So here we are again. In all honesty; I believed that the Bayonetta 2 debacle would've been the peak of this entitlement culture that is so prevalent in gaming these days but I couldn't have been more mistaken. I've always tended to forget about the strange situation that gamers often find themselves in when it comes to the games that they love or profess to love. I saw enough hate for Bayonetta 2 (a game that would've been cancelled without Nintendo's assistance.) to make me realise that there is an insidious, entitlement culture that has seeped though the gaming community.
The biggest problem that has afflicted gaming ever since the 90s has been the fanboy. You know the kind that owns all of their favourite company's consoles and belittle the competition on a daily basis. I see that type of devotion as akin to supporting a sports team, as one tends to wrap their own self-esteem or self-worth over how well a sports team, company, game series performs. When things are going good, things are great. When things are going bad, we project our own anger and insecurities at the competition because we refuse to admit that there may be flaws, mistakes and problems that should be remedied.
I look at the various comments made on N4G, on Neogaf and I laugh at all the self-righteous indignation and resentment that seems to have been generated by a mass of sentimentalists who wear the mask that they only have the developer's best interests at heart. Well, allow me to put this into perspective for the eternally offended. The Nintendo and Atlus deal hasn't happened and it might not even happen at all which makes all this "controversy" ridiculously amusing to me. It's almost as if the very idea of Nintendo acquiring a much-respected studio is so reprehensible because Nintendo will censor them and ruin them. I mean look at what happened with Bayonetta 2? Oh right. Nothing happened with Bayonetta 2. What about that excellent RPG company Monolith Soft? Have they created a Super Mario RPG: Babby edition recently? Of course not because Nintendo already have capable teams that can already do that type of thing if they wished to. I also sincerely doubt that if Nintendo were to acquire Atlus and it's assets that they would interfere or sabotage any Atlus games because it wouldn't make much sense to mess with a winning formula. Monolith Soft has done perfectly fine since Nintendo took them over; so why can't Atlus?
Let's be realistic here for a second. What if Microsoft bought them? Would that be a far better alternative than a company like Nintendo taking over? I mean they don't make games for babbies and they did a fantastic job with Rare and have clearly shown how to properly run a once-wonderful studio into the ground. Would that be far more acceptable? Or better yet; what about if nobody bought Atlus and they simply ceased to make games altogether? For some people, it is a better alternative for that to happen than for Atlus exclusively making games for a Nintendo console. I think I could say with a great amount of certainty that if Sony were in talks over Atlus; there would be nowhere near the amount of butthurt Barrys over such an acquisition and we all know why. Nintendo does not hold any great level of respect with the "hardcore" audience and that is of no great surprise due to the lack of 3rd party support that they've suffered since the SNES days. Even the term "hardcore gamer" is laughable on the face of it because console gaming has always been decidedly casual. Anyone who has ever had to figure out how to use a DOS prompt to run a game in the good old days will understand what I mean when I say that while others may be aghast at what I've just written. The truth is the truth and there is no getting around it.
There is no such thing as a hardcore gamer. Only gamers with inflated egos and low self-esteem term themselves in such a way, as if to give themselves a status that warrants some kind of preferential treatment. We term ourselves whatever we please to give ourselves a sense of identity or a sense of belonging to something worthwhile because we become so easily attached to the people and the things around us, not truly knowing ourselves nor being honest with ourselves, as if we live in a fog of deception which is entirely our own making. People should also realise that Nintendo have been doing their best to change their image to cater to gamers of all ages. Whether or not Nintendo buy Atlus and their assets is up in the air at the moment but even if they do; any self-respecting gamer should be glad that this talented studio may be granted a reprieve to create whatever games they wish to. But let this also be known. Just because you're a fan of a company doesn't mean that you are entitled to their output or that they should follow what you have to say. Asking for a proper ending to a series or demanding bugs or glitches be fixed is not equivalent to asking a developer to be multi-platform or not to be bought over by a company that you dislike. It's not as if they'll have much choice in the matter anyway because they'll just be put up for sale with little to no input on who buys them.
I perceive that there will be a huge amount of death threats sent to Atlus if they were to go with Nintendo. The immaturity that is currently present within the gaming community does not bode well for the future of games in general, as a medium cannot fully mature unless the audience themselves have matured and that will never happen for a long while yet. Unfortunately, the more measured responses to this news have been overshadowed by a glut of whiny, entitled manchildren who cannot bear the very idea of Nintendo taking over a "beloved" company like Atlus. I look forward to the internet rage spike that may occur if the Nintendo/Atlus thing comes to fruition. So much wailing and gnashing of teeth will be unprecedented and I will stand back and mock them, ridicule them at every turn and put them on academic probation.
As Izanami from Persona 4 once said; "Your anxiety causes you to see only what you want to see and believe only what you wish to believe." If you cannot abide Atlus appearing on a Nintendo console; don't buy the console and miss out on the games. If it appears on a Sony PS4 and you can't abide Atlus appearing solely on Sony platforms; don't buy their products. Although, I sincerely doubt that would be a particular problem for a number of people on this site; I sincerely doubt that there would be any outcry of any sort if Sony were to buy Atlus.
Ah well. I look forward to the future and what it will have in store for us all. It will be most interesting to see what lies in store and I hope that Atlus will be allowed the freedom to do what they want regardless of whomever buys them.
At least they would still be in business.
Duuro says: "I think the idea behind the movement is cool, but on the other hand, the execution and clear limitation of the platform somewhat undermine the whole thing."
"The Wakefield-based (the UK) indie games publisher and developer Team 17 and indie games developer Ernestas Norvaišas, are today very proud and excited to announce that the full version (v1.0) of their train-led city builder “Sweet Transit”, is now available for PC via Steam and EGS." - Jonas Ek, TGG.
Review - If you are a fan of intrigue in your stories then The Mildew Children on Xbox will be well up your street.
I was kinda conflicted about this blog. It seems to want to be neutral, but instead comes to Nintendo's defense. I will try to imagine it is somewhat intended to be neutral. Either way, there are just as many Nintendo fans acting entitled to Atlus too. But of course, i'm sure u knew that. Just guess there isn't enough room to include it.
Third party is best. It would have been more neutral if it played up the need for a 3rd party solution (which it touches on, but not as much as it comes to Nintendo's defenses).
Interesting blog.
It does seem that there are far too many entitled gamers getting their panties in a twist over the prospect of the the big N acquiring Atlus, if this ever does come to be I expect the outcry to rival that of the Bayonetta 2 debacle which quite frankly was laughable.
Couldn't care less about Bayonetta 2. All I know is I want more Persona on the Vita, because I love the hardware and think it would be a great fit.
You make out like it's just Sony fanboy's hating on Nintendo, but seem to be ignoring the massive outcry from Nintendo fans too. Looks to me Nintendo buying them out is the most popular choice.
Anyway, I have to question a lot of people on this site, there seem to be a lot of Nintendo (And Sony) fanboys who didn't seem to care at all about these Atlus franchises now all of a sudden it's "Sony should buy them!" this and "Nintendo should buy them!" that. Seems to me a lot of people just want their console of choice to "Win".
It's Monster Hunter all over again. It's just bragging rights, half the people on this site won't even consider buying any of Atlus' games.
Nintendo wouldn't censor them, but Atlus would lose mad sales from not selling from multiple platforms, but only TWO.
Nintendo or Sony would be the two evils actually. Let them make more money and reaching out to more people. If Nintendo bought them only Wii U and 3DS games would be made from them. If a third party gets them look.
360
PS3
PS Vita
3DS
Wii U
PS4
Xbox One
Ios
Nintendo fanboys and Sony fanboys for the good of gaming f off. You're the most spoiled brats if these are the first companies that you want to buy them, you fing with Game devs money, peoples money.
If MS did buy Atlus, I'd be quite content with no longer buying Atlus games. If Sony or Nintendo bought Atlus, I'd be quite happy with continuing to support them.
It's only entertainment. Simple, really.