These days the internet is filled with hardcore gamers who are die hard fans of their respective console. Major console news can cause all kinds of flaming, arguing and back and forth bickering in a way we have never witnessed as gamers before. This new generation has made hardcore and even some casual gamers more passionate about the system they wish to support. But when, how and why did all this fanboyism begin?

Rewind to 2003/04, Sonys Playstation 2 was still dominating the hardware sales, the first Xbox was on the market and the GameCube was almost being forgotten about. But everybody was looking forward to what the next generation would bring; the Playstation 3 had been announced as well as a new Xbox. However it was automatically presumed that the next Playstation would dominate the market again on its release.

Fast forward to November 2005, the Xbox 360 is now released and the Playstation 3 had been pushed back to a 2006 release. Microsoft was able to be the first to deliver that new generation experience with its launch and this made everybody jump into the Xbox 360 hype train. At this time there were still many Playstation 3 loyalists who were waiting and saving their money for the release. But the year head start was a phenomenal thing for Microsoft as everybody jumped on board simply because it was the 'new' thing. Then E3 2006 came along and Sony announced the price for Playstation 3, this made a ton of gaming fans unhappy and encouraged them to sway away from Sony and Playstation 3, but even still they had many diehard fans that would not let this bother them. So then came November 2006 in the US, Playstation had its release followed by Nintendo just in time for Christmas.

Now we have all three systems on the market

However something happened that nobody expected, within the first year of all systems on the market, Sony came last behind Microsoft and Nintendo. Keeping in mind that Sony had reigned at the top for so long, this change shook and stirred everything, causing the people who converted to conflict with the people who carried on with the mindset that Sony would continue their reign from the get go. Fanboysim was born and, I'm sorry to say it, was the offspiring of the 360 community; the people who bought into Microsoft’s system were destined to show that it is capable of dominating the generation and can do anything Sony’s system can do plus more. On the flipside Sony fans put up their defences and so were eager to prove that Sony will regain the top spot and that the system has yet to even show its full potential. The clash in mindsets has literally sparked an ongoing “My console is better than yours” war of words that resides highly on a range of internet websites.

In conclusion I feel that Microsoft’s ability to hold a higher presence than they did previously with the first Xbox was the stepping stone to bring the industry to life. Microsoft is a huge company and widely hated for their business decisions, so to apply this to the world of gaming at a time when Sony had the ball would only spark an all out war. Notice how Nintendo is often overlooked in the fanboy wars, because Nintendo are doing their own thing, while Microsoft and Sony must battle for their spot. So far Sony have had it easy due to failed business decisions by Nintendo and Sega, but Microsoft is a whole different ball game when it comes to business, and they are making it quite clear that they are here to stay.

This fan boy war will be around for a long while, and I personally am anxious to see what will happen when it’s time for the new consoles to come around, because if Sony are talking about a ten year plan, What happens if Microsoft pull the same move again and produces a new next generation console, possibly within the next two years? I think we can all agree that the world of gaming is going to be a lot more interesting as time moves on. But Is fanboyism a bad thing? No, because in the end it makes the gaming industry that much bigger, anytime you see a major competition or showdown going on, it only makes companies step their game up to the maximum to deliver. You do however get your over the top unreasonable fanboy who is not willing to see or hear cold hard facts, I have no issue with anyone showing strong support for their system as long as they are reasonable when it comes to the evident facts. But with that being said, fanboyism is here to stay and we should embrace it for the industry to move forward.

Happy Gaming