PS vs Xbox: Why the fight, gamers?

Fanboys will always be fanboys.  It follows the same type of loyal fanaticism that flourishes in the world of sports, once you have your team, you stick with them.  The negative side of that fanaticism also rears its ugly head up: You'll hate all competition, especially that of the team on the other side of the fence, and you'll let them know it.

The video game console war, with a side dish of PC fanatics, continues to flourish in the hotbed of the new gaming generation.  To further the sports metaphor, it reminds me of the hatred that New Yorkers have between their teams.  Generally speaking, if you're a Yankee fan you are also a Giants, Rangers and Knicks fan and you loathe the Mets, Jets, Islanders and the Nets.  There's no equal ground to stand on, you just despise the other teams.

The video game industry has the same concrete lines drawn.

Most Xbox fans will rag on Playstation fans and vice versa, without any real reason to hate one another. (I would bring up the Nintendo Wii-U, but they're definitely not the focus in the "console war") We're all supposed to be lovers of Video Games, right?  Nope.  Comments sections of video game sites thrive on hating one another's personal preference.  Say one thing about a system you enjoy playing on and you'll find plenty of people quick to put it down.  If there are major differences between system specs and multi-platform games, you'll be sure to see them pointed out with meme's, quotes, statistical values (for those that go deeper than the name calling) and just flaming hatred in words.

Xbots and Ponys, just two of the derogatory slang terms given for fanboys of Xbox and Playstation, are often used when directly hating on gamers who love their respective systems.  But why? What is the point of directly bashing someone who enjoys the console they chose to purchase and support?  Sports fans have their reason: It's in the form of Championships.  At the end of a season, there is just one team that can prevail as the "best" for that year and get a shiny trophy, bragging rights, a trip to meet the president... and Disney World.

Video games?  Not so much.  Sure there are industry awards, but all gaming systems out there all share the same goal:  Entertainment of their customers. Those awards really don't sway a gamer from one system to the next, nor does it impact their purchases in any shape or form. (Youtube videos, Gaming sites offer a much bigger impact on players)  Why does it matter if the person playing an Xbox is enjoying themselves if you're a Playstation owner? Furthermore, why limit yourself to one console? If you love video games, owning one system is limiting you to the exclusive titles of that one system.  Understandably, cost is a major concern (especially the initial game console purchase), but no one is forcing anyone to buy all the shiny new systems at once.  I, myself, staggered out my system purchases and was able to "catch up" on all of the exclusive titles within a few months time through "combo" game packs and borrowing from friends.

The amount of hatred between system fanatics is flat out disgusting.  One of the most recent comment wars has been between PS+ and Xbox Live subscription differences and quite honestly, it's a pointless battle.  If you're not a video game player, both the Xbox and Playstation have subscription services that allow online video game play and other member perks including free, or discounted, games to download. (the cost is around 50 dollars a year)

The comment war that I referred to above is that Playstation Plus owners are "renting" free games while Xbox Live subscribers get to keep the games they download even if they choose to stop subscribing.

The real laugh about this flame war is that no respectable gamer is going to own a console without either of these services.  Both are incredibly amazing and *should* haves from the start.  Personally, I don't know a single person that doesn't have a subscription to their personal console of choice.  If you have Xbox, you more than likely have Xbox live and if you have Playstation, you more than likely have PS+.  It's absolutely a no brain decision to pick up the services. (Especially when they often come with a trial subscription for free just to see why you should pay for it).  The owner of the system will always have them, period.

So please fanboys, can't we all just get along?