Trigger

I resent and regret that I have a "reputation" to some people around here. I don't go into threads trying to pick fights. I didn't even know people were annoyed with me until someone pointed out to me that most people here read alot of threads and when they see me saying more or less the same things in multiple threads it starts to get annoying. I was treating every thread like a seperate discussion and I didn't even consider that people were getting annoyed by me making the same points multiple times. I guess I got that from my father who felt it was necessary to say the same thing over and over.

I don't say anything with the intention of being anti-nintendo or anything. I say how I feel. At the beginning of the console launch, I (along with everyone else) may have thrown about a few anti-nintendo or anti-PS2 comments... but that was awhile ago. That stopped and then I started talking about Nintendo again once my roommate got one and I actually played it. I'm just sharing my opinion on things I've had first-hand experience with. If you'll notice, I am outwardly against people who say some new movie is going to suck when all they know about it is who's supposed to direct it. For awhile I was calling people on it over in the Movie forum. I think it should be that way for video games as well.

I would like to see someone point out a handfull of examples where I said something that was anti-nintendo. I don't see that in myself. Since I have this "reputation" though, I'd like someone who feels that way to show me what I'm doing that's so annoying so I can change what I'm doing. All I can think of is that I repeated myself too much when expressing my opinion of the Gamecube (which I don't even hate - in fact, I'd own one if I didn't have so many games to play already).

I think it's fair enough for people to express their opinions of consoles whether it's positive or negative. Someone thinks the Xbox controller is too big? Fine, say so in the "Xbox controller is too big" thread we had several months ago and then you don't need to say it again. Someone thinks the gamecube is for kids? Fine, that's their opinion - say it if you must in the "Gamecube is for kids" thread we had several months ago and then be done with it. Is $200 too much to pay for a video game? Sure it is for some people - there's a thread about it... simply say "it's too rich for my blood" and then leave it at that... I think we're all adults for the most part and we should be able to share our opinions and not resort to name calling or saying someone's an idiot.

Gamecube is great - it's inexpensive and has excellent first party support. Its drawbacks are that some people find some of their games to be geared towards a younger audience and that they don't release as many games as the other two systems.

PS2 is great - their game library is extensive and they have some fantastic exclusive games. Its drawbacks are that it's a year older than the other 2 systems and so the graphics aren't always as good as on the other 2 consoles.

Xbox is great - it has amazing graphics and sound and plenty of awesome launch titles as well as a solid future lineup. Its drawbacks are that some people dislike Microsoft as a company and find their controller to be too large and akward and their games aren't to everyone's taste.

Basically - all 3 consoles are awesome in their own right. It's natural though for people to develop their opinions about each and have their own preferences. Mostly those preferences are going to be based on the exclusive games that come out for those systems. People should be able to express their interest or disinterest. I think it becomes a problem when people can't let other people have their own opinions or they feel the need to argue with someone else over their opinions... or even when someone expresses their opinion as if it is a fact. That said, I still think that if you didn't like Microsoft and don't plan to ever own one then there's no need to go into a thread like that to say so... without these negative comments, discussions could go ever so smoothly and would probably be more productive as well.

Gallant Pig

Thanks for clearing that up. I don't think you're the worst one around here, that's for sure, I put your name in the pile because I didn't want someone to accuse me of singling out PS2/GCN supporters.

Josh H

Ok a lot to address here.

For the Steel Battalion thread, I went into it because it is a $200 game. And that should concern all gamers to a degree, because many think $50 is already to much to pay for a game. I didn't bash the game or the X-box (in fact I said I wouldn't even pay $200 for Mario or Zelda.)

That's not flame bait or bashing. I was just expressing my opinion on a single game costing $200, I said nothing about the quality of the game.

As for pot calling the kettle black, I certainly have posted some flame bait in the past, and I've certainly caused arguments by responding to flame bait.

My response to this, is I don't plan on posting anymore flame bait, and the mods taking action against flame bait would certainly help reducing arguments.

Apparently the mods at least somewhat agree with this idea, just given the fact that Jolt Addict was suspended along with me for the past week presumably at least partly for posting the "flame bait" that started the argument that led to the suspensions.

As for "if you don't own a system, don't post about it" idea, I can't really agree with that one. Someone can play a system and be fairly knowledgeable on it without owning it, so it wouldn't be fair to some.

If we're going to limit posting that much, I say just knock it out all together an ban all topics discussing "which system is better," "which system should I buy," and sales threads and posts. The discussions then would focus entirely on discussing games.

I'd be willing to make that concession, as discussing games is more constructive than arguing over systems anyway. But I imagine most would find that too restrictive of discussions.


Also for the reputation thing, it has always irritated me that people continually say I'm anti-X-box and pro Nintendo.

I'll admit that Nintendo is my favorite company as their games are my favorite and I like their "cheap gaming only machines" philosophy much better than the set-top box machines MS and Sony are going for. And accordingly defend Nintendo being bashed.

However, I also own a PS2 and like it at least as much as my Gamecube. I'm not a fanboy or "loyalist consumer" that's so in love with Nintendo that I feel the need to bash other systems.

Also, I'm not anti-X-box at all. Any time I've posted about the X-box (i.e. in the "What console are you buying this winter" thread) I've never said anything along the lines of "MS sucks," "the x-box sucks. I always politely state that "the x-box's game line up doesn't appeal to me." I've pointed out on numerous occasions that the X-box has a number or games that are really good for the genre (i.e. Morrowind for open ended RPGs). I just happen to not be interested in as many of the Genre or types of games on the X-box as I am on the PS2 or GC.

It seems some of the people here love the X-box so much they that when someone says "the x-box line up doesn't interest me" they hear "the x-box and it's games suck."

Trigger

Here's a thought - what if they made 4 seperate subcategories for the Video Game forum - one for each console and a 4th for "General" discussions involving Dreamcast, PC gaming and whatever else used to be discussed here until the console wars broke out. Then people who didn't like the Xbox wouldn't have to visit the Xbox forum and people who didn't like the Gamecube wouldn't have to visit the gamecube forum and people who didn't like the PS2 etc... Maybe it's just too easy to click on a thread about Steel Batallion when it's right there and just comment on it. If it was seperated, people would be less likely to visit a mini-forum about a console they don't own... maybe?

namja

There are always several ways of saying the same thing, including not saying it at all. If the only thing you have to say about a topic does not contribute to the thread, then just take a deep breath and walk away. This is not to imply that you should only post positive remarks, but that you need to be respectful of the topic and of other users when you post.

Just keep in mind that:
Console bashing = bad.
Flame bait = bad.

Also, let's try to disregard everyone's posting history and try to be more open minded when we read others' posts. And when people post flame baits, kindly use the "Report this post to a moderator" link.

Static Cling

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was going to say, namja.

A few additional comments:

- Please don't assume what we think. Ask us, and we'll tell you.

- Although things in VG Talk can get argumentative at times, I don't think splitting us into subforums by console would be helpful or practical.

- namja said it already, but it bears repeating: let's let bygones be bygones.