The human element to war?

[your mother]

I see it like this: You root for the underdog, you root for the "overdog". There's nothing wrong about that. We do it all the time. It's your values vs the "dog's" values that drive us to root for the top or bottom "dog". For instance, Michael Schumacher vs Ayrton Senna. I liked Senna, hated Schumacher. Hated his arrogant, 1/4 moon concave face. Hated his unsportsmanlike conduct when racing. Hated the team order fiasco associated with him. Mind you, these are my reasons to hate him. Yours may differ. You may like him. That's besides the point. Guess what? Fans of Schumacher will completely poo-poo my reasons for hating him. They will pull out all sorts of stats that make him look like the greatest driver ever (which is probably true). Some may not give a rat's ass for ANY F1 race driver. They may go for the team. In all, very different people, with different values. This carries over not just in sports, but in politics, religion, and of course, video games. In short, if it has the potential to polarize, it will. People talking about graphics and innovation and whatnot - these are just rational justifications for reasons firmly embedded within emotion. Schumacher may have broken nearly all F1 records, but he had a huge fanbase before reaching all those records. Being loyal is nothing more than trying to uphold your reasons for supporting the "dog" in the first place. After all, if you are so easily swayed by your values and beliefs, then what values and beliefs do you have as a person? That is why when you become a "fan" you tend to defend your views with tenacity lest you be proven otherwise and your whole value structure comes crumbling down. They are, after all, your beliefs. Sounds familiar? You bet. You just spent [insert amount here] on a next-gen system, controllers and games, and may not be buying another system for quite some time. Your investment needs to be justified. You'd hate to see that your investment sinks. You'd hate to be proven wrong by all the other fanboys out there. So yes, this has a lot to do with social status, the human element, and whatnot. However, those variables all have to do with what you perceive as important values. Some people need the sense of status. Some couldn't care less, for whom other values will become the overriding factor. As an example, I love bang for the buck and couldn't care less about brand. That is my mantra. and that makes me a fan of many obscure brands! Me? Right now, I've still got games on my PS2 and Xbox that I haven't even tried, let alone pass. I bought a Wii because I wanted to try out the remote controller concept. My PC currently dishes out the HD gaming I need. I no doubt will buy a PS3 and a 360, most likely this winter. By that point, I won't really care which console dominates. And if you had all three consoles, frankly, why should you?