Yeah but I've always tried to distance myself from any conformist mentality. I pride myself on my individuality and I find myself questioning whether that individuality is really an illusion. Since joining the site I find myself playing games I would have never bothered with before (Fallout 3, Uncharted, Infamous). It makes me question whether this is the result of my own interests expanding or if I myself am caught up in a process I am often critical of others for entertaining.

I would call that the broadening of your views.

If I had more time I would debate this with you. Largely because I regard discipline as dedication to one's own values vs. dedication to another (obedience). I do not view them as entirely related except for the matter of dedication. There is no reason to think that dedication to one's values could lead to dedication to another or vice versa, or that such dedication necessarily fosters unity (though you are certainly correct in assuming unity breeds power). I would once again disagree on the matter of power being life. I view power as a means to an end not an end in itself which would entale that power is necessary to achieve what one might desire in life but not to define it.

I just feel that the direction of the industry (any particular industry) says much about the culture that it is intwined with it. It is a very sociological endeavor to me. Of course sales in is just one part of this.

It's really quite simple. I'm an avid video game fan, and I care about the future of the industry. Like any other industry, the future of the gaming is determined by sales. So, watching the sales tells you where the industry is going.

When a game I enjoy is met with great sales, I'm p[eased, because that means more games of that style will be created. Simple enough.

And we're not celebrating conformity. We're celebrating the success of good games. Just because something is appreciated by a large number of people doesn't mean it isn't worthy of praise. Avoiding something because it is popular is no less stupid than hopping on the bandwagon.

I see one flaw in your logic, but it is a pretty big one. You are describing a particular mindset rather then a universal one. In this case blind fan persons. Who cannot separate their own well being from the brand to which they hold a undying allegiance to. Which I suspect is part of needing to belong to something. The reality is that though there are a lot of such people on these forums. They are fairly well balanced against rational posters who view this as more of a mental exercise to pass the time.

So it isn't as if you are being brainwashed. Your just more informed then you used to be. It isn't as if being on these forums has convinced you to buy a unplayable pieces of crap. You listed off genuinely good games that you should be interested in playing. You came to this conclusion not just by reading over hyped commentaries, but by reading well thought out posts from very rational posters. Chances are in fact you gave the unbiased more weight, because they are also the better written. I am not just talking vocabulary and proper punctuation. What I am talking about is the person that actually lays out a logical case.

I guess what I am saying is that this community is so bipolar overall that there isn't much conformity to be found. So there is no way your caving into some kind of peer pressure. Not to mention at the risk of stroking your ego. You seem to be smart enough to not only avoid becoming a pack thinker, but would actually rebel at the very hint of being compelled to buy into anything you do not want to.

It can be simple if you want it to be.

'What has ___ company done for you?" My brother once posed this question to me.
"Not games for everyone, not for your grandma, games for you?"

Reading opinions on a forum such as this one help you validate whether a game is worth it or not. As you get to recognize people's consistent opinions and having them match yours, you can get a good idea of what course of action to take towards games. This gen, I have played fewer games then ever before.

Not because I'm 20 (as opposed to when i was 13), but because the quality is not there, and what is there is what I devote the proper time to.

I like know numbers of stuff I like or even stuff I dislike, pretty much the reason why I'm here, although now it's mainly for part of the community and the numbers.