The Underdog Complex

I think all of us are inflicted with a touch of this condition.  Our scorn for the big player but more importantly our praise and support for the little guy.  Personally speaking some of my negative attitudes towards certain products or companies is simply unjustified hate.  Sometimes I think I just want to stick it to the "man".  Meanwhile I might use an inferior product simply because the business making it isn't a mega-corp. 
 
There are many examples as to why a lot of us go down this path.  Its not a far stretch to see that companies are all about their bottom line and the bigger they get the more they need to keep growing to enlarge their profits.  Many times this comes at the cost to the consumer however.   
 
Its funny looking back in Activision's history.   They became the first third party developer after Atari paid them terribly for their work on the console. They left to create their own company, and the rest is history.   Those humble roots are a long cry from what they have become, many hating their cut throat tactics and business policies.   
 
Smaller start up companies are almost always more community oriented and are interested in providing the best service to gain the trust and loyalty of fans.  A lot of it has to do with their independence.  Valve's already popular Half Life went through the roof after Counter-strike was created.  None of that would have happened without a mod friendly game and support from Valve itself.  It has since bought many other mods created by the community while still supporting their games with free updates and patches.   
 
I suppose its an endless cycle, and thus creating a kind of complex of sorts.  Developer does great things, people like them, becomes big developer, bullies and turns back on community, people dislike developer.  I realize there are always exceptions to the rule, but I think its safe to say this happens more often then not.

I've been trying to come to grips with this condition over the years.  Recognizing popular titles for what they excel in and why so many enjoy them instead of focusing on the negative aspects.  Sometimes I catch myself hating on a product irrationally.  It' s a little bit embarrassing to realize the main reason I dislike a game is that so many others enjoy it.
 
Still its always refreshing to see a small company make a game like Torchlight which wont sweep the industry off its feet but will have great support and a great community.  I mean who wouldn't like to see a game like that succeed?  
 
Phew, I hope this post was at least somewhat readable and coherent.  If you made it this far I wonder how you guys think about this.  Do you find yourself rooting for the underdogs in the gaming industry, be it console wise, developer or something else. 
 
Could this be even a normal human condition?  Maybe it goes deeper than I think.

I think all of us are inflicted with a touch of this condition.  Our scorn for the big player but more importantly our praise and support for the little guy.  Personally speaking some of my negative attitudes towards certain products or companies is simply unjustified hate.  Sometimes I think I just want to stick it to the "man".  Meanwhile I might use an inferior product simply because the business making it isn't a mega-corp. 
 
There are many examples as to why a lot of us go down this path.  Its not a far stretch to see that companies are all about their bottom line and the bigger they get the more they need to keep growing to enlarge their profits.  Many times this comes at the cost to the consumer however.   
 
Its funny looking back in Activision's history.   They became the first third party developer after Atari paid them terribly for their work on the console. They left to create their own company, and the rest is history.   Those humble roots are a long cry from what they have become, many hating their cut throat tactics and business policies.   
 
Smaller start up companies are almost always more community oriented and are interested in providing the best service to gain the trust and loyalty of fans.  A lot of it has to do with their independence.  Valve's already popular Half Life went through the roof after Counter-strike was created.  None of that would have happened without a mod friendly game and support from Valve itself.  It has since bought many other mods created by the community while still supporting their games with free updates and patches.   
 
I suppose its an endless cycle, and thus creating a kind of complex of sorts.  Developer does great things, people like them, becomes big developer, bullies and turns back on community, people dislike developer.  I realize there are always exceptions to the rule, but I think its safe to say this happens more often then not.

I've been trying to come to grips with this condition over the years.  Recognizing popular titles for what they excel in and why so many enjoy them instead of focusing on the negative aspects.  Sometimes I catch myself hating on a product irrationally.  It' s a little bit embarrassing to realize the main reason I dislike a game is that so many others enjoy it.
 
Still its always refreshing to see a small company make a game like Torchlight which wont sweep the industry off its feet but will have great support and a great community.  I mean who wouldn't like to see a game like that succeed?  
 
Phew, I hope this post was at least somewhat readable and coherent.  If you made it this far I wonder how you guys think about this.  Do you find yourself rooting for the underdogs in the gaming industry, be it console wise, developer or something else. 
 
Could this be even a normal human condition?  Maybe it goes deeper than I think.

I do like to root for underdogs, but when it comes to video games I want developers I like and developers who seem like cool guys to succeed the most, regardless of their financial situation. For example I like 2D Boy and The Behemoth not because they're indie but because they're awesome dudes who make great games. On the other side I also want big-name juggernauts like Rockstar to live long and prosper.

It's always great to see a small, relatively unknown company manage to produce something great, but whether a game is made by a tiny indie developer or a huge corporate studio I don't find that changes how much I enjoy a game.