Why are people so obsessed over their consoles?

So I was browsing through Gamespot today looking up some tokyo game show info, and took a read through the MGS4 preview. My question to you guys is, how come in the comments section for any console related article there is ALWAYS a 360 vs PS3 war (with some incredibly stupid posts like the one I read below). I've never owned a console so I wouldn't know but to me it seems like the majority of people with a 360 like putting down the PS3 and vice-versa.

 

Because they can. As some have dubbed it "console wars"

 

It's always been like this and will always be like this.

Just have a look at comments people post on youtube (on anything).
There are fans loyal to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft that will defend their console no matter what. It's ridiculous but that's how it is.
Some people love to troll and create useless arguments. The quote you posted is an example of that, someone just randomly insults the 360 to start a flame war. Of course, someone's going to reply to this post and people will argue with meaningless BS that their system is better.

Also keep in mind that a lot of people who posts like that are teenagers or younger.

Anyways, there's no real answer to your question. Keep in mind that it's not really an obsession over consoles as it's like that with everything.
You'll notice similar arguments about games (which game is better, which character class is better, what spell is better, etc) or anything that someone can own. I'm sure you can find computer forums where people will argue like that about their comptuers, or similar arguments for ATI vs nvidia.
When you talk about a product or something someone can own, lots of people will buy a certain brand and will argue that it's the best.

 

there consoles are possibly making up for something?

 

I wish i had enough time to justify the purchase of a console, let alone harping about one. I just got the xbox 1 (where was i for xbox 2 through 359?) a few months ago. I've played 5 rentals on it i think.... it just sits.

 

I personally believe that the console flame wars will only get worse because the underlying cause has been inflamed with the recent generation of consoles.

Teenagers can generally only afford ONE current-gen console. 300-500 bucks is a pretty penny to most people, especially those that don't have income. How would you feel if someone told you that the console you spent 400 bucks on was crap? You'd say THEIR console was crap and wasn't as powerful.

In the end, most of the consoles have some solid games running on them, that is what matters. Teenagers flame each other to defend the console they spent money on. When you are that young, it is very easy to become insecure about many things, value is one of them. And consoles are valued at 300-500 dollars. They need to reinforce in their own minds that they spent their sparce cash on the superior option.

You'll find that people who own several or all of the consoles are very moderate in their opinions of each console. Rational, too.

 

I completely agree. It's the whole e-pen1s thing where whatever I have is always going to be much better than what you have. People will argue over anything, it's definitely not limited to consoles, for example: you have the console v. pc debate which is just as stupid as the console v. console debate.

 

yeah like console is way much cheaper to play than having $1000+ pc to play pcgames, then argue continues on

 

My e-Penii is engorged by my post count.

 

I think its mostly that people like to justify their purchase. I mean, after dropping $500+ you sure do hope you got the best thats out there. Then again, I own a PS3 and don't do any trash talking, nor do I listen to trash talk.

For some reason, I really hope that all these bashers are all young, because it would be quite pathetic if you're 21+ and wasting your time insulting others because of video games.

 

You have more than 1??

Psh.

HAx.

 

Hirush you are sooo wrong , pc games are not the main function of computers and are an extra.. and anyway , you can achive much highyer fps on a pc than any brand new crummy graphics console...
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
(althoguh i must admit console graphics are getting better at a extremly fast rate and are able to output amazing resoloutions at steady rates.)

 

you just made them go flaccid.

 

I am mostly a pc user but the reason I like consoles is that everything just works perfectly on them, no need for any tweaking or lowering graphics to get a game to run, they will all run on max settings without a hitch.

In other words consoles are much easier to use, just pop the game in and run it no need to waste time finding the "sweet spot" (lol I hate those two words) betwen performance and quality

 

That´s the beauty with PC gaming to tweak, tweak and tweak and overclock oh my

I own a 360, thought it was fun at first but never play on it anymore. Just bought a game pad to my PC that looks like the 360 one and works like a charm. Then I own a gaming rig to and want the best graphics out of it.

Yeah I admit I´m a graphics whore and to me my 360 is way inferior my PC. I have a hard time stand the low resolution textures on the 360. I wouldn´t say every 360 game runs at a steady FPS, my 360 version of Oblivion doesn´t Gears of War doesn´t, I notice this right away if there is any fps drop, shouldn´t be that on a console should it

I own bioshock on my PC, now I was at my friends house and saw him play it, well the game chugged really bad in some areas meanwhile my bioshock on my PC never has any fps drops and runs at steady 60++++ fps maxed on my 8800GTX and Core2Duo 3GHz

 

Yea pc gaming does have its advantages but when you dont have the time to do all that tweaking consoles are the best, and another thing about consoles is that you dont have to upgrade to keep up with the games, only upgrade is when a new console comes out which is mostly every 3-4 years or so.

Being a teen I find that console gaming is much easier and cheaper than pc gaming

 

this can't be real....

 

Oh yeah it´s real, just go to the gamespot forums and in the sub forum System Wars, it´s hilarious to read how Hermits, Sheeps, Lemmings and Cows as they call themselves fight it out

 

Hit the nail on the head.

PC gaming isn't immune though - there are plenty of flamewars between ATI and Nvidia zealots. I mean, people spend $500 on a video card, and they'll do everything in their power to convince themselves and everybody else that they made the right decision.

Me? I don't give a damn. I had a Radeon x1800xt in my desktop before, and I have a Go 7950 GTX in my laptop now. They both kick ass. I buy whatever gives me the best performance for a good price.

...But the Wii pwns all.

 

Xbox Rulezzzzz

 

"MASTER CHEF in HELLO3" LOL! Thats a good one, im gonna use that.

 

because those xbox360 fanboys are just trying every chance they get to put down the ps3 while they can. when the ps3 catches up then it will be an even war. because the xbox360 has been out way longer than the ps3, and the wii in my opinion is not really in the console wars for (hardcore) gamers.

also the other way around, because ps3 fanboys like putting the xbox360 down cause of its crappy hardware, especially basic dvds and external hd-dvd player. but the main thing is the Red Ring Of Death (RROD) and some xbox360 fanboys are pissed, because its happening right befor H3 ( halo 3).

i would know this because in my small circle of friends, i happen to know that this happens all the time. one of my friends and i own a ps3, and two of my other friends own an xbox360 and its fun to make fun of each other's consoles, its kind of like a sport. but its pretty funny to see them get mad because one of their xbox360's RROD the other day, and what sucks is that he wont get to play H3 until MS gives him back his 360.

i mean i did get the ps3 for upcoming games like gta iv, but the reason i got the ps3 was because of the multi-fuctionality and the fact that the hardware is more reliable than the 360 based on statistics. the wii does not count on this one, although my brother owns one, its only fun for a couple hours or at a party, but alone its kinda boring.

my 2 cents on this topic

 

I watch DVDs on my XBOX 360. It's a good DVD player, probably because it can devote so much horsepower to decode and display the video output.

And the marketplace is pretty schwing... it is a bit like Steam if Steam were by Microsoft and a little more frilly.

Nonetheless, PS3 "Home" sounds really awesome to me, I can't wait to see how that pans out.

I don't own a Wii...but you'd better respect that little guy. It'll be the sole reason gamers in the current generation ever get married, because it managed to pull in that whole "female" demographic we've all heard so much about.

 

hahaha i get a good kick out of people who justify whatever it is that they own regardless of it's actual performance/value.

I just graduated college in May, so i know how it is to be short on cash. I bought an xbox 360 a year and a half ago so i've owned it for quite a long time and the reason I bought it was because I could not afford to upgrade or build a new PC. I love gaming on both as i prefer to play RTS and some FPS on the PC and mostly sports games and 3rd person shooters and some FPS on the 360.

So finally i was able to build a new rig because I could afford it and I still game on both. I play rainbow six vegas on my 360 b/c it's optimized better for it and like to play CoH and FEAR combat on my PC. I mean to debate which is better is useless... it's like arguing about politics or religion, how often have you ever seen someone change sides and say "well, great points you made there, i think i will switch my opinion now." Some games are going to look better on one or the other depending on the game.

So if you don't own one or the other I feel you should have no say in the debate. If you have a 360 and not a ps3 or PC you should really not say how inferior the others are because you've never even played on one or own one!

 

I just buy what's best (usually). Unfortunately, I made a mistake when the Xbox1 came out, and jumped on the band wagon. It was okay for about a year, but then support dropped, Xbox Live became laggier, and more and more PS2 games were coming out.

Now this time, I've waited a bit. Scoped out the competition, and will be jumping on the PS3 around chrissie.

 

Exactly, PS3 or as some XBOX 360 fans say "Puss 3" is what I will be getting. Sure its expensive and doesnt have many game titles but it is the only console out of the three that I find will be left standing simply because the horsepower that drives it is astounding. Also PS3 is getting a much more attractive purchase as it has many features that I need such as DVD upscaling and Bluray

 

I just buy everything. That way I am always right, and you are always wrong if you disagree


Seriously though, I remember overhearing arguments between people about the SNES and Genesis. Insanity. I'd also like to mention, Gamespot is a nice site, but their forums and comments are full of the trash of humanity.

 

Waitwaitwait. You got Xbox1, which was the most powerful console of its generation, but it didn't have the PS2's game library. You don't want that to happen again.

Now you want to buy the PS3, the most powerful console of its generation, but it doesn't have the 360's game library.

Brain is bleed.

 

It's really too early to say which console will have the best games. As of right now none of the 3 have a huge game line-up coming. They all have a few good titles coming out but that's about it.
I'm not really sure what you mean when you say the "360's game library" since it's really not that great (yet anyway).

I personally will wait a few years before I even consider buying one of the next generation consoles.

 

I agree, it's a good idea to wait a while before moving to a new generation of consoles. I'm so slow when it comes to these things that I only just bought a PS 2 recently! Although I've had an xbox and a PC for quite some time...

 

And who has determined that the POS3 is actually a more powerful console?

1. The Xbox 360 CPU architecture has three times the general purpose processing power of the Cell.

2. The Xbox 360 GPU design is more flexible and it has more processing power than the PS3 GPU. Additional innovative features contribute to improved rendering performance.

3. The memory system bandwidth in Xbox 360 exceeds the PS3's by five times.

Sounds to me like it's the other way around!

 

MGS4 > Halo 3 Plus I can get FFXIII.

 

My brother and I have a 360. He plays it. Nintendo DS FTW!!!

 

This sounds like the "Jordon vs Kobe" or "Who's college team is better?" conversations at the office. It's fun and there is pride behind it. If anyone ever talked bad about my Georgia Bulldogs, I'd stand my ground.

 

Ahh yes, im getting a PS3, graphics are by far clearer and its hardrive is upgradeable

 

Wow, this "people who fight about consoles are stupid" thread is turning into another console war...

 

I gave up on the whole console wars thing after sega died now I just don't care much. I'll admit to liking the 360 at least in terms of games and the guys behind the system more than the others. As far as hardware goes though my god the ps3 is incredible

 

Well it was pretty obvious that it would. As soon as someone say anything bad about a console a war will start.

 

yep, tibo here is right. why cant we all just get along? geez, these a$$es with xboxes hate people with PS3s, and visa versa. I dont get it, you get waht you get and ya be happy.

 

you had better be joking. *wall of halo 3 fans w/ MA5C assault rifles runs over lysander*

seriously, though. you are coming dangerously close to a flame war, i'm just warning you now. halo 3 is the most anticipated game in videogame history, and publicly dissing it is not the best idea. everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but some things are better left unsaid. i'm not flaming you, just giving you fair warning.

unless you were joking and it completely went over my head. DO'H!!

 

I hate consoles for this reason alone. People need to keep their opinions to themselves.

 

You're kidding right? A fair warning? What?
He never dissed Halo. He just said that MGS4 was better (which is also his opinion). He never implied that Halo 3 sucked or that it was a bad game.
You need to calm yourself and realize that Halo's just a game.

The fact is, people need to start accepting others opinions.
Not everyone loves Halo. There's no reason to get all mad and start a flame war because someone doesn't like a game.
Halo's a fun game. It's a good game. It's certainly the best FPS out there but it is one of the better ones for consoles. It also didn't bring anything new to the FPS genre.

 

Thank you. he just cracked the nutshell i put it into (sorry tibo, i put she at first)

 

need a life? and i didnt know there was much of a videogame history either?

 

It's just my opinion. Loved Halo 1, loved the book trilogy, was sorely disappointed by Halo 2 (which I went to the midnight launch for, yay for getting it ten hours before the US!) and I don't care for Halo 3. All the previews (and the MP Beta) have left me wondering what exactly they did in the time between 2 and 4 days away.

Plus, an MGS game has never failed to blow me away. Kojima knows how to suck you in.

Actually, here in Aus, there was more publicity/hype surrounding Halo 2 than Halo 3. Infact, I saw more stuff in store for Quake Wars and World in Conflict than I did for Halo 3.

Then, there's always the hype factory that was Half-Life 2.