Our ‘hardcore’ gamer is distressed that people like the Pandas. The Mists of Pandaria stratified reactions reminds me of when the DS came out. “Brain Age is selling!? It is the END OF GAMING!” “Nintendogs is selling? END OF GAMING.” Eventually, the Wii came out and sold very well. More “END OF GAMING”. (Do not misinterpret me as saying I think MoP will be a DS/Wii phenomenon. I’m only pointing out the hardcore reactions are very similar.)

We don’t know much about MoP. The expansion could be good, it could be bad. It isn’t out so no one can say. Many WoW players have a ‘Wait and see’ attitude to it. More of a ‘It could be good…’ But what is puzzling these players is this obtuse hardcore knee-jerk reaction which isn’t based on anything substantial. “Pandas? Pet battles? End of WoW!” Really? It could end up good (and could end up being bad). We don’t know at this point. But the hyperbole is so over-the-top.

The reader asks, “What causes the hardcore to react this way?”

It is a question I’ve been wondering about for many years as well. I’ve concluded the ‘hardcore’ isn’t a type of playstyle but a type of psychosis. I’ve noticed the hardcore gamer tends to be a feminized male who plays video games to make him feel manly. Normal men already feel manly, they do not need cliches in a video game to make them feel otherwise. For example, a manly man can play Mario Kart and have fun. A hardcore gamer could not play Mario Kart and would demand the game be all apocalyptic, with dreary colors, and tons of violence to reassure himself he is a male. (“In other words, like Blur?” Yes, reader.)

I do admit in the modern world that it is difficult for a male to feel like a man. However, one’s identity with being a man should come from time honored traditions such as adventure within your own life. Relying on video games to make you feel like a man hints at a frustration within one’s life. In other words, the issue isn’t really about cuteness or pandas. These hardcore reactions are so identical in nature with different games and platforms that the core issue must lie outside the product.