Well, first and foremost I find myself looking at MS and Sony, and forgive me 360 fans but particularly MS.
MS really seemed to set a very aggressive tone around the 360, and foster the feeling of Xbox fans transitioning to the 360 that their console and favourite games like Halo had been unfairly put down, and that this time they were gonna' win! They were gonna' whup ass and that the 360 was the best, the biggest, had the most exclusives, etc.
Sony of course didn't help with a nice mix of arrogance and fighting talk themselves and on and off both companies continue to fan the flames.
Thus, there was just a huge sense of competition in the literal sense from the get go I felt, which has only grown over the course of time, fed by each swing in fortunes or moments of 'shoe on the other foot' revenge.
The fanboys who ate this environment up of course then played their part vocally - and continue to do so. Often with statements that boggle my mind and actually make me a trifle annoyed as they literally insult your intelligence with their nonsense at times.
Then of course certain (not all) the gaming press, particularly the more, shall we say focused, sites, joined in too - feeding the flames with comparisons of game versions, fans pouring over shots looking for tiny differences, etc.
Then Nintendo had to release the Wii with motion controls and nice, clean family games... didn't they realize the effect that would have when it sold more than the 360 and PS3?
So I'm going to go for more or less everyone but I feel the shit throwing was started by the companies themselves in the first place.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
