According to Merriam-Webster, Groupthink is : a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics.
Wiki explains it a bit better: Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. Individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness, as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group.
I’d say that most of the gaming community is guilty of this to some degree or another. It has been ingrained in us at a very early age to “share”, “get along”, and “play nice with others”. On the flip side, once we find friends with common interests, we develop bonds with them and form groups/cliques/”clans”. It’s human nature.
So, with that in mind, it’s easier to understand the psychology behind the “warring” factions between console owners.
Take the most recent example of this… Halo ODST reviews.
There are ppl on both sides (PS3 and Xbox360) who are acting like slobbering buffoons about this. I have a secret to let everyone know. I’ve NEVER played any Halo games. Not to say that I haven’t wanted to play them at some point, but I just never have. I don’t own an Xbox 360 and I doubt I will. Nothing against it per se, it’s just that my gaming preferences led me to the PS3 and I’m extremely happy with it.
Having said that, I certainly don’t begrudge people being excited about Halo: ODST. It’s getting great reviews for the most part. If Xbox gamers are happy about the game, cool! You see, it doesn’t affect me. I won’t be buying it; I more than likely won’t be playing it.
Now, what does this have to do with groupthink? Well, you have people on both sides (from the extremes on both sides, I hope) either saying it’s the best think since peanut butter and jelly in the same jar to people saying it’s as bad as Yaris.
And it’s all too easy to fall into the group that you “associate” with. Let’s all try to step back and appreciate games for what they are… games. If someone is excited about a particular game, let’s not try to rain on their parade.
Gaming, as has been said oodles of times, is supposed to be fun. Often times I find the discussions of gaming, not so much fun. It shouldn’t be that way.
Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.
Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.
To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.
The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.
Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.
15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.
These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse
The charity event will be streamed live from Gamescom in August.
Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.
n4g is a good example of groupthink. The odst articles are a bit extreme with 40 disgruntled ps3 fans calling it a 4 hour dlc rehash for every one interested gamer.
the forza VS GT debacle as well.
PS3 faithful is the only "accepted" group on n4g, which is a sad thing for a gaming site indeed.