Diablo 3 forums, EA's Sim City forums, Bioware's Mass Effect forums...heck, these days they're pretty much everywhere. Just look at Reddit. It's a giant website with nothing but specialized communities, and those hivemind feedback loops form like crazy over there, which is reinforced by the karma system. People can downvote you if they disagree, so guess what happens? All dissenting opinions are silenced.

Frankly, i'm sick of all the cynicism. It's annoying, depressing, and is burning me out of my life-long love of video games.

I think it's just the more you care about something, the more tiny little details, changes and faults come to the surface as giant raging problems. So the Diablo nerds who have been playing 2 for 10 years finally get their follow up and it did have it's fair share of problems, despite enjoying it a lot myself, but they blew those problems way out of proportion because they cared way too much about Diablo as a franchise. Especially if you go on the official forums, you'll get the hardest of the hardcore so it all seems magnified to an insane degree.

That's why I like Giant Bomb, none of the staff seem too overwhelmingly attached to particular genres, so the criticisms you get seem to pertain more to the broad strokes than nitpicking little details to death, If it's a fun experience, you'll know it, even if there are flaws along the way. It's also why you get so many crazy genre-geeks on these forums get upset when they appear to not care about JRPG X or Strategy Game Y.