Top 5 Recent Fanboy Arguments

Fans vs Valve

Three words: Half. Life. 3. Fans have been clamoring to find out the fate of Gordon Freeman since Episode 2 concluded on a huge cliffhanger in 2007. That was five years ago. Half-Life 2 released in 2004. That was eight years ago, for those of you keeping count. It may be painfully obvious what side of the fence I'm on and I may not be the most unbiased reporter for this argument, but seriously, if you aren't anxious to play Half-Life 3 then you are clearly living under a rock.

Valve has been so tight lipped about Half-Life 3 that fans have begun to protest the developer's silence in various, amusing ways. A pair of bored, most likely, stoned fans took matters into their own hands in 2011 and camped out in front of Valve's Redwood, WA offices to protest Valve's silence. Gabe Newell eventually brought them into the office and gave them pizza. I think those guys know something the rest of us don't, but they're not talking.

Fans have made their displeasure known on Steam forums and other internet sites, but it's not just fans who have been doing the trolling. Valve has dropped several hints about Half-Life 3 including the infamous photo of the Valve employee in the Half-Life 3 t-shirt as well as what some perceived as a hint in Wheatley's speech at the Spike TV VGA's. I think Valve is just having fun with expectations at this point, and eventually, when they're ready, we will hear about the next installment in the beloved franchise. Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Mobile vs Handheld

2011 marked a transition for dedicated handhelds with the release of the Nintendo 3DS in the spring and the lead-up to the Playstation Vita launch this year. Yet despite the hype behind these two handheld marvels, the market has been split down the middle with the rise of the cheaper, more accessible alternatives that mobile gaming offers.

In a lot of ways this argument is a microcosm of the larger hardcore vs casual argument that has been waged throughout this generation. For some hardcore gamers, mobile gaming is an affront to their favorite pastime. To this group of fans, no amount of disgruntled aviaries or joyriding rocketeers could match the wonder and excitement of a full retail experience like Uncharted or Mario.

On the other side of the coin, proponents of iOS and Android gaming argue that this new business model is a refreshing change of pace for the industry that welcomes in new groups of people who may never have otherwise picked up a game in their lives. Heck, my game-averse Dad even played Angry Birds for an hour the other day after my brother introduced it to him. Maybe there's room in the video game market for both types of gamers and both types of games. I am willing to bet that by the end of 2012 we will know the answer to that question.

Dark Souls vs Skyrim

This was the David vs Goliath battle of last year. From Software's Dark Souls was highly anticipated by the masochistic fans of Demon Souls and those fans were not disappointed. The intense, punishing fantasy RPG provided all the rewarding challenge that fans wanted.

A lot of those fans scoffed at the sight of Bethesda's graphically polished, hand-holding, western-slanted The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Skyrim sold like dragon horns at a Riverwood market and Dark Souls sold respectably for such a niche game. Even though Dark Souls didn't sell as well, that fan base still has a deep love for the game that Skyrim doesn't even seem to possess especially after the PS3 bugs and performance debacle that game suffered from.

Skyrim fans are still immersed in Bethesda's deep fantasy world, and Dark Souls fans tend to play those games until something equally challenging and rewarding comes along which is usually just whatever From Software does next. There is some overlap between the two groups but for some Dark Souls fans, Skyrim is and will always be a big joke.

Modern Warfare 3 vs Battlefield 3

This is the big one. Everyone who plays console games knows about this fight. EA manufactured a war between themselves and Activision in hopes of getting fans to defect from Infinity Ward's side to DICE's side. And all this time I thought Sweden was neutral. (That's a joke. DICE is based out of Sweden)

It started with EA declaring war on Activision with their early media campaigns and ended with EA claiming victory after Battlefield 3 sold much better than anyone expected (even though it still didn't sell nearly as well as Modern Warfare 3). In between, verbal punching matches were waged back and forth between DICE and Infinity Ward. Even the CEO's of both publishers, EA and Activision traded harsh words back and forth. Then the fans got into it. Countless blogs were written pledging allegiance to one game or the other (before anyone had even had a chance to play either of the games). Battlefield fans down-voted YouTube videos of Modern Warfare 3 and vice versa. The two camps could not have been more vocal about their allegiances.

Then the games released, and it seemed like nobody wanted to put their money where their mouth was. Both games sold incredibly well, with Modern Warfare 3 breaking sales records again. Steam forums dedicated to boycotting Modern Warfare 3 were filled with people playing the very game they pledged against. Battlefield 3 also sold much better than expected, proving that the Call of Duty audience still had room in their consoles for the larger, more team based combat of Battlefield. In the end, after the bullets and bombs, the two sides would eventually realize that there's a middle ground and that both games can live alongside one another, proving once and for all that peace is possible.

The Middle Ground

Fanboys will never go away. As long as there is entertainment and immature teenagers in this world, there will be fanboys. The one thing we should all take away from this list, however, is that there's always a middle ground. If we can all just learn to get along, whether it's fan vs publisher, publisher vs publisher, fan vs fan or whatever, we're all just in it for the love of gaming.

Then again, the internet wouldn't be half as entertaining without these fanboys spouting their silliness all over the web. So go ahead fanboys, keep on arguing. I'll see you at the end of 2012 to do this all over again!