Are they real? Or rather the better question is are they natural? As in did you come up with them up on your own. 

Well the answer to that is quite simple. Well it depends, your preferences are essentially just relationships between different sensations, the sensations themselves can be artificial or natural, and that is what determines that answer.

Right?

Surely, an artificial stimuli would be the result of something artificial, say like a product, a game console perhaps.

But wait, it's not that black and white is it, what if you had fun with that game console, is that "Fun" artificial? Why would it be, don't you determine what you find fun or not?

In 1928, Head of the American Tobacco Company hired Edward Bernays to help him expand the market for cigarrettes to include Women and children. Smoking was considered taboo for women in America. Bernays, being the goddamned genius that he was, tied cigarrettes to women's suffrage, turn the taboo from a health issue to that of discrimination. He was also responsible for Eggs and Bacon, the overthrow of the government of guatemala, and the U.S entry into WW1. Obviously in he wasn't solely responsible, but he did create a lot of public support for them.

He essentially manfactured the consent/preference of the U.S and his philosophy with regard to marketting became the basis of modern marketting.

So while being U.S based, his influence has covered the World.

He also created the term "Public Relations" also known as PR as a euphimism for Propoganda. Modern PR is in a sense virtually identical to Propoganda.

Now it is important to realize, that both PR and Propoganda are morally neutral. Propoganda has a negative connotation because of its use in War, but the method itself is simply a tool or tactic. The same goes for PR. However, PR/Propoganda cannot be used neutrally, there is always an agenda. If their wasn't the PR/Propoganda wouldn't exist because it would serve no purpose, in the same way that PR/Propoganda's very existence serves a purpose.

And that purpose reveals the agenda of the initiator, which makes a statement on that initiator based on their intentions.

It is arguable that all public statements, either by an individual or collective, is PR in that it influences public perception about said individual or collective and the target of said PR statement. This can be and is frequently different. For instance, when IGN reviewed Pokemon Omega Ruby/Sapphire, their review not only affected how the game looked but also how it looked. But this discussion is for another topic, here's my old one its basically a restatment of the what I just said albiet a bit dated: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=188927&page=1

But I digress, this isn't about PR, this about you, your preferences which Edward Bernays showed about 100 years ago, can be easily manufactured.

Let's get back to that question of "Fun"?

Is it real? Of course, it is surely if you enjoy it, then it is "Fun".

Is it natural? Yeah...uhh well, its more complicated than that? A nut you can play outside game console that you play with is Artificial, it is created by Sony Microsoft Nintendo Steam(LoL) Activision Manufacturer A, but the response comes from you, a nautral response. But wait...isn't the response artificial because it is an artificial product that illicits it? The answer? No. In fact, I lied to you, sorry ¯_(ツ)_/¯you really shouldn't beleive everything you are told like that.

Tell you what, let me outline where we are so you don't get lost, I mean its not my fault you're this gullible (or is it?) 

We have shown that preferences can be manufacturered, with Bernays.

But now we ask, are the sensations or responses manufacturable? I can prove that right now, sensations = behavior, bam Pavlov

Now that we know preferences and their basis (emotional responses) are both manufacturable, the natural question to follow is, are yours?

Consider this.

Where did you get your information from? If your information was PR, which it probably was with 99.9% certainty (totally not making that up), than your preferences where probably manufactured. Behavior, at least from a marketting standpoint is a harder, but not significantly harder task, through the very action of providing a product or feature, you are encouraging and discouraging behavior, sort of like psychic pavlov.

Please understand.

As I stated previously, since PR is morally neutral, its effects on preferences and behavior are morally ambigious, likely as a result of the vast spectra it produces, most of which like a bell curve, falls in the middle. Thus, generally speaking, there is nothing right/wrong about your "preferences", everyone has them, you can even feel pride in them ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

But the question, I'm asking is...

Are they even your "preferences"?

Er ... yeah.

I'm reasonably satisfied that my preferences in gaming were not dictated to me. Looking back at the NES, I determined that I did not like Mario and so looked in other directions. Since Mario was the craze at the time, it would have been logical for it to force itself into my preferences, which I think did happen with many other people, but not with me.

I think it's because I'm a realist. I have no problem liking something mainstream and I have no problem hating something popular. Other people liking or hating something means nothing to me and I'm cynical when it comes to advertising or targeted marketing.

Some of my other tastes developed without any kind of outside influence. I picked up Final Fantasy (1) from a bargain bin, without having heard of it before, and loved it, which turned into my enjoyment of RPGs. I started liking FPS games at a time when many of my peers were whining about FPS games. I don't care if a game is developed by 10 people or 100 people, when many others seem to check studio size before they decide if they can enjoy or not.

I'm confident that I'm in charge of my own preferences.

My preference in gaming is that I play games that are fun to me. If it isn't fun then I don't play it.

I question almost everything, so if I have a preference, it most likely is mine. I'm almost quite certain that some of my preferences are not 'mine', because it's tremendously difficult to avoid all the things that could affect one's preferences. But at least the vast majority should really be mine.

I am a slave to the machine and only like things that are popular. Or boobs. Popular boobs are the best though.

My preferences? Feel bad for people who only game on console and who are obsessed with JRPGs (they were far better back in the day, give it up). Play my sports (only fifa these days), CoD (bo3 will be far better than Battlefront), some exclusives on xbox one, then play Dota2 and CS:GO on PC when I want to be competitive, which is all the time.

I have a slight addiction to Dota2, at 4k MMR. Getting better at it is addicting and increasing MMY to 4500 then 5000 is the dream.
I don't see myself quitting Dota2 anytime soon. 2-3 games a day is average for me and my life schedule is affected by it constantly. Valve has me by the strings with that game.

In the end it doesn't matter, just play the fucking games you like.

As humans are a species that naturally evolved on the planet earth their products are also natural. Like honey is a natural product made by bees games are a natural product made by humans. Thus my fun is naturally induced by a natural product.

I naturally love sex. Would that classify as a preference?

Um, I play the video games I enjoy on the consoles I buy.

That is all.