N4G: Too Much Confusion ?

Being lucky to have had over a decade of gaming experience from the genius of the Super Nintendo to the High Definition power boxes of the Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 I tend to follow gaming news and announcements on a daily basis.

I have seen the battles between the Megadrive (Genesis) and Super Nintendo, Sony’s project with Nintendo falling on its anus to eventually form the Playstation brand and the death of the Atari Jaguar.  Great memories it has to be said and a lot of great games have flown through the process but with this current generation there seems to be a whole lot more at stake and a whole lot more confusion for those who are just entering the whole video game arena.

Let me explain, I am a gamer and a fanboy of plenty of game franchises but never consoles. I simply buy the consoles so I can play the games I want, I never defend a console manufacturer like Sony or Microsoft simply because they only give you the wrapping paper for the present you have just received.  Sadly a lot of people do not see it that way...

Console fanboys have been emerging strongly in the past four to five years; mainly due to the internet become the normal process in the family. Everyone now has a voice and it can be heard by millions. When a website like N4G comes along, offering the community the chance to post news, write blogs, discuss games and share their passion it is usually looked upon as a praiseworthy effort by the people who created the site.

N4G is indeed praiseworthy, presentation is strong, easy to browse menus, registering is easy and it is updated by the minute. Excellent. So what is the problem?

The console fanboys who take things far too seriously are the problem and when an open platform that N4G provides to everyone who is willing to contribute there are bound to be those who want to make it political, who want to take it as if their life depends on it and this is no good at all to those who have just showed interest in video games. It can be just one massive headache.

Take a look at the Playstation 3 section of the site with these various news articles:

http://www.n4g.com/gaming/News-245834.aspx

http://www.n4g.com/industrynews/News-245531.aspx

See what I mean? What is a newbie into the gaming sector supposed to think when a website runs two stories totally opposite to each other on a daily basis. Dont get me started on the Xbox 360 section.

The website is supposed to be about games, keep it that way. Forget all this political crap, leave that alone. It’s entertainment not war.  Keep it simple. Stick to the actual games themselves because at the end of the day, that is what got us all interested in the first place.