The Unobvious Shortcomings of Multiplatform Gaming And Why Fanchildism Isn't Necessarily Foolish

On paper, multiplatform gaming is the best. You have access to any game you desire; you're not limited by the platform you own because you own them all. In practice, however, I see flaws. Fanchildism is also not necessarily a foolish way to game.

Most multiplatform gamers only play the biggest releases. There is no shortage of hype when you own Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, so you will be naturally drawn to the games with the most hype. You will be drawn to the Uncharted 4s, Gears of War 4s, and Titanfall 2s of the world, instead of exploring the catacombs of a platform's library. If you did the latter, you would be treated to a greater variety of games instead of AAA games that all try to attract the same gamer with high production-values and cinematic storytelling.

Being a fanchild of a company or platform is often looked down upon, but I do not necessarily agree that being a fanchild is foolish.

I have been on both sides of the fence. There have been times in my life when I have been completely platform-agnostic. I did not care what platform I gamed on. I just wanted to play the games I wanted to play. But like I wrote earlier, I was mostly attracted to the big-name releases. For example, I never explored the spotty RPG-library of the PS2; never explored the weird western games of the original Xbox, because I was only interested in the big-name games like Shinobi, or Ninja Gaiden.

However, with this generation, I was wholly rooting for Nintendo to succeed with Wii U. I bought more games for Wii U than I have on any other system, including PC. I did have a PS4 and XB1, but I hardly played them because my mind was laser-focused on Wii U. Not only that, I just found Wii U's games infinitely more fun, aesthetically pleasing, and creative. I have discovered games that I would never have experienced if I was not a Nintendo-fanchild. "Hidden gems," if you will.

This is a different kind of pleasure - the hipster-world of gaming. So the next time you encounter a fanchild, don't immediately think "fanchild"; think gaming-hipster.

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