Normally, when I create a thread I try to explain or add clarity to a situation but today I'm going to do something different. I was thinking about how consumers react to product announcements outside of gaming and comparing that to how gamers react to product announcements and I began to wonder where this sense of entitlement comes from.

In any other market when a company comes up with a new product (or service) people rarely take the announcement of these new products (or services) personally, and you rarely see them suggest that the market (as a whole) is being damaged by these announcements. Why does this happen in gaming? Why does Nintendo announcing Wii Music, or Square taking Final Fantasy XIII multiplatform create endless animosity?

I’m just wondering whether anyone has any ideas …

Cause the Internetz is serious business.

I'm sure you could find people who take issue with announcements in any field. Because we're gamers, we just happen to be much more privy to the bickering and arguing in our choice of hobby.

Because people are bored.

Alot of it has to do mainly with the nature of people that talk on forums incessantly. Most people join forums and chat on them simply becuase life in the real world has not been going so hot. All humans love to feel important, and through forums, all their posts and topics become important. People aren't worrying about what you look like, what's your background, ect. All they are reading is your post in all of its purity.

Many younger people choose something that they can talk about... sports, video games, music, and movies tend to be popular topics and more recently anime. They want to talk about something they are comfortable which.

So tie that up and you got people who talk on forums for attention and the feeling of importance and they choose gaming because it's something they are comfortable with. They get this feeling of importance becasue they are noticed whether in real life there are so many other variables to it. Thus this comfortability makes people show true colors rather than putting on a show and most people like to latch onto things.

Thus they'll latch onto a corporation they like, such as Nintendo. And they'll show very loyal tendencies toward that company and want to see it do well. Thus these things arise. Not to mention with their new found sense of importance they'll feel a sense of superiority when discussing these things. Thus you'll see a sense of entitlement when it comes to these issue all brought around simply because of the real life's vein and excessive attention to things other than the actual person.

Not all people on forum's are like this but the majority I've met were like that. How I ended up here. Well in a way but that's a different story that I won't get into.

I hope that's all the psychological and philosophical babble you need because I'm good at that and can get into some long discussions if necessary.

It sure as hell isn't a big truck.

Agree, I guess you only notice these reactions because you look for them or visit places where people are likely to have/project them. Perhaps if you went to other fansites, websites and news sites of whatever other products you'd find similar reactions. 

Sure we have, and quite often. Comic books and movies are the two prime examples where the established base balked at having their stuff dumbed down for the masses. Literature is much, much worse in that regard (you have your "serious books" and your "beach lit", and only one of those is respected in literary circles). Hell, people take it personally when their sports team does something they don't agree with. Once people have a hobby and claim it as theirs, said hobby has no right to change without their express written permission.

As to why people act like this, I haven't the slightest idea. I will say, though, that it's useless for us forum-folks to try and change human behavior. Just go with the flow, and laugh at the blokes who think the sky is falling because of Scene It or Wii Whatever. It's much more fun that way.

Well, people have the console they like the best, and the more success other consoles have, increases the odds that things will be unavailable on their preferred console. I think that's probably more of an issue when you're younger though - I could afford all three consoles now that I'm older. I have the PS3/Wii/DS/PSP, only one I don't have is the 360 because I really, really, REALLY hate Microsoft - The reason for that has nothing to do with gaming but I'll go very far out of my way to avoid giving them any money.

Look at Apple (on both sides of the equation) for another company that has this reaction.

They basically break down into 4 groups:
a) Old Apple Core
b) New Apple Expansion (i.e., consumer electronics purchasers)
c) Independents
d) Anti-apple

Obviously, each one also has subgroups, and other divisions could be made, etc.

Now, when you have a new product announced, it will either be a computer or a non-computer. If it's a computer, everyone is like "yay," and life continues as normal.

If it's not a computer, then you're going to have the following reactions:
a) "GOD apple, stop making this BS and get back to developing OS X," not realizing that the new market segment is helping their precious OS to run lighter and leaner. All they see is while X people used to work at apple on the OS, now X work on the OS and Y work on the consumer electronics; they would rather the Y people also work on the OS.
b) either "Interesting, I will see how it turns out" or "ZOMG NEW IPOD/PHONE/TV" etc., depending on the individual
c) Varies by individual, but rarely strong reactions
d) Strongly anti-whatever it is, for various reasons, but vehemently opposed to whatever it is for charging too much/not having feature Q/not being open source/whatever.

This consumer mindset is a product of (perceived, if not actual) zero-sum games; when BMW releases a new car, it's not as though your car is hurt.

If Console X becomes a dominant force in the industry, consoles Y and Z will be hurt because there is only P development dollars to invest in games across all platforms.

(perception, not actual; in reality, a console will get exactly as many development dollars as there is economic incentive to give it, regardless of what other consoles are doing. GC was equally as profitable as PS2, after all...)

It all comes down to perceptions of zero-sum games. Just as some people look at the games coming out for another console and see them as games taken away from their console, people see sales for apple that should have gone to MS, or sales that went to Wal-Mart that should have gone to small businesses, etc.

Whenever an actual or perceived zero-sum market exists, this mindset will continue. Regardless of the industry.

Three words:

Chevy versus Ford

Like video games, cars are enjoyable, brand-heavy consumer products locked in competition. Try telling a Ford guy about Chevy's awesome new lineup, see if he takes it personally.

Bonus:  Try asking an American car guy if Toyota's dominance and focus on MPG has affected the car industry.

A toyota car guy might say that Toyota's decision to build in the US had something to do with that.  The impact of union-built foreign cars has caused many to rethink american-only purchases.

+1

The auto industry and the videogame industry both incite passion in their followers. Unsurprisingly, that passion is the reason that fanboys in both industries go wild for the good and and bad announcements.