People complain about PS3 fanboys all the time. That much is a given. Whether or not it is fair that they do so, it's what goes on in the media. Hell, we had Jim Sterling use the age old “SDF” to describe them in one article (hey Jim, you do know sonydefenseforce.com was made by the Wii60.com owner to parody Sony fanboys, right? And he still denies having anything to do with it to this day, right? Not like Rob Foor even does that good of a job at parodying them, anyway.)
However, one thing the so-called “SDF” does well at (see what I did there?) is being able to get Sony to implement new things, and still be able to call them out when things are not going right. They were able to get Sony to up their game, think about a price cut, push the boundaries of the hardware, develop new IPs, and soon implement cross game chat and Netflix (c'mon, you have to think Sony is going to put the two on one firmware update). In short, Sony fanboys don't let Sony just get away with everything
This is more than what I can say about 360 fanboys, and it's a wonder why there are so many articles about Sony fanboys being the “scum of the Earth” and not one thing about the 360 fanboys that have actually painted Microsoft into its own corner. Yes, there are more than one problem with 360 fanboys, but the main thing is this:
Yes, there are many issues that I have with 360 fanboys, but this is the main thing. You don't have to look any further than the recent admission by Major Nelson that with the next update, all third party data storage options will be locked out of the 360. Now, I know this came as a shocker to many people, especially when instructions of how to replace the PS3 HDD is included in the manual and you can get as much as 500GB into your system, and with the price of the first party HD that Microsoft provides.
Many use third party devices, and if you are lucky enough to know how to do it, replace the HD yourself. However, Nelson never made it clear if he meant ONLY the Datel memory cards (yes, Datel WAS pissed off about the decision) or any HD that wasn't Microsoft approved. This was a bitch move by Microsoft (one that they haven't answered any concerns about since then), as it forces people to have to buy the overpriced first party option. Why not? If you were lucky enough to give the HD enclosure a 500GB drive for the 360, you're only allowed to use the amount that the system lets you use (120GB, last I read). So it would be right for people to be upset, right?
Not the 360 fanboys. I've yet to see one peep out of them. In fact, I've seen some excusing or even praising this decision. Why? Do they not see the issue that Microsoft is creating here? Do they not know that they could have an impact on how Microsoft does their business? If even their most loyal customers stop being pleased and accepting everything they do, then they could change something about it. Instead, the real 360 gamers are left holding the bag while Microsoft never sees the need to change their game because its sheep follow them anywhere they go.
But that isn't the only thing that gets excused. How about the multi-disc issue. Never mind the glitchiness of Forza 3. How about the 2 disc issue of it? If you don't have a HD (as many Arcade owners can claim), you're shit out of luck for the full game (unless you buy the overpriced option), since you have to install one disc to be able to experience the full game on the other. What about when Star Ocean was released on three discs with that entire disc swapping fiasco that happened there? Or Halo 3: ODST on two? This day in age, this is inexcusable with Blu-Ray being readily available (with Microsoft making it a point to deny its customers even the OPTION for the 360), and undoubtedly with disc formats with even MORE storage capabilities being invented.
We're not being lazy with not wanting to have to change discs. We want to be able to just play the game, not worry where we misplaced disc one because we wanted to access a side quest from disc three. But lo and behold, 360 fanboys are just fine with getting up to change the disc every five minutes (yes, I'm exaggerating, but you get my point), and call us who say that's not excusable “lazy”. Are you kidding me? If they had Blu-Ray in the 360, they would gladly take it and not make those claims that they do about the rest of us. Want to know one of the main reasons why Star Ocean on the PS3 was so applauded (besides that Square Enix is FINALLY making a PS3 game that we know we'll have in our hands before spring)? It's because of the Blu Ray capabilities. Want to know why 360 owners will never see even the OPTION of a Blu-Ray drive? Because of the fanboys making excuses for Microsoft again.
Instead, they applaud another thing that they shouldn't be: the exclusive DLC deals. Yes, they've been discussed way too many times, but there is a reason for continuing to bring them up. How many times have new games or new IPs been pushed to the side in favor of getting two DLC episodes from Rockstar, or an extra level from Eidos, or all the issues surrounding the Fallout 3 DLC? What did it actually do for sales of the game on the 360? Not much, apparently, because it only gave us another reason to hate Bethesda, it didn't do much to promote Tomb Raider: Underworld on the 360 (we never heard about the extra level ever again after the initial announcement), and the 50 million dollars that Rockstar apparently got for the two GTA4 episodes (a deal we STILL don't know all the details of even to this day) was for delayed DLC and Rockstar apparently used that to fund the PS3 exclusive Agent.
Hell, two of Microsoft's releases that were hyped up so much were the GTA4 episodes that you KNOW will hit the PS3 sometimes soon with knowing how many of these third party exclusives that Microsoft buys up ends up somewhere else before a year after the initial release. This is all in favor or shutting down first party studios and Dan Greenwald having to act like a complete douchebag about Forza 3. This is all to do one thing: beat Sony by using multiplatform games as the weapon. Major problem when the game you promote is still being released on another platform. Obviously true gamers would be upset over things like this, and I can see where 360 fanboys would applaud such deals.
But they shouldn't be. They are losing out on first party titles in favor of these deals. The only hyped releases were bearing the Halo brand name (sorry, Forza and Valve fanboys, but F3 and Left 4 Dead 2 were hyped because of controversy, not because of their would-be quality), and nothing else even got so much as a commercial for the games. Where could that 50 million dollars go to for Microsoft? Maybe to keep Ensemble Studios open? Perhaps fund a new IP like Rockstar is giving Sony? Maybe getting Final Fantasy 14 a lot sooner (you know how much SE is loving Microsoft money this gen, though that, too, is seemly changing now that SE has seen the PS3's surge this year)? How are the 360 fanboys being able to see the forest from the trees?
I'm not saying that some exclusive DLC isn't good (notice that I'm saying nothing about the Joker DLC), but when you have that much as a way to tout something INSTEAD of other things as opposed to having exclusive DLC in ADDITION to first party titles like Uncharted 2 and inFamous (though that list is not limited to those two games), then you have a problem. Plus, not having the Joker DLC didn't take away from the excellent experience that was Batman: Arkham Asylum. What was the end result of the GTA4 DLC? A crippled GTA experience (not saying GTA4 wasn't good, but it was overhyped and crippled in comparison to San Andreas or even Vice City). So 360 fanboys would rather Microsoft continue with these ways and pass up new games in favor of DLC?
And how about XBL? The PSN is catching up to (and, in some minds, have surpassed) Xbox Live in terms of quality and features. Yet, we still have the 50 dollar a year price point for XBL in addition to the Netflix fees and shit, and though it WAS Michael Patcher pointing it out (take it for what it was worth), there WAS that issue regarding the price of the Gold membership, when the Silver is a fucking JOKE to begin with, moving up to 100 bucks. Though we doubt that will happen (we hope we're right), we don't see the outrage from fanboys about the 100 dollar possibility, even. And they are MORE than happy to fork over 50 dollars for things like Facebook and Twitter while somehow claiming that XBL is light years ahead of PSN.
I must disclaim myself because while I'm not a PS3 fanboy (I'm not by writing this, either), I'm more than happy to consider myself a PSN one because it has grown by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time, and all the games I've bought off of the PSN Store, I've enjoyed. I have many reasons for picking PSN over XBL, and I'm sure many other have, as well, and I cannot see how 360 fanboys can excuse and accept to pay 50 dollars just to play online with friends or do things that you can do on PSN or even on the PC for free. Hell, Steam doesn't even charge you extra, as far as I know, to play with buddies. Why is this so excused so often?
The biggest issue, though, is the mark of the beast: the infamous Red Ring of Death. Yes, it's been eluded to several times, and yes, some people do get tired of hearing about it. However, how many times have we heard the horror stories? How many times have we thought that the issues were taken care of, only to have them reappear again? What about the other hardware issues, like the jet-like motor (it sounds like a fucking motor) of the 360? The scratching of discs when put into the 360 without any prior abuse or irregular conditions the system is in when running the game?
This is the biggest issue I have with the fanboys (and perhaps some 360 gamers, who I have no problem with otherwise). They are too ready to buy another 360 when the first, second, or even third one craps out on them. Why is it that this gets so excused and not called out by anyone? Yeah, we see some blogs continue to bring it up (and they don't bring them up for flame bait reasons. More on that in a moment), and the mainstream media even got in on the fun when the 360 launched, but now, other than that, we see some blogs stick up for MS when systems die, and we see people buying their SEVENTH 360 (and that's NOT an exaggeration, though how I wish it WAS), and fanboys tout it as just a minor problem, with some even claiming that it's “never happened to them”. Okay, maybe not the RRoD, but what about the scratched discs, or the motor (yeah, must be a fucking motor)?
Point is: when is enough enough to the fanboys? Blogs don't post these things to flame bait, or to spite the other side, but because we would LOVE for Microsoft to address these issues (and I mean seriously address them instead of trying to put a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound). They, and me now, bring these things up not because we hate the 360. Hell, if we hated it, we would've just let Microsoft keep doing these same things and let them fall. We bring these things up because we're hoping that Microsoft actually LISTENS to us and answers to them. We would love for Microsoft to finally fix the hardware issues, to focus more on their own system and new games rather than pleasing third parties.
Just because they hold a grudge, make the 50 dollars a year for XBL actually WORTH it, seriously bring up the multi-disc issue, and give us another, more cost-effective storage option. This isn't us asking Microsoft to give the world to us. This is asking MS to do things that we've seen other game console companies do, without consequence, without anything major happening to them as a result. These are things that they could at least address, seriously, TODAY! Yet, when we bring these up, we don't see serious discussions come out of the fanboys, but rather us lumped into the “SDF” box by those who SHOULD be the FIRST ones agreeing with us that something needs to be fixed.
Simply put, this is the reason why Microsoft never changes their strategy. Why change it when you have too many of your fanboys ready to follow you? Why do anything about the things they should address when fanboys are so ready buy their seventh 360, or pay 50 dollars, or accept DLC over new games, or pay 100 dollars for 120GB when you can get 500GB for less than that out of third party HDs, or swapping discs every ten minutes (maybe that's not an exaggeration after all)?
I wrote that Tough Love for Microsoft article about a month ago, and I stand behind that article. Maybe if those same people who bitched at me about why I wrote it would bitch at Microsoft about why these points are never addressed, we won't HAVE to write such articles.
Though I am not holding my fucking breath for the MDF (the “Mircosoft Defense Force”! See what I did THERE, Rob Foor?) to pull through.
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