What Compels the Hatred?

   Hate:1. transitive verb dislike somebody or something intensely: to dislike somebody or something intensely, often in a way that evokes feelings of anger, hostility, or animosity

2. transitive and intransitive verb have strong distaste for something: to have strong distaste or aversion for something, somebody, or something that has to be done
      
 Ever since venturing to the confines of N4G I have read over and over again sentiments that fit within either of the definitions above. That begs the question "why the hate?" What compels someone to despise Microsoft or loathe Sony? What is the fuel that feeds the fire? Is it just human nature (especially youthful human nature) to dislike what is different, or what is not yours? Some of the comments on N4G are filled with such vitriol that one could believe that Sony or Microsoft had murdered the families of those making the comments. How can someone be so personally invested in a particular console or online service that it blinds them to the merits of the competition? I am constantly amazed by the intensity some commenters use to express their hate of one product or another, but intensity is not a reason. So what is the reason, the compulsion that drives some of the N4G members to espouse such a strong feeling toward a product, service, or company?

[lh_swe]

Giving some more reason of your own why you may think is the reason behind the hate, good read tho.

[Redgehammer]

but the reason I left my opinion out is that I am truly interested in why other people hate, since I do not. I also didn't want to bias any answers by presenting my own theories, but thank you for the comment.

[thedisagreefairy]

its too late now, im positive they will count the thread as a duplicate since u made a blog though.

ive come to the conclusion that the trolls on n4g and all sites dont necessarily say the stuff they say cuz they mean it.
im positive they just say it to rile up the fans wwho has the console their discriminating.

its just their idea of having fun and playing around when they are bored

[miasma]

(this comment will have Microsoft/Sony fanboy wars in mind):
As one above me has mentioned, some are just bored and out to "rile up" a handful of people, annoying yes, but usually harmless. But, there are people that genuinely hate the opposing console or company. Many times it stems from the desire to want what they don't have (the other console as well as the one they already have), but are not able to have it for one reason or another. A false hatred here can help ease that fact and help the person feel better about what they have. However, many times repeating this thought process can convince a person that their hate is 'real', and may feel the need to express it now and then through comments to re-enforce this feeling and validate it. If you were able to have a face to face conversation with some of these people and really try to get at the heart of what it is that they hate, you will find that there really is very little to no real foundation on which this hate was built upon in the first place. Plus, they would probably admit that they really don't 'hate' it, but just dislike it for one reason or another, which probably comes down to some odd opinion, but one they are entitled to have.

Consoles are always being upgraded, and/or better games are always being developed. When one has a 'perceived' advantage over the other, some people may feel they have an inferior product because they are missing out on that extra something, and that can actually translate into a subconscious emotion which they may see themselves somehow inferior. Again, here is where an emotion of hate can make it easier to deal with, quick and simple.

Of course, when you get a group of people together with similar thought processes then you have people supporting each other and the whole thing gets stronger and bigger, and usually blown out of proportion.

Hate is one of the most powerful basic human emotions, and many times can brought on by an immature, or underdeveloped outlook on something. Hating something just because it is different, or because you don't have it, or you don't understand it, or because not everyone is doing what you are doing are good examples of immaturity or some underdeveloped thought process. It is easier and less work to hate something and discard it, than to put in the work to understand, accept, and possible like or love it.

[Gaidrius]

tl;dr

[Redgehammer]

Thanks for a very well done and well conceived addition to the conversation.

[The Shining]

People are irrational with their hate because they are the losers. Sore losers. Won't change anything. Their just the hateful losers now. XD

[TheBand1t]

http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-...

Actually, it's these kind of comments that stir up hate.

[Sarevok]

The Shining just got pwned.... hard.

[N2NOther]

Irrationality fueled by an absurd sense of entitlement.

[randomwiz]

http://n4g.com/NewsCom-3946...

[Spike47]

Now, when you go as far as to label a specific group of fanboys insane or claim that they are somehow inferior, that's when you need to worry.

[da720izcumin]

fanboys are equivalent to sport hooligans.
being guilty myself, I believe it to be just based on pure fun.

[Odin777]

This is just common human psychology and usually signifies immaturity (13-18). I was just talking about this with my brother the other day, actually.

[Jinxstar]

You know what. I see a lot of posts about "Irrational thinking" and "Narrow minded kiddies"... To me, The big reason I hate the 360 is the Nickle and diming. They don't advertise it. They don't warn you. They just do it. They leave out WiFi. They leave out the fact that you have to pay to play. They leave out the fact that buying bioshock of XBL is even more expensive then getting the actual disc in the store... This is, imo, BAD for the industry. It's telling developers that it's ok to nickle and dime us. Proivide us low quality at a higher price like with ODST. It's a few hours of story for 65$ and some DLC that any halo fan should already have. Which in their own right would probably run you well over 40$ if you bought it all new... As opposed to companies that put forth the effort like Naughty dog. They give you a 20 hour game, Online co-op and online MP for the same price... I hate MS because I feel they make it a job to see how much they can rip gamers off. I like Sony and their Dev's because I feel they are pushing the boundries and offering more then your monies worth. Thats what fuels my hate.

[Redgehammer]

You articulated the rationale behind your hate very well, thank you for engaging in the conversation.

[Belasco]

is the usual "M$ is evil" blather. Its ill informed and most of all, ignorant. That is why I hate you.

[All Time Greatness]

Cry moar, Xbox 360 is still a better gaming console than PS3.

[Jinxstar]

And thats why I rarely post anymore...

let me tell you a story. I was in class the other day (Paramedic class at the university. just saying because I'm not some high school kid. I'm a 27 yo firefighter) and showed my buddy a vid of MW2. Most of the fire fighters are not into games at all but this guy would be if he had more money and fewer kids I'm sure. He said something like "The PS3 is better right" I replied honestly with "I believe so" and another guy who has a 360 but rarely plays asked why. I told him because it's free to play online, better exclusives in my opinion, Wi fi built in, Upgradable hard drive and it's a BR player for basically the price of a 360... Actually a 360 is much much more with WiFi and a big Hard drive because MS forces you to buy their brand and not any like Sony does with their HD's. His jaw dropped and he seemed kinda upset over this... He didn't realize what the PS3 offered because someone told him "360 is better.... because" just like you guys did above. No reasoning behind it, just "Because".

Honestly when a friend asks me which console they should buy I ask them many questions like "do you like Halo? Do you have friends that have one of the systems so you can A. Play online with them or B. Borrow/swap games with them" and a number of other things and I feel that playing where your friend are is much better then brand loyalty. I myself have a lot of friends with PS3's so thats where I play myself.

I really hate replies like the ones I got above. If we are talking about "Immaturity" or whatever. I'm a fan of what I play. I feel sony has the better line up and better games. Quality products that are a great value. I feel the 360 is a rip off. It breaks all the time (I had one that broke before I traded it in for a PS3), The games are cheap(ODST) and it feels like when 360 fans do have an argument it usually is 'Cross game chat makes the 360 better" and stuff like "We have netflix and GTA4 DLC" I just feel like MS Nickle and dime like crazy and sell a broken product. I feel they should have stuck to Software. They are good at that...

You don't have to agree with me but I respect your choice. Respect mine. If you don't agree at least make a logical case for it. I am not very... Narrow minded. If you say "i love gears 2 and think it's the best game ever and MS exclusives like Fable 2 and 3 appeal more to me then Uncharted" I have nothing but respect for that and would even say thats what real gamers are like. Game on and rock on. I just feel like dollar for dollar Sony offers you more in Hardware, Games, Online and everything else. You don't have to agree but if your gonna call me out make sense with it and don't just say "Your stupid because... YOUR A STUPID DOO DOO HEAD=P"

[miasma]

Nice thought out reply man, I completely agree with you, especially with "And thats why I rarely post anymore..." part. I am the same way, can never get a good conversation around here most times.
Don't stop commenting though, it is always good to read level headed comments on one side or the other.

Also, to the fact that you are a firefighter, thanks for doing what you do. + Bubbles

[Jinxstar]

Thanks bud. bubs

[budbundystyles]

Jinxstar,
You da man! I had almost the exact same conversation with a co worker last week who asked me why I like ps3. I gave many reasons similar to yours. He stated that every single person he had asked why they like the 360 said vague things like "its just better" or "its got Halo". He ended up buying a slim.
Not trying to hate on Xbox, just tired of the "Just because" reasoning it seems to create among its followers.

[Belasco]

I think your both taking this way too seriously.

[W-k]

what makes me hate* the xbox360 is the timed exclusives and dlc.I'm really glad with my choice if i ever had any hate it was because there was a game on another console that i couldn't play but IMO there are more games that i want to play on the ps3 then on the 360 they both have really different types of games if you think about it. really all depends on what you like,I think most of the hate is because the owner of one console wants you to feel like you should have gotten the other and wants only to make you mad because its apparently fun to make people mad on the internet instead of having an intelligent conversation.and well said Jinxstar i totally agree with you.