Not to go to far down the rabbit hole, but what about being a fan of a sports team? The NFL, MLB and NBA are all corporations. I love Playstation and I am a fan, but being a fan doesn't not give me blind loyalty, if anything I can be just as critical. Yes, Playstation wants higher profit margins, but so do those sports teams. They want more fans to bring in more money. We live in a new age where brand loyalty is more important to corporations than ever.
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Kotaku: Video game companies are not your friends
- Thread starter iMax
- Start date
RichiRamjag
Member
People sure as shit don't act like it.
hydrophilic attack
Member
If Xbox is not my friend
And my dad is not my friend
Does that mean Xbox is my daddy
And my dad is not my friend
Does that mean Xbox is my daddy
Sidewinder
Member
So you're saying I have no friends at all? How could you do this to me Kaz?!!1
zenspider
Member
Neither are video game blogs.
Slam.
Kotaku tries to sell me way more shit I don't want than say, EA.
I was just going to say this...they sell the stuff in supermarkets here.
Also, OP, you TOTALLY see this happen in other areas. There's a guy at my job that goes on about how superior Yeti cups are to the knock offs...
Liliana Eileen
Member
But they're right, though. Game companies just want to make money. They don't care about you, and they're not your friend.
Alcotholic
Banned
Consumer: "Why are you doing this to me???"
Game company: "For money"
Consumer: "But you should listen to the fans! Listen to me!"
Game company: "No"
Consumer: "Fine then! I wont buy your games!"
Game company: "Ok"
Game company: "For money"
Consumer: "But you should listen to the fans! Listen to me!"
Game company: "No"
Consumer: "Fine then! I wont buy your games!"
Game company: "Ok"
Not everyone. Not even some people on GAF.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Apple vs Android, sports franchises, off the top of my head.
Maintenance
Member
People hating the article because it struck a nerve.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Guys, journalists aren't your friends. It's all fake. They're trying to corrupt your teeny little minds. Trying to destroy your way of life. WAKE UP SHEEPLE. THE END DAYS ARE UPON US. WE MUST PREPARE. BE AWARE. CHEMICALS ARE IN THE WATER. THE FROGS ARE GAY. THE DAM FROGS ARE GAY.
Jaguar Victory
Member
I assume this is what Wendy's marketing always wanted.
Time for a "Wendy's has quite the art following" thread
Ban Puncher
Member
Kemono Friends are my real friends.
RichiRamjag
Member
Kemono Friends are my real friends.
I so look forward to your posts.
Kemono Friends are my real friends.
Now this is a great Ban Puncher post. 10/10 trash. Love it. Keep it up Ethan, I'm proud of you.
Hooooooooly fuck.
AcademicSaucer
Member
Disney and Apple aren't your friends either yet here we are.
Liliana Eileen
Member
Apple vs Android isn't even a fraction as bad as the console wars. Yes, Apple fanboys can be quite outrageous and shill-like, but you don't see death threats, personal harrassment, and life-long dedication for the success of Apple at the detriment of Android the way you do for console fanboys (and so much more).
I'm not friends with my landlord either and I still pay more rent per month than I'd ever pay for MS, Sony and Nintendo combined in the same time.
Jaguar Victory
Member
Wendy's Twitter ethers fools regularly. The best was the frozen beef guy. He got murdered.
Strangelove77
Member
Jaguar Victory
Member
Chippy is going to clip his ass.
WaterAstro
Member
I like to support companies who make good games and have integrity, not blindly support them when they treat their playerbase poorly.
Liliana Eileen
Member
I'm genuinely confused by this comment. You have to pay rent or mortgage. You don't have to buy video games.
grap3fruitman
Banned
Yes. That's why so many people on Xbox insist they've had sex with our mothers the night before.
Moose Biscuits
It would be extreamly painful...
Not him but without videogames my life has precious little value
Liliana Eileen
Member
Oh I agree, video games mean a lot to me as well. But to compare the two makes zero sense.
Corporate Twitter has been making a lot of sarcastic jokes at the expense of other companies (ex someone tweeted what should I get a mcdonalds they responded a ride to Wendy's)
This went viral because it was funny and it was in the right place right time as certain websites and meme aggregators picked it up (The required combination for any meme).
Somewhere down the line seeing that Wendy's logo is of a female and some existing anime connections to fast food persona's someone interpreted Wendy's as being a smug anime girl (fits in perfectly with existing anime archetypes) and started drawing faces that accompanied many their tweet remarks.
This eventually became viral because of the connection to their previous virality and here we are.
Rexatality
Member
I bet you're fun at parties
Gentleman Jack
Member
I wish it were obvious, that way we could not have pages filled with 'oh man, [insert gaming website or youtuber here] is just singling out [insert brand in need of vigorous defense here] for clicks/views/ad revenue, why are we even talking about this instead of [insert other brand here], I mean every brand in [insert economic sector inhabited by said brands] does it? Slow news day I guess, lol[insert source of news here]!' every time any hint of offense is felt at the expense of any major corporation.
This isn't helped by the fact that, in a world mediated by social medium, performative intimacy drives clicks and dollars. Giving you the illusion of friendship, of belonging drives money, from giant multi-national corporations to some dude's Patreon. Leigh Alexander had a piece about this a while back:
The New Intimacy Economy
Also:
I doubt you would try and justify them to other people when they raised your rent.
The New Intimacy Economy
Also:
I doubt you would try and justify them to other people when they raised your rent.
Finale Fireworker
Member
You expect us to just sit by while Kotaku talks smack about our friends???
(I actually think this thread is more "no kidding" than anything else. I think the biggest issue with the article is that video games are a form of media, and people historically become very involved and attached to media, because media is a major contribution to culture. Is it weird that people call themselves Trekkies and Whovians? Absolutely. But it's definitely not unheard of.
There is obviously a conversation to be had about consumer culture shaping people's identities, but this has been happening with various commercial media productions for a long, long, long time. The most obvious examples are sports teams.
I don't personally identify as a "gamer" and know this article isn't about me, but there are obviously lots of people who consider it an inseparable part of who they are and what they love and this is more a folly of self-expression than a cultural corruption brought on by consumerist brainwashing.
At least, that's what I hope. You never know with late-stage capitalism. Maybe I'm part of the problem for playing devil's advocate for... brands. Damn. What have I become?)
Thank you for this explanation.
Should be obvious, but a large percentage of posts from people foaming at the mouth over the latest this vs that tells otherwise.
Tribalism is a strange concept, but certainly not limited to games.
I pay the same entity regularly money not because of personal sympathy but because I like their service (most of the time).
Jawmuncher
Member
You don't have to tell me twice. Sakurai cutting snake from smash and capcom making Dino Crisis 3 confirms they're just bullies
Exactly.
Anyone using mental gymnastics to justify why they like their favourite companies simply haven't seen any business seminar for the last decade.
"Customer relationship", is the buzz-phrase and making customers feel special is easily the best marketing you can do right now. Away from gaming look at the DisneyWorld Magic Bands. They're basically marketing tools but because it links seamlessly into the systems at the parks, it makes visiting feel more personal and special for the visitor.
The result? Customers with them spend on average 30% more than people without them. You make customers your friends and they repay you.
Yes, it's a bit cold but when companies, be it gaming companies or whatever try to make you feel good about them or indeed yourself remember they're only after your wallet, one way or the other. The image of money grabbing evil companies is not entirely without merit but it's the nice money grabbing companies you must be wary of.
Banderdash
Member
Man... do you not remember the Cola Wars?
People were straight up getting shived over that stuff.