Reasons Why the Gaming Industry Is Still Ripe for Ridicule

If you've read SuperPhillip Central in the past, you know our opinion of the gaming industry. It deserves all of the ridicule it receives by those on the outside and also those of us on the inside, like gamers, bloggers, journalists, etc. We're a young industry, and we haven't yet completed our growing pains. Take a look at a message board or comment section on a site. Part of the problem presents itself then and there. This opinion piece suggests three ways (there are more, but we don't want to overload you) that we think the gaming industry deserves to be made fun of.

Game journalism is still an absolute joke.

One time we posted a very popular article on the video game news aggregate site N4G, and when it was getting ready to leave the front page's top headlines, it was removed by an administrator. Why it was done then instead of after it gave us thousands of page views is beyond us. The reason? "Only industry professionals can post blogs."

What does an "industry professional" even mean? Does that mean SuperPhillip Central's staff should act like typical game journalists and constantly provide articles for the sole purpose of clickbaiting? Should we get into Twitter battles with indie developers that make someone leave the industry because we feel entitled to an answer or sound byte? Should we give games like Call of Duty: Ghosts high scores so Activision will continue putting ads on our site to give us revenue? Should we shamelessly get invited to all-expenses paid EA-sponsored parties on the other side of the world to pimp up games like Battlefield 4? Should we throw softball questions to the companies that we like best and incinerate the companies we don't with hardball questions? Should we hype up a game with a partnership between us, Doritos and Mountain Dew? Should we just write tabloid-esque articles like Kotaku?

Because that's all we think of when we think of most game journalists, and it sucks because there's many in the industry who do their jobs well. They do hard-hitting investigative journalism, do fair and balanced reviews and give us intriguing interviews without the self-indulging "how awesome is your game?" bullshit.

An industry professional is just another word for someone on a big site like IGN or Gamespot who gets free review copies, trips to fancy parties and events for free and then bitches about their audience being the entitled ones. It certainly couldn't be the folks on this and many other independent gaming sites that don't let the industry's bull pass by us. It couldn't be the folks who generally have to buy their own games and not just get them handed to them with promises of good scores for more ad revenue. It couldn't be the folks who don't have to worry about pissing off a big developer so they don't invite us to their swanky parties or give us free gaming systems that we lick on camera anymore.

And no, we're not saying all game journalists and sites are like that, so please don't get us wrong. We're just sad that this is how our opinion of most game journalists has been shaped because of their actions in the past by places like IGN, Gamespot, Game Informer and Gametrailers.

Gamers still seem to enjoy failure in the industry.

We'll use the Wii U for this one, because it's a system that is down on its luck severely and has been kicked while it's down more times than... uh... something that has been kicked a lot while it's down. Somebody out there give us a better analogy, please!

Anyway, there seems to be a fair amount of people enjoying the failure of the Wii U. This is the exact kind of console zealot behavior that isn't doing anyone any favors. The thing is, when someone is loving a console not doing well, it sort of tells us that they don't respect the video game industry. A platform failing helps no one. No doubt jobs would be lost. Significant amounts of money would be lost. Only a sociopath would enjoy such a thing, and it sadly seems like many gamers fit that title perfectly.

When gamers don't even respect the industry, why in the world should anyone else? Wanting a console or developer to fail because you have some irrational hatred for it or them is not good for the industry. There are honest to goodness people who are loving that these platforms are failing, especially the Wii U. It's like all of the pent up frustration that the Wii beat our their favorite consoles' for five years has finally come to a head.

The Wii U failing is not good. It doesn't make the industry a better place. It's a major platform that is suffering, so instead of saying something absolutely stupid like "Nintendo is getting what it deserves, mwahaha", we should actually want the system to do better. It makes the entire industry a better, more successful place. It gives Nintendo the opportunity to pull off more risks, make money to invest in better games, perhaps make bigger budget games and maybe not rely on their usual franchises as much. Isn't that something we, as gamers who are supposed to love our hobby and want our industry to do well, should want? We aren't too hip right now on the Xbox One, but that doesn't mean we want it to fail. It's just not for us. How hard is it to instead of trolling every Xbox One article or message board topic we find to simply keep it to ourselves or speak of our disinterest in a productive way?

The best discussion forum we have is NeoGAF.

NeoGAF pounds its chest as a preeminent place for video game discussion, yet you take a look at a topic like this, and you see that full blown trolling is not only allowed it seems to be encouraged. And console wars? What topic is complete without a nice unhealthy helping of it? It's the same type of garbage you see on a site like GameFAQs. We're sorry. We just undeservedly insulted GameFAQs. At least GameFAQs has helpful FAQs and cheat codes. It is also sans the superiority complex.

The fact of the matter is if NeoGAF is the best place we have for video game discussion, this industry deserves to be made fun of. NeoGAF is elitist garbage with as many trolls, fanboys, console zealots and hypocrisy as all of the sites their members make fun of combined. It's trash. Plain and simple. Just look at these wonderful quotes full of kneejerk reactions, hyperbole and trolling from various members. These are examples of the types of reasons we have been talking about as to why the gaming industry is still ripe for ridicule.

THIS is the best we can do?! These posts could be transplanted to GameFAQs or a YouTube comments section and one would not be able to tell the difference. You need not think we're cherry picking either. Just enter any Wii U topic, even the ones with a positive message. Those eventually turn negative, too. Enter a Phil Fish topic where internet tough guys want to punch the man in the face. Enter a PS4 RAM topic. Enter an Xbox One 180 topic. Enter any next-gen discussion topic. Enter... etc. The fact of the matter is that NeoGAF is just another site with the types of gamers that embarrass us and our hobby. We need something better than this. When your industry's best site for gaming discussion is just console wars covered up with a superiority complex, then your industry has a severe problem.

And that's what makes being a fan of the industry so maddening. I want the industry to start being taken seriously by people other than gamers, and hell, even gamers don't seem to take it seriously. If things continue, we'll always be the target of ridicule by the masses. The constant infighting, console wars and trolling does little to help our cause. And if, somehow, after all of this you think the industry is perfect as it is, you really need to wake up and realize that you might be part of the problem. Sitting there doing nothing or even engaging in the types of behavior listed is not helping the industry. We need to collectively grow up, wish systems to do well so our industry does well, and have a more respectful discourse with one another about our console choices.

SPC Soapbox - 7/28/13 Phil Fish and How We're Poisoning Our Industry With Hate

This is a special SPC Soapbox. Perhaps you could liken it to an after-school special, but more in the form of an article than a poorly acted TV movie. I felt I needed to comment about being in the center of a controversy, being in the spotlight and turning people against you, all things that I have experienced myself. That's not the only point of this edition of the SPC Soapbox, however. I want to make a declaration and I would like to argue that the constant infighting, trolling, attacking and insulting is poisoning our industry.

Yesterday was an extremely disappointing and disgusting day for the gaming industry, and it occurred because many don't realize what their seemingly innocent words they type from behind a curtain of anonymity can do to a person. This isn't meant to defend Phil Fish, creator of the indie hit FEZ, or his behavior. He is as much to blame for Saturday's situation as anyone else.

What am I exactly talking about, for those that don't know? This all started with a Gametrailers video in which Marcus Beer spoke out, in less than respectful words, about several indie developers, including Phil Fish. This all regarded the turnaround of the Xbox One's self-publishing indie stance. He essentially stated that Fish and other indie developers like him had a duty to tell game journalists their thoughts on what was then a rumor. He then argued that despite not caring about talking to journalists now, Fish and company would do so when they wanted to hype their own creations.

That isn't to say that Phil Fish is completely innocent in all of this. No, not by a long shot. This all ended with something akin to a car crash-- something you can't stop looking at, no matter how grotesque it becomes-- with Phil Fish telling Marcus Beer to go kill himself via Twitter, a site that kills more careers than bombing on the old Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Regardless of his tweet and statement being from Futurama, telling Beer to "kill himself" was not taken lightly by the gaming community, and Mr. Fish blew any chance he had of being the sympathetic figure.

Phil Fish

From insulting Japanese developers in front of a crowded room to insulting fans for asking simple questions to him, it seems that Fish was not ready for the spotlight. Success practically came overnight. One moment he was just the guy from Indie Game: The Movie, the next he was an industry and internet celebrity. How fast this happened certainly took Fish by surprise.

In Indie Game: The Movie, you could see that Fish was a man on edge. He even stated that he might commit suicide over how horrible his experience with the development of FEZ was. This would make him seem like a sympathetic figure, yet his internet and public exploits made him look anything but.

The latest fiasco saw Fish tell someone to go kill themselves. Is it any surprise that he was not liked by many? You stir the hornet's nest, you're bound to get stung, and Fish repeated got stung. You don't call people out, troll them and insult them and get to wonder why people don't like you and attack you right back. Unfortunately for Phil Fish, he didn't learn that although he attacks with one voice, the internet will attack right back with thousands. This pushed Fish into a dark place. Thus, we see him saying he's cancelled FEZ 2 and is leaving the gaming industry.

FEZ

Fish reminds me of me at a younger period in my life. I ran a message board community known as Wi-Fi World, and eventually I began acting out. However, when you keep acting out, apologizing for it (which is the part of all of this that Fish never really did), and then going back and doing the same thing a few weeks or months later, people will stop sympathizing with you, and rightfully so. My final act as administrator was deleting all topics and forums from the site, in a bout of pure mania and finally snapping towards all of the deserved trolling I was receiving. I didn't deserve any respect anymore.

I'm no doctor, but I found Fish's antics really reminiscent of my own back in the day. I suffer from bipolar disorder, and the actions I took were a result of not having the right combination of medications. If Fish suffers from the same debilitating disorder, which his actions and character remind me a lot of, then he should really step back, stay out of the industry, stop being a lightning rod for attacks by stirring things up, and seek professional help. I don't say that in a condescending way. If Fish continues his current path, he's either going to wind up going even more insane or do something extreme.

But that's neither here nor there. I think the moral of this story is to realize that even though most don't have a face on the internet, it's important to treat people the way you want to be treated. Even though a lot of us are anonymous, our words really can hurt even if the other person doesn't have a face to recognize. This is especially hurtful if you're the center of a storm of criticism like Phil Fish was, deservedly so or not. We need to remember that in all of the console wars, message board posts, comment sections, etc. that there are real life people behind the user names we see. Some people simply shrug off trolling or hurtful statements with a simple "lol", but there's many who, whether it's smart to or not, take such statements to heart, despite their attacker being an anonymous face. I know that I certainly did.

We need to be a more civil gaming community as a whole. We need to finally mature as gamers and quit the console wars, the trolling and the insults towards others. We're poisoning our hobby and how it is seen in the public. There's a difference between degrading a console and degrading a fellow human being. Folks like Phil Fish and Marcus Beer don't have that opinion, and in Mr. Fish's case, he found what happens when you aren't respectful to others the hard way.

Let us-- as corny as this admittedly sounds-- rise above the hate and see what we have in common rather than what we don't. Perhaps this is purely ideological, but I dislike what I see going on, and something has to stop.

The Handheld Wars: 3DS vs. Vita: Or Quiet Down and Enjoy Both

It seems after every "gamers should stop embarrassing themselves and their hobby by acting like total jackasses" opinion piece gets some traction in the gamer collective and then proceeds to fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes in this case), you would think that we here at SuperPhillip Central just can't take the hint. Console wars-- or the subject of this piece, handheld wars-- are here to stay in the industry, no matter how pitiful, sad and immature it makes us look to outsiders.

First of all, we here at SuperPhillip Central have seen the worst in gamers. We've seen pathetic "I want X to go out of business because I hate them so much" posts, and "I hope Y game bombs horribly" quips in YouTube comment sections. I, personally, have accepted that a lot of gamers that unwittingly represent the industry (not trying to cast a wide net and throw everyone under the bus here) are never going to grow up*.

*That is a huge insult coming from a guy who quit a job at a certain well-known Nintendo-centric site after telling the staff that their organization was absolute garbage and telling the owner to piss off. In some way, a good portion of gamers are worse than that!

This piece is not about the hundreds of legitimate articles that pit the two platforms against one another to help consumers pick the one that is right for them. This piece is about the discussions (see: wars) between gamers over which is superior, be it because of brand loyalty, hatred of a company, or what have you.

The fact of the matter is that in all of the arguments about which of the current generation of handhelds is superior-- the Nintendo 3DS or Sony's PlayStation Vita-- seldom do we get some level-headed discussion. It seems to usually get interrupted by a vocal minority who only wish to tear the opposition a new one. The truth is that both handhelds have finally come into their own and they possess a fantastic catalog of games for everyone.

Platformer fans (which we begin with because we love platformers at SuperPhillip Central) can hop through colorful worlds as Mario in two unique titles: New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D Land. Vita owners can play the greatest new franchise to come up from this past generation, LittleBigPlanet, with a new Vita-exclusive entry of the game. Or they can hop in for some Rayman Origins enjoyment in anticipation for the Wii U's Rayman Legends. In addition to those games, take Sly Cooper with you wherever you go with the recently released Thieves in Time (they don't have to be exclusive to the Vita to count).

Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (Vita)

Action lovers on the Nintendo 3DS can kill bioweapons of all shapes and sizes in Resident Evil: Revelations, soar through the skies as Pit in Kid Icarus: Uprising (SuperPhillip Central's Game of the Year 2012 runner-up), and enter intense dogfights with Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy. Meanwhile, those with a Vita can take Nathan Drake and Uncharted on the go with Golden Abyss. You also cannot go wrong with Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, bringing another console-centric series to the Vita. Don't forget the gravity-defying Gravity Rush. Finally, the upcoming Soul Sacrifice is set to overwhelm the senses and accelerate the pulses of its players with its awesome boss-battling action.

Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (3DS)

Don't forget racing games either. The 3DS and Vita are bringing the goods here as well. For the 3DS, you have the seventh mainline installment of the Mario Kart franchise, whereas with the Vita you get the latest in the Wipeout series, Wipeout 2048. Both platforms give you a taste of meme favorite Ridge Racer as well.

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

Wipeout 2048 (Vita)

Roll with the punches with fighting games, which both platforms having a minor stake in the genre. The 3DS gives you Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition and Dead or Alive Dimensions. Meanwhile, the Vita gives you Street Fighter X Tekken.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (3DS)

Street Fighter X Tekken (Vita)

Then there are role-playing games to be had like those found on the 3DS when you utilize Flowmotion to defeat foes in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, or use strategy to outwit your opponents in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Even Mario gets in on the RPG goodness with Paper Mario: Sticker Star. On the Vita side, the RPGs are coming with titles like Final Fantasy X HD and Phantasy Star Online 2. (I saved a certain Persona game for a later section, gang!)

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)

Phantasy Star Online 2 (Vita)

Or how about some gonzo gaming (i.e. stuff that is off the wall and/or unusual)? The 3DS and Vita have got you covered there, too. The 3DS has you covered with titles like Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Freakyforms, Pushmo and its sequel Crashmo, and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. The Vita has stuff like Touch My Katamari, Little Deviants, New Little King's Story, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz, and the phenomenal Sound Shapes.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)

Sound Shapes (Vita)

With all that newness on both platforms, why not take a look back at the past? Remakes and ports are on both platforms. The 3DS has one of the best games of all time made better in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a Nintendo 64 classic in Star Fox 64 3D, and Tales of the Abyss. Vita owners can enjoy the absolutely enthralling Persona 4: Golden, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and the upcoming Muramasa port, which will look gorgeous on the Vita screen.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)

Persona 4: Golden (Vita)

But I know what some of you might be thinking. You might be thinking in that "knowledgeable" head of yours that you can't afford both handhelds, so that means you somehow have an excuse for your potentially embarrassing behavior (i.e. trolling message boards and comment sections against the handheld you hate). To borrow a saying from our U.K. readers, that is absolute rubbish. You might even have the world's most specific taste imaginable that somehow you only gravitate to the games of one system and the other has zero that you have any interest in. How convenient, no? If you have read all of the games for each platform this piece has listed and still cannot admit that the other handheld might have a game that interests you, then you are beyond saving.

The reality here is that both platforms are here to stay, they have a terrific lineup of games, and their libraries are only going to get better. If only the debates (don't make us post examples) between gamers would get better as well.