CMV: The majority of modern gamers are entitled, overly negative, and impossible to please. It's bad for the industry, positive gamers, and themselves.

Background about me

Just background on myself incase anyone wants to try no true Scotsman on my or anything like that.

I'm approaching 40. Have kids who share my love of games. First console was an NES when I was 5, I've always had a console since. Today I have a gaming PC, a Steam Deck, and a Nintendo Switch.

Lately I have been playing Overwatch, Pokemon, New Zelda, Dragon Quest, and I've been digging into a lot of old JRPG's (pixel remasters, Dragon Quest, Super Mario RPG Remake, etc). I've been heavily into WoW in the past (like, into months of playtime), played dozens of JRPGs, remember N64 Mario Party and wrestling games, etc. I think I fit into the category of "Gamer" pretty darn well. Always down to play the latest streamer games with friends too (Lethal Company, Among Us, Phasmophobia, Fall Guys, etc).

The Problem

I want to start by saying I am not at all saying I love all modern changes in the gaming market. I also know people are allowed to complain.

But what I have found on reddit, in comment threads on all gaming news articles, inside gaming media itself, and among my friends is a crippling, debilitating, bitter, depressing RAGE.

Nothing is good enough. No company is good enough. Everything you are excited about must cater EXCLUSIVLEY to you in exactly the way you wish, or it is Satan's Spawn and f you for enjoying it.

Scarlet and Violet come out and don't have AAA graphics. OK? Don't buy it. Do I need friends who haven't played it shitting on me when I am excited about a new mon? Does the subreddit need to be brigaded with people who don't own the game and just want to shit talk it?

CP2077 comes out and I have fun, no bugs, and they offer extended refunds to anyone who does. I'll sound like a broken record, but *don't play it if you don't like it*. Why do people need to act like the game personally knee capped their grandma?

Overwatch goes FTP and ups skin prices a ton. It's shiny pixels, it's not pay to win. Don't give me crap about new heroes "Sure, I can instantly play the heroes in a number of modes, and I can unlock for free, but what if I want to be in the meta, without playing the game at all, in competitive?" What?? Don't buy the skins. Or stop playing the game. The only legit gripe here is that OW 1 disappeared. Funny enough, CS2 comes out and removes the only mode I ever played, Arms Race, and I get shit on because the Gamer Hive Mind decides that was a shitty game mode, so THAT is OK, but 6v6 going away in OW is again personally offensive to people.

People converge on takes in this community, the edgier the better. You won't give $$ to companies that put out games that have bugs on platforms you don't use, but you'll give views and Patreon subs to people who bitch about games. Do gamers even like games, or is complaining about them #1 now?

And, every time this happens, the publisher makes absolute bank. No one is crying because they went to reddit and people were mean (except, you know, underpaid devs who worked thousands of hours to bring you this just to get shit on). We're only hurting other gamers.

The only logical thing to do is vote with your wallet, and, IMHO, STFU. If Ford makes a new truck and it sucks, I won't buy it. I won't tell my friend he is a POS for buying it, then go onto Ford forums and say they are an evil company destroying my childhood. Why is disrupting fan communities, when you are not a fan, even a thing? Everyone would be happier and healthier playing what they love, being happy when their friends are happy, and living life. These are games.

TL;DR.

I think it comes down to this: The community is going to play/talk about X. You feel you need to play X to not be "left out," But "X" has some issue. So you decide X owes you, personally, changes, so you can not be left out. Or, you choose to not be left out by actively hating on the game, so you are a "part of" the moment by being a hater. The result is a circlejerk of hate. Positive comments are met with "WHY YOU DEFENDING A MULTIBILLION DOLLAR COMPANY" or "YOU BUYING THIS SHIT IS THE PROBLEM!!" A "community" literally frothing at the mouth to insult its members. Who is having fun in these communities, exactly?

But, am I wrong? Are these people fighting the good fight and stopping bad practices? Are they snapping gamers who have entered the Matrix out of it?