this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
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On the flip side of this. Pokemon bootlickers will tell genuine fans of the series they're just nostalgia brained for saying that newer games on the series are undercooked, unfinished, and filled with anti-player features/trends (DLCs, un toggleable QoL, no difficulty setting). I've enjoyed the series since I was a kid but it's not purely my brain playing tricks on me to reconize the last few games needed longer development times and that the devs are forced to push out content before its anywhere near ready.
It feels like trying to bring up the inherent contradictions of Capitlism into these discussions should be easy but people will violently reject any attempt to even explain why this is occurring.
You get reaponse tgat range from:
I think there would be a better chance at making progress now rather then when had been attempting to a few years back, but I'm not sure I'd like to dive back into long-winded arguments with manchildren over trying to help a medium we both enjoy.
Bootlickers in defense of [insert any criticism of a game's product fitness ever] are some of the most annoyingly smug people on the internet I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with on an ongoing basis.
To be clear, there are game enjoyers who sometimes defend something who are just having a conversation and disagreeing, and that's perfectly fine with me, you don't have to agree with a criticism someone levies at a game.
But then there are those people who use every talking point pushed by corporations like it's their religion and talk down to anyone who makes any criticism, even if that person is otherwise a big fan, like they're telling off a child for demanding a candy bar at the store. Those types give off the same vibes as the sort of lowlife scum who would tell people they are entitled for wanting universal healthcare. The bootstraps ministers who preach being happy with whatever you get, as if corporations and capital were gods who are being magnanimous when they provide anything at all.
I personally think a lot of the toxic positivity surrounding the Pokémon community specifically comes from the content space.
Nintendo and the Pokémon Company (which are different companies that I’ve seen people confuse as one) are notably ruthless against anyone who interacts with their brand. Mods, fan games, emulators, and other obscure related content are snuffed out with bullshit reasons in sporadic basically random sequences.
It's fostered a culture on YouTube where people approach this content in a "don't bite the hand that feeds" sorta mentality. It's well known that if Pokémon Co doesn't like your content for whatever reason, the response can range from having all your revenue cut off to being personally hit by some insane lawsuit out of nowhere. This leads audiences to repeat after their parasocial idols putting up a toxicly optimistic front.
The creator themselves for all intents and purposes are probably just trying to talk about a thing they enjoy while also not stressing out about getting whacked by the largest franchise in the world.
I tend to avoid gaming communities mainly to save myself from seeing annoying corporate worship on a scale that's genuinely depressing. The rise of unionization efforts in development teams gives me some hope that consciousness is shifting, as I've seen a lot of "gamers" show solidarity towards worker abuse by game companies. Maybe the whole treat culture will actually be challenged in a few years, but that's just anecdotal optimism.