Due to the three major console manufacturers branching off to fill specific niches in the market, there hasn’t been a true console war in a long time. However, this does not stop what many refer to as “fanboys” (Not a very gender-neutral term, is it?) from idolizing their specific console brand of choice and throwing shade on other console brands. In a way, I get it. Being a fan of something and not liking another thing isn’t really a bad thing. However, bashing products that you do not like but others do is useless, and here’s why:
Not Your Friends
Brands are not your friends. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all large corporations with one goal in mind and that goal is to make money. I have lived through every console generation from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 5, and I have watched all of these brands do some pretty horrible and anti-consumer things. There is no way that, at 37 years old, I’m going to idolize a product or service from a corporation.
Competition Is Good
It’s actually a good thing that there is competition in subsets of the video game market. Time and time again, history has shown us that a video game company being too successful is a bad thing. Atari got too big and too lax on its quality control, and it caused a crash in the North American video game market. Riding off the success of the PlayStation 2 and feeling invulnerable, Sony decided that consumers should get a second job to pay for a $600 PlayStation 3. Coming off the success of the Xbox 360, Microsoft felt like you shouldn’t own the games that you buy, although they later backtracked due to backlash. More recently, Nintendo has been very successful in cornering its piece of the market. The corporation has been on a Cease and Desist letter tirade for the past few years and even sent a cease and desist to an organization making custom Joy-Con skins to raise money for charity.
Nintendo actually sent its lawyers after an organization looking to sell Joy-Con shells for a mental health charity.
The Real Heroes
It is important to remember that the companies who produce these consoles got in this position by stepping on others. They are no one’s friend. They are heartless machines. Just because it looks like these corporations care in commercials and social media, it doesn’t mean it’s true. The real people you should be idolizing are the ones who make the games, no matter which company they work for. Even though it’s just their job, it doesn’t mean that they don’t understand that they are the ones bringing enjoyment to the hobby and smiles to people’s faces. The console is just a box. Buy the box that works for you and enjoy the games you do.
