Something amazing happened while I was watching videos from E3 this year, I was surprised by something completely unrelated to a game or product release.   Watching the (so-far) marketing genius (until they run it into the ground) persona from Sony, aka Kevin Butler, something rings true from someone that should be selling me on their system.  A speech for everyone to serve under one gaming religion, regardless of their denomination, struck a chord with the crowd.   True, the words may have been pandering, but it got me thinking about the alliances that people have with their systems, where mine have been in the past and where they may be in the future.  

I’ve never bought into the Fanboy concept even when I was younger.   I owned both a Super Nintendo AND a Genesis at the same time.  The world did not collapse into a black hole, and I was a happy gamer as I could finish off a level from Super Mario World and Sonic in the same sitting.   I could play Mortal Kombat with blood, and then go and play Super Castlevania.   I had friends that trashed one system or the other until they were blue in the face, but I only saw that there was beauty in both.

I had a Playstation, but never bought an N64, not due to a preference for either system, but because I was in post-secondary school at the time and there was no room in my life, or more accurately my wallet, for a second console at that point.   I never slagged the N64, it had some great games that I would have loved to get in on at the time, and thankfully have been able to catch up on now.  Flash forward, I own all three major systems and have a great collection of titles for each, and see no reason to slag one over the others.   All three systems have some great exclusive titles, all three have their fair share of crap and more importantly, all three have made their mark on the gaming community.

Competition and having differing goals is the only thing that leads to innovation and the expansion of gaming in general.   This is why there is no way the one console future can be a boon to gaming and also why pledging one’s self to one particular console to the exclusion of all others is nothing but a form of fanaticism.   Excitement, enthusiasm, and being happy with what you have, are all great qualities to have being a gamer.   If you have no option but to have one console and it’s a choice, that’s a different subject, but flaming someone else because of their choice of gaming is nothing short of moronic.

Fanaticism in any form in this world ensures that there will always be some form of conflict.   Where someone takes a strong enough stance to change the strength of what they say from an opinion into a fanatical statement, there will always be someone else with the exact opposite strength of opinion to counteract it.   Where opinions can differ and everyone is entitled to one, it’s when the magnitude of that opinion becomes strong enough to become a point of conflict that it becomes counterproductive.

Long live gaming in all its forms, except those stupid little Facebook games.  They can burn in hell.  :)

no one is going to read all that

" no one is going to read all that "

" no one is going to read all that "

 While I do agree that fanaticism does play a role in some of these exchanges, I think there is also a more general desire at work here. People like to win, and if they can't win directly they enjoy feeling like they are on the side of some "winning team". The console race generates the same kind of angry competitive bile you'd get from an exchange between Yankees and Sox fans. I agree that both disagreements are equally irrational, but I don't see this as a behavior that is ever going to go away. Also, this type of fervor is something that is not counterproductive for the console makers, in fact console makes WANT this. A rabid core of fans will always purchase the products of they're chosen "team" in an effort to support the dominance of the console. That's money in the bank.  
 
Finally, while I didn't see Butler's speech, but from the commercials I've always interpreted the new angle of Sony's advertising differently from your take. It seems like a humorous attempt to rile up these kind of console war exchanges (particularly the humorous but mean spirited comments about the motion controls for Wii Boxing compared to Sony's... um... Motion fight gaming thing). 

It was a nice speech, but it was more of an act. Rehearsed and thought for the effect it had. 

" no one is going to read all that "

 Anyway, I think there will always be a very clear distinction between the consoles, no one is going to rise above the others, ....

" @trophyhunter said:

" no one is going to read all that "

I did, if only just to spite you. "

I hated it. Despite the fact that Kevin Butler was a total fucking bro about it (and we all know about bros), it was such a contradiction. I've never seen anyone openly rip on other consoles at a conference like Kevin Butler did this one. Granted, I generally only watch the Nintendo conference because the other ones don't interest me as much, but attacking Kinect's lack of buttons (though a founded criticism) and attacking the Wii's waggle (though, again, a founded criticism) so openly, even if he didn't explicitly say their names, AND THEN coming out and saying we should all get along was just fucking retarded. He was essentially a bully, a popular kid who picked on someone nerdier and then played it all off as a joke for the teachers.
 
You know he's going to try to jack that kid out by the flagpole after school. So quit bying into his bullshit.

" @Arkthemaniac said:

" @trophyhunter said:

" no one is going to read all that "

I did, if only just to spite you. "

Reverse psicology in the works. "

so long as great titles keep being made (and not milked, might i add), who cares which platform it is on? why can't we all just appreciate each other's thoughts and opinions and not feel this constant, burgeoning desire to shove our feelings in other's faces? this need to flame everything needs to go away. i like pc gaming, you (whoever you are) might like 360 gaming. i don't necessarily agree with your fondness for paying for online play, but whatever, it's your choice. i stay the fuck away because it's your problem not mine. hopefully some day that will apply to the rest of the gaming world. 

having said that, not much of it does go on here on giantbomb (of which i am glad), but it is still a major concern.

Good read. It was awesome when Kevin Butler came out. Best part of E3, conference wise.

" I hated it. Despite the fact that Kevin Butler was a total fucking bro about it (and we all know about bros), it was such a contradiction. I've never seen anyone openly rip on other consoles at a conference like Kevin Butler did this one. Granted, I generally only watch the Nintendo conference because the other ones don't interest me as much, but attacking Kinect's lack of buttons (though a founded criticism) and attacking the Wii's waggle (though, again, a founded criticism) so openly, even if he didn't explicitly say their names, AND THEN coming out and saying we should all get along was just fucking retarded. He was essentially a bully, a popular kid who picked on someone nerdier and then played it all off as a joke for the teachers.  You know he's going to try to jack that kid out by the flagpole after school. So quit bying into his bullshit. "

" @trophyhunter said:

" no one is going to read all that "

I did, if only just to spite you. "

 @Damodar: Maybe I just hate the fact that Kevin Butler is a glorified bro in my eyes, and the fact that people rally behind him almost further signifies the new image of gaming that I don't like.

Fanboys are just kids trying to defend their parents choice of console, since they can only get one console
 
If you own all consoles you just dont care.

Look, it's not my fault my chosen platform is superior. :D

"  @Damodar: Maybe I just hate the fact that Kevin Butler is a glorified bro in my eyes, and the fact that people rally behind him almost further signifies the new image of gaming that I don't like. "

"Long live gaming in all its forms, except those stupid little Facebook games.  They can burn in hell.  :)"

It was a great speech, but I do agree that it was a bit contradictory.  Within the space of a couple of minutes, he ripped on the rival companies, plus Rayman (?), then united everyone.  Kevin Butler is all sorts of win, but this was weaker than what he usually does in the commercials.  I will admit that the banner with him holding the bow was epic, though.

Kevin Butler is a character hes not a real person.Dont take him so seriously

" @rsansome said:

"Long live gaming in all its forms, except those stupid little Facebook games.  They can burn in hell.  :)"

Long live everything... except what I don't like. So much for that wall of text's credibility. "

 "I love the smell of irony in the morning... The smell, you know that ironic smell... Smells like, victory"

" @Arkthemaniac said:

"  @Damodar: Maybe I just hate the fact that Kevin Butler is a glorified bro in my eyes, and the fact that people rally behind him almost further signifies the new image of gaming that I don't like. "

 Don't take my post as getting behind Sony or Kevin, it's not about rallying behind a charismatic entity, corporate or not.  That's how cults get started.  It's about having enough of a brain to realize that every gaming system has a place and it's not a sin to enjoy gaming on any or indeed all of the systems.     "

" Fanboys are just kids trying to defend their parents choice of console, since they can only get one console  If you own all consoles you just dont care. "

Kevin butler is annoying, because he is a crafted persona, with the intention to make money. He couldnt care less about gaming

" @Jeust said:

" @Arkthemaniac said:

" @trophyhunter said:

" no one is going to read all that "

I did, if only just to spite you. "

Reverse psicology in the works. "

You will never learn to spell. :P "

" It was a great speech, but I do agree that it was a bit contradictory.  Within the space of a couple of minutes, he ripped on the rival companies, plus Rayman (?), then united everyone.  Kevin Butler is all sorts of win, but this was weaker than what he usually does in the commercials.  I will admit that the banner with him holding the bow was epic, though. "

What I got from that speech was that gamers of all creeds: casual, hardcore, and everything in between can join together as one for the greater good... as long as you play games on a PS3 or PSP. 
 
Also, it's just typical propaganda that every company does (and did) at E3. The whole Kevin Butler thing is funny and well done, but there's no deep meaning behind the message.

Fanboyism has always been stupid as hell to me. The idea that you are superior in any way because you can play Mario, Halo, or God of War and someone else cannot is the most immature and idiotic thing I have ever heard. But humans always need something to compete at, something to argue about so thats not going to change anytime soon. And hell if the next generation of consoles are all motion control based I won't like any of them anyways.
 
As for Kevin Butler, I enjoy the character they have created out of him. It's one of the smartest if not the smartest thing Sony's marketing department has ever done.

It was funny, because Butler poked fun at Microsoft's crazy show and blue ponchos as well as Mii's lack of arms in Wii Boxing, haha. Even so, he didn't go overboard and was my favorite part of the Sony conference. I was a Nintendo fan (not fanboy) around the Genesis era, but I only had a Genesis. I was then a playstation fan, but quickly switched to Xbox. I did have my preferences, but never really started broadcasting them to friends until the 360 and PS3 were both available. 
 
I admit that I had some choice words for Sony and their Giant Enemy Crabs, Ridge Racer and 599 USD. However, the PS3 is now my fav console and I have all three. I enjoy them all and give them all credit when credit is due. 

In this thread, a lot of people feeling guilty that they did what trophyhunter did and taking it out on him.