There were times, this past week, when I’ve been afraid to look on my favorite gaming sites. It isn’t because I’m worried that a game I’ve anticipated will get scathing reviews. There isn’t some scandal going down. I’m just not in the mood for sensationalized Titanfall headlines. Because you know they’re happening. The worst part is, that people seem to glorify in it.
I’m sure you’ve noticed as well. Go to any major gaming or tech site and you’ll see the dire reports. ” Titanfall launch marred by service errors and downtime.” ” Titanfall beta only runs at 792p, Xbox One fails to deliver 1080p for major release.” The language is so negative. Yes, there were problems at launch. It’s typical of most major releases, but considering how in-demand Titanfall was, some connection issues are to be expected.
Besides, launch woes are common. South Park: The Stick of Truth has been plagued by some day-one bugs and glitches, but you don’t see words like “marred” and “failed” in the titles warning of bugs and glitches. The Xbox One hasn’t had any really major exclusives thus far, and it’s as though we have to immediately jump to any possible conclusion to tear Titanfall down. Instead of seeing stories about what kind of success it could bring to the console and gamers, we instead find articles with titles like, “EA Can’t Survive if Titanfall is a Failure.” Yeah, right, because one bad game is going to take down a publisher like EA. This isn’t uDraw.
Though, as disheartening as the press’ speculation can be, jumping on any possible Titanfall failure in the hopes of garnering hits, other gamers are even worse. Put the words ” Titanfall ” and “fail” into Google, if you dare. The results are proof positive that fanboyism is alive and well on the internet. People are forseeing the end of the Xbox One, despite Titanfall already being both a success and very likely a system seller. ” Titanfall will Fail” appears so many times that you find yourself wishing said critics–who have not only probably never played the game, but never used an Xbox One–had a little more imagination.
I can understand the mentality behind it. People want to support the console they’ve chosen and love, and will want to say another’s exclusive won’t succeed to make their own decisions seem better. But, we really should have reached a point and time where this isn’t necessary. Each console has their own merits and, if someone wants to spend over $600 on a Xbox One, Titanfall and Xbox Live Gold subscription, people shouldn’t go out of their way to wish failure upon them and make them feel bad about that decision.
Why can’t we just be happy for people? Sure, Titanfall isn’t something I’d ever want to play. I’m crap at first person shooters. The only time I was ever to take someone down in Halo was because it was a friend of mine, who was equally bad, and also on my own team. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to prophesize despair and ruin the days of people who are and have been waiting to play it. And yes, I’ll admit I’ve voiced skepticism about whether Titanfall will hold up over time due to it being online-only, but it’s only been in private, and I wouldn’t feel right criticizing something so new, that I haven’t even experienced.
I guess I’m just saying we should all give Titanfall and its new legion of fans a break. Let them enjoy their launch. Time will tell whether or not this is going to be an amazing, modern classic or a failure, and there’s plenty of time to analyze it in a month or two, after it’s been patched and plenty of educated opinions have come to light.