A History of Hate

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For 25 years, my dad's game system has been able to beat up your dad's game system. The question is, who's your daddy?

Out of all the game systems that have ever been released, which one did you hate the most? We didn't ask which one you liked, because let's face it: If you didn't own the one that we owned, you suck.

Most gamers are not affluent enough to own every system that comes out. But being a one-console family instantly puts you on one side of a fence. Historically, when faced with the reality that maybe - just maybe - the game console they didn't buy could have something going for it too, gamers channel all their feelings of insecurity, fear, uncertainty and doubt into a little rock of pure hatred, and then launch that at high speed at anybody who expresses any opinion other than their own. It's not even a question of the haves versus the have-nots; it's the haves versus the go-screw-yourselves.

Naturally, this makes marketing easy! All a game company has to do is say something bold or insulting or outlandish about their competitor's product (or their own, for that matter) and the troops happily march off to a holy war, ready to kill and maim to protect their console's "honor." Keep that in mind as we look back at some of gaming's greatest grudge matches. After all, games aren't the only things that can be programmed.