User blog comment:BlazingLeopard/Gamers then, Gamers now.../@comment-4988763-20131025202956

I'm a bit torn about this particular topic. Competitive Gamers were always there, but not as frequently noticed because of the lack of WIFI features in games many years ago. Heck, there were even Pokémon Red and Blue hardcore fans back in the day. Competiveness is a human trait, and there were competitive gamers ten years ago, so this isn't a big deal for anyone to brag about.

Also, games are supposed to entertain others and the game developers need to know what kind of things people enjoy so they'll try to make their games better and better for them to sell more. Game critics may be harsh, but I'm sure they help game industries a lot with their ranting. '' They are critiques, after all. ''  Ignoring the general public is a bad move for game makers since they somewhat rely on their opinion. I guess SEGA took their lesson on how not to rush a game ever since  we  started talking about Sonic 06 and Nintendo hit the jackpot when making Mario Galaxy back in 2007 because we praised Mario 64's mechanics.

The Pokémon Company is a great example of how gamers' demandings made companies change for the better. Back in Pokémon Sapphire and Ruby, the Gameboy Advanced wasn't compatible with the Gameboy Color, and lots of players actually played Red and Blue. Because of that, the fanbase started to decrease drastically. They demanded a way to get their favorite Pokémon back, and the Pokémon Company hit the jackpot with FireRed and LeafGreen, increasing their fanbase even more and more. Pokémon nowadays is one of the biggest gaming franchises, only beaten by Nintendo's iconic plummer. That's really something. If gamers just played a game, disliked it, and stopped playing it, Pokémon would have lost most of their fanbase by now. So I guess competiveness was something that was always there but wasn't as noticed and demanding made some gaming companies change for the better.

Of course, judging a game without even playing it yourself is lame. Heck, I bet a large part of Sonic 06's haters never actually played the game themselves and never personally experienced the glitches while just seeing Youtube Walkthroughs. Just saying.

-- But that's what I think, anyways.