A Gamers Perspective – Console Wars

My first experience with gaming came as a young boy who saw an arcade game for the first time.  I remember going grocery shopping with my parents. Dad would give us 50 cents each and we would go play Mario Brothers.  I was completely hooked at that point. As I got older, more games crossed my path.  Classics like Shinobi, Mortal Kombat, Pole Position and Gauntlet to name a few.  When we got an Atari 2600, I knew that video games would be a part of my life forever.

Obviously, I grew up in a different era than we live in today.  I’ve played games on Atari, Intellivision, Sega, Commodore 64, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, PC, GameCube, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox One X and countless handheld systems.  Today’s platforms offer an experience that my generation could only dream of at the time. Online connectivity and multiplayer, chat and even game streaming have just completely opened up a world in which gamers can enjoy almost any experience they desire.

Which brings me to what is bothering me.  “Console Wars.”

I had friends with different game systems than I had growing up.  We never despised each other for it. I never heard reference to being less than someone else because of what I chose to play on.  Of course, social media didn’t exist then to give people the opportunity to be “anonymous” in their dislike or perceived hatred of another platform.  Today we see terms thrown about to describe people like “PC Master Race”, “X-bot” and “Pony” used in a negative way toward fans of each platform and it saddens me.

Every day I see posts or comments being thrown back and forth on Twitter.  Things that are either touting how much better one platform is over another, bragging about sales numbers, or just outright attempting to shame someone over their choice for gaming.  I just want to ask people two simple questions when I see this. “Why do you do it?” and “What joy does this give you?” I really don’t understand the thinking behind such comments. Especially when they become hateful, vulgar and inappropriate.

Now I understand some folks are die-hard fans of a particular company and that’s fine, but it doesn’t have to extend to the extremes that it does.   Your preferred gaming choice is still there, working to improve and provide better hardware, games and player experiences. Why can’t we all just enjoy that?  Opportunities to connect with friends and make new ones, enjoying the ideas of creative minds and sharing our gaming experiences with others is where our passion and energy should be spent.

Gaming should be enjoyable and fun for all as it was intended to be.  Friendly competition is natural and honestly, encouraged. That’s what drives us as gamers to play and get better.  It is also what drives the developers and manufacturers to produce better content, games and hardware for us to enjoy.  Harassment, hate speech and negativity do not have a place in the gaming world. As an owner of a PS4, PC, Xbox One and Xbox One X, I thoroughly enjoy what is offered to all gamers.  If you as a gamer enjoy only one of these platforms, that’s ok. All people have different tastes. It’s what fuels the diversity in gaming today. Disagreeing with others is natural and acceptable, as long as it is healthy.  When animosity and even jealousy begin to fuel disagreements, that’s when the joy of gaming falters.

It’s time to bring back the positive side of gaming.  The sheer excitement, enjoyment and pure happiness that gaming brings.  There is so much out there to play that we should be thankful for. I, for one, appreciate the opportunity to share my gaming experiences with others.  Let’s put all the toxic behavior behind and focus on what really matters.

Let’s bring the joy back to gaming!

About the Author:

James Parker is an avid amateur gamer who has been playing video games since childhood. Known as EpicQuiet on gaming platforms, he is always interested in discussing all things game related.