I'm not offended... But at the same time, this isn't exactly the first (or fifty seventh) thread started for the purpose of decrying fanboys. And all it ever actually does is stir up the same sentiments the original poster is decrying.

I understand your noble intentions in attempting to bring civility and level headedness to the boards. But the better way to do that is to respond to the actual posts that these people make. Try and set them straight, shut them down, whatever takes your fancy.

Well fanboyism and offensive behavior has always been around. It is at new heights though. The last time the problem was even close to this large was during the N64 and PSone generation.

The Sony fans are incredibly bitter and vicious because they just went from being in the lead 2 generations to being in the very back by a large difference. The same thing happened with the N64. The Nintendo fans became really vicious and everyone became divided into factions. During the PS2 era this subsided. People got used to the situation and after the first 6 months of the generation relative acceptance formed.

This generation, there are the bitter losers and the boasting victors. The problem isn't that Nintendo fanboys (minus a select few) are attacking Sony, it's that they are taking every moment they can find to gloat and boast their success, which they do quite often due to 2 generations of bad sales. This prompts the bitter losing faction (sony fanboys) to take offense to the boasting, which they see as insults, and lash out at Nintendo.

This is compounded by many former PS2 owners feeling shafted by Sony's new direction. You said Sony fans have always cared about graphics, but I sure didn't. That's why I bought a PSone and a PS2, the weakest systems of their respective generations by far.

Not only that, but the PS3 is severely lacking in one of the most important genres of the PS2 and PSone: JRPGs, and filled with a genre that many Sony fans showed disdain for in the past: shooters. It's also been much slower to introduce the most popular games on the PS2. The PS2 had FFX, GTAIII, and GT all in it's first year, and the PS3 has none of those. FFXIII won't hit outside of Japan until 2009. GTAIV has gone multiplatform and still won't hit until 2008. GT won't hit until mid-2008. Of course, some people simply feel shafted by price. Either way, you will find much more hate from the former fans than from the people who always preferred Nintendo or Microsoft. Ever heard the phrase, there is nothing more dangerous than a lovers scorn? Same basic deal.

Microsoft's position is really wherever the fans happen to fall. Some are Wii60, some hate the Wii because of the Wii not having good graphics. They end up being a 3rd wheel in a much more established rivalry, but of course it just increases the friction.

All of this builds up to a gigantic mess of hatred that you aren't going to be able to control by simply bitching about it on a forum post. As the generation progresses and becomes more set in stone it will cool down some, but right now, grab your flame shield and stand back.

You might enjoy them equally, but you will enjoy SMG even MORE!!!

WAHOO

I think the realization of what Sony has done and the consequences are setting into some of the Sony fans and it is turning them quite bitter. Sony went from the market leader with everything to now receiving nothing and in desperate need of quality games and it was all because Sony decided to launch a format war with Toshiba.

On the other hand, Nintendo fans have been great at rubbing the crap in. They have spent 10yrs getting nothing, now all of a sudden they are on top and some Nintendo fans have become the most arrogant, egotistical, maniacs on the internet and contribute a lot to the fanboy wars that transpire.

When something Sony positive comes in, the Sony fanboys will grab onto it with both hands because the situation is currently negative. Nintendo fans see the positive news, remember back to what Sony fans done, time for payback. Hence the console fanboy war that ensures from there.

I honestly don't get what MS fans are bragging about. They have no hope of winning this gen, their Japan support still sucks, their sales have not been great given the time the console has been out and yet some of them have the biggest mouths on the internet. Truly amusing bunch of users. 

I am a Nintendo and Sony fan personally. Don't care much for MS, never have and never will. They don't make the games that appeal to me.

We're bragging about games...  Grand Theft Auto IV releasing on the same day as the PS3 version, Resident Evil 5 coming to the console (Xbox never had an RE game), Square Enix making games for the system, getting major PC games on the same day of their PC release (and in some cases the 360 being the lead console), and the list goes on but you get the picture.  I would think that games are the most important thing when we're talking about videogames consoles but maybe I'm wrong?

As for Japan I doubt Xbox fans really had high hopes considering how poorly the original Xbox did there.  But at least Microsoft is paying for some great rpgs and some Japanese companies are also seeing that it's very worthwhile to develop for the system.  And the installed base for the 360 in Japan this generation will build on the installed base of the Xbox there.

Also we're probably getting what will very likely be the best year so far for the Xbox brand in terms of games.  We've already gotten Bioshock, a triple A game that is a likely contender for game of the year, and we have the building hype for Halo 3 as well as many great titles coming out like Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Virtua Fighter 5 online, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, Stranglehold, Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Project Gotham Racing 4 and many more quality games, is there any wonder why we might be happy?

Anyways here's hoping that things cool down for awhile so that not so many thread descends into flame wars like what has been happening the past few months.

The wii is what started the wars recently, the PS fans know that their graphics were not the best last gen but that never came up as much because we had all the games. I'm a Nintendo of old fan not a wii fan, i also love MS/PS.

Wii fanboys are by far the worst on the whole internet, they flame every thread to do with Sony on every site there is. Sony fans only come to back up their system, and fight it out with Microsoft for the best graphic's.

You tell any wii fan that their system is not the second coming of christ and they go all mental. You tell them that their system can't do 360/PS3 grapics and they go mental, you say one thing about Mario not being the best thing since sliced bread and they go mental, it just never ends with wii fans.

You tell them that the wii might be outsold and that this is only the first year of the war and they go beyond mental and go off in 10 threads how Sony is the Devil and that every games they make is shit and because HSG5 sells less then HSG3 Sony has lost it all when our sales are up 50%-100%.

I'll probably regret saying this but I have to agree with some of that.  For example I went into a thread in the Nintendo forum and made a comment about a game and felt like I was attacked for giving my opinion.  In fact the amount of meanness and arrogance I felt coming from some people is something I've never experienced to that extent in a Sony or Microsoft forum.  I guess when a console is on top the arrogance just flows from some of it's fans, strangely enough I never really saw that kind of arrogance with Xbox 360 fans, I'm not sure why but maybe it's because they come from a a more humble background since the only other console Microsoft made was never the leader.  Don't get me wrong though there are a lot of good Nintendo fans, it's just that, that thread was a real eye opener for me :/

I have to disagree, Warlord. Look at how a fair amount of Sony fans have been acting here lately (not all of you, but there are some that stand out). Creating every thread possible about the PS3 then flaming down any topic talking about the Wii's success.

I don't see anyone "going mental", either. We know the Wii can't match the PS3 or 360 in terms of graphical capabilities. We know Mario isn't the greatest thing ever (anymore -- it's hard to argue that the simplistic yet addictive design of Super Mario Bros. on the NES had a large hand in the revival of the collapsing video game industry back in the mid-80s).

The Wii could be outsold, sure. But the history of the video game industry seems to suggest the Wii will be the all-around victor this time around. It has more steam than any other console in the industry's history, and no machine with this much momentum has lost its seat at first place.

No one is claiming Sony to be the devil.

This is my point exactly. Your post, in and of itself, is doing exactly what you claim "Wii fans" are doing. You're coming undone, claiming several things about the Wii and its following that are true in rare scenarios, then point fingers and start calling names.

To claim that Sony fans are innocent of blame, simply defending the PS3, while Wii fans are flaming and "going mental" is pretty ridiculous.

The 360's game lineup is impressive but the 360 fans are the ones who love to piss on the PS3 sales. The slug fest that Sony and Microsoft execs are trading has filtered through and the fanboys on the internet do the same thing. My point being though, given the 360's time on the market it is not exactly in a strong position. 360 fans should enjoy their games, but they are certainly in no position to be trash talking other consoles like they are. 

PS3 can lay the same claim about excellent games coming out for the system. UT3 has been optimized for the PS3, Uncharted continues to impress, MGS4 has impressed beyond words, Heavenly Sword is getting positive remarks, Ratchet & Clank is getting positive remarks and the list goes on. Final Fantasy XIII exclusive on the system for 08, and FF Versus XIII exclusve for 09, Gran Turismo 5 looks truly amazing, Killzone 2 has some of the best visuals ever created, LittleBigPlanet has impressed from what we know. All systems are getting AAA games.

The Wii as well, I can say the same again about that system in regards to games.

The 360 fans have been very vocal about the PS3's sales, when their console is not exactly in that strong a position either. What the 360 has going for it is a high attach ratio for certain genres of games i.e shooters. 

Did you really have to put down those other two games?