Fanboyism: I just can't explain it!

When you’re young, you essentially use whatever console your parents buy for you. My dad bought me a Gameboy and an N64, my mum bought me a Dreamcast. It was not until the Gamecube that my brother and I were able to club our earnings together and purchase a console of our own. In terms of how this relates to fanboys, essentially you are defensive of your console simply because there is no alternative. You can’t afford or aren’t allowed another one, hence you become fiercely protective over what you’ve got. Even when you’re able to buy a console of your own, as a child it’s usually all you can afford. No 12 year old can afford a PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. Because of these “large” purchases (£150+), you very much want to defend what you’ve dropped your cash on. At the same time, you may be emotionally invested in your company of choice, through nostalgia or whatever, or simply enjoy the games and wish for others to play them. While at school, one of my firmest friendships was founded on a mutual love of Nintendo games (and, no surprises here, Pokémon games in particular).

And yet, after all this, I still can’t explain why I felt some form of vindication when Nintendo announced the Wii U. The idea that “we” (no pun intended) would finally have some “proper” games. I honestly can’t explain it. I have access to a PS3 and a 360, I could play any of these games if I want, but I don’t. And yet suddenly I see it as a huge thing when they’re on a Nintendo console? Despite its successes, Nintendo is still seen as somewhat of a console-outsider, far from its heyday of the early-1990s, pre-PS1 days. Furthermore, I couldn’t help but feel a distinct sense of schadenfreude at the PSN outage, especially ironic considering I was actually inconvenienced due to it, and have had to change numerous passwords as a result. Perhaps though in this case it was just a matter of spiting my friend who insists on rubbing every little Nintendo failure in the faces of everyone around.

I should be above all of this, but I’m not. Like I said, while I may not specifically own other consoles, I still have access to them (and indeed, do most of my gaming on PC). I could afford any game on any console I want, yet still I feel myself drawn towards Nintendo. Maybe it’s some form of justification to myself, for the years of schtick I got. I mean, I was partly to blame for it all, I gave as good as I got (often unwarranted). All I do know is, any feelings of elation caused by Nintendo’s E3 press conference have all but disappeared by now. Maybe I can rekindle them by playing the Ocarina of Time 3DS that came in the post today.

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