Are MW3 fans...unstable?

remnant_phoenix

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First, there were the armed hijackers in France who stole truckloads of MW3.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.321850-So-two-dudes-stole-6-000-copies-of-Modern-Warfare-3

Next, I'm reading about a guy followed someone home from GameStop and tried to steal that person's copy at gunpoint, not because they couldn't afford it, but because they didn't want to wait in line! And then, when that didn't work, he went back to the same store to wait in line...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114117-Modern-Warfare-3-Fan-Fends-Off-Really-Stupid-Thief

Then, there was the guy who threatened to shoot the employees of a Best Buy and blow up the store because they didn't have his pre-order.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114128-Modern-Warfare-3-Nutcase-Threatens-to-Blow-Up-Best-Buy

What the hell is wrong with these people?

Okay, the hijackers probably weren't desperate fans as much as they were looking to turn an opportunistic under-the-table profit by fencing the game to thousands of desperate fans who wouldn't want to wait a few more days for it to come out. That I get. Sleazy and low, but I get it.

But what about the other two? I understand that some people get obsessive in their fandom. I also understand that some people are unstable. And yes, I get it, there is going to be some overlap between those two groups.

What I DON'T understand is this...

I don't remember hearing about armed robberies or serious threats of violence when people camped out for Star Wars or Lord of the Rings midnight premiere tickets.

I also don't recall hearing about any armed robberies or serious threats surrounding the release of the last Harry Potter book.

Now, I'll be the first one to say that the way certain media types go after video games as encouraging violent and subversive behavior is garbage. I will call Jack Thompson an ass-clown at the drop of a hat. And I will be on the front lines defending video games from the sort of censorship attacks that tends to leave books and movies alone (see: that California case that went to the Supreme Court).

That being said, is it possible that the Call of Duty community actually is more aggressive than the fanbase of things like the LOTR films or Harry Potter books?

My first thought: Call of Duty, by the nature of what it is, is much more likely to ATTRACT the aggressive, unstable types. Hmm, I think I just answered my own question.

Oh well, let's discuss anyway.

EDIT: Okay... I never thought people would take the thread title so DAMN seriously, so here's the deal: I'm not trying to make a generalization. I'm not trying to condemn and entire group based on the actions of a few stupid people.

I was just pointing out something that I thought was strange and curious.

The seventh Harry Potter book sold 15 million copies in the first 24 hours after release, yet I don't remember hearing about ANY incidents of that nature. MW3 isn't expected to sell near 15 million in the first 24 hours, yet we have people doing stupid stuff like this.

Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe I shouldn't have expected to be able to make a thread like this and have people take it with a grain of salt.

I just thought it was something interesting and game-related to think about and discuss...

Sheesh.
 

Bobic

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Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
 

Tortilla the Hun

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Games don't hurt people, mentally unstable gamers hurt people.

There will always be people who takes things too far and it usually end up ruining somebody else's fun. There's not really anything that can be done about it, people just need to learn the mellow out, keep it cool.
 

remnant_phoenix

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Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
The seventh Harry Potter book sold 15 million copies in the first 24 hours. That's about double what MW3 is expected to sell. Yet I recall NO incidents of this nature surrounding that release.

THAT'S what I'm wondering about.
 

SidingWithTheEnemy

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Well let's see if the Skyrim Fanboys and those Saint's Row guys (who hopefully unpack and use their selfmade purple dildo-bats) act any differently. THEN we shall talk and then we can finally start that lovely flamewar pitting different fanboys/girls against each other.
 

Tortilla the Hun

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Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
Actually, it was three. Although he did provide a valid reason for one. Still, two is more than any other recorded cases of 'midnight release madness'.
 

Elsarild

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Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
I came to say that /\
 

TimeLord

For the Emperor!
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With any specific group of people, the larger it gets, the larger the % of potential idiots it gets.

It's not MW3s fault.
 

Mark Hardigan

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Yes, MW fans are unstable, as these two prove. Just as everyone who is a muslim is a terrorist, because Al Qaeda proves that. And don't forget that all rednecks are racist, all gun owners are murderers, and everyone in Canada lives in Quebec.

Generalizations are fun!

Sarcasm aside, there are unstable people everywhere, in every facet of life. To generalize because of them is just plain ignorant.
 

Mark Hardigan

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Yes, MW fans are unstable, as these two prove. Just as everyone who is a muslim is a terrorist, because Al Qaeda proves that. And don't forget that all rednecks are racist, all gun owners are murderers, and everyone in Canada lives in Quebec.

Generalizations are fun!

Sarcasm aside, there are unstable people everywhere, in every facet of life. To generalize because of them is just plain ignorant.
 

Bobic

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Mortis Nuncius said:
Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
Actually, it was three. Although he did provide a valid reason for one. Still, two is more than any other recorded cases of 'midnight release madness'.
Do you have knowledge of literally every crime committed? Just because you haven't heard of another crime happening at a games release or whatever doesn't mean they haven't happened. In fact I'm pretty sure more incidents will have happened involving COD, they just won't have been as interesting.

You get that many people gathered to get a well sought after item that's quite expensive and yeah, crimes gonna happen.
 

Super Six One

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I'm fairly sure people did try and steal loads of copies of harry potter books. Armed people.

(I'll have a look for a link)
 

remnant_phoenix

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Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
Mark Hardigan said:
Yes, MW fans are unstable, as these two prove. Just as everyone who is a muslim is a terrorist, because Al Qaeda proves that. And don't forget that all rednecks are racist, all gun owners are murderers, and everyone in Canada lives in Quebec.

Generalizations are fun!

Sarcasm aside, there are unstable people everywhere, in every facet of life. To generalize because of them is just plain ignorant.
Elsarild said:
Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
I came to say that /\
See EDIT.
 

Tortilla the Hun

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May 7, 2011
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Bobic said:
Mortis Nuncius said:
Bobic said:
Wow, 2 incidents out of the literally millions of people that must have gone out to buy it. Yes, this proves Cod attracts nutjobs.
Actually, it was three. Although he did provide a valid reason for one. Still, two is more than any other recorded cases of 'midnight release madness'.
Do you have knowledge of literally every crime committed? Just because you haven't heard of another crime happening at a games release or whatever doesn't mean they haven't happened. In fact I'm pretty sure more incidents will have happened involving COD, they just won't have been as interesting.

You get that many people gathered to get a well sought after item that's quite expensive and yeah, crimes gonna happen.
I never implied that I have knowledge of every crime committed, I'm just saying that there are currently more cases of some act of aggression that have been recorded and publicized at the midnight release of this game in particular than any other title.

So, nana-nana boo-boo, stick your head in doo-doo.
 

King of the Sandbox

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I'm just going to say "stereotypes exist for a reason" and leave it at that.

(Mostly joking... mostly.)
 

Lordpils

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We're seriously having this conversation on a website where we regularily rebuke the idea that games cause violence? I don't like MW3 (almost entirely because of the people I've had to deal with online), but I'm not about to claim that it's fans are all a bunch of raving lunatics.
 

fragmaster09

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that's not the main problem, the problem is that a large amount of those who buy it at release are young, around 12, making them A) easier targets for theft, etc and B) why reviewers hate online, because more level-headed people, who are less likely to advertise that they have the game and make themselves vulnerable to theft, are going to play it later, maybe a month after release, what it is, is that these people are so hyped by the reviews(which i would never believe, since they all seem to be bribed or something(not you, Yahtzee! tell 'em like it is!)), that people feel desparate to try it, and since everyone copes differently, they decide that being their best course of action... so it's less all players are unstable(i'm not, and i have very rarely shouted insults down my mic just for being bettered), but that release-month players are overexited by the prospect of this new shiny game.

(for reference, i'm not even buying the game, my uncle decided to give me a ring in a supermrket asking if he should pre-order it for me, then give it to me next time he sees me(that being christmas), thus leaving me free to spend my personal funds(from my measly job delivering papers and living at home between school coursework) on Battlefield 3, which would allow me to put down fanboys of both games by giving them facts(since the games managed to big up EA's and Activision's rivalry) about the games.)

thanks for reading(especially the last paragraph).

~Fragmaster09
-ever wondered why my username is Fragmaster09?, it's because i completed Fragger on all 3 difficulties in 09, making me the Fragmaster of 09-
^this will be my Signature soon, but 'till then it'ss just be here^
 

Amnestic

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Having been murdered three times on my way home today by people wielding copies of Modern Warfare 3 in one hand and a decapitated head wearing Captain Price's hat in the other, I can safely say that the Modern Warfare fanbase isn't that unstable compared to other fanbases. Hell, only three deaths on the way home is a pretty good day for me. You don't want to know how bad it was when Amnesia: The Dark Descent came out.
 

Beryl77

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The more fans a game has the more likely it gets that there are some nutcases mixed in the crowd. Only two events could never be representative for a fanbase that is as big as COD's fanbase. Have you ever checked how many people who have played a certain game and have committed a crime? In most cases it's just not reported, that a car theft has played Mario at some point in his life. No offense but if you don't have at least an adequate sample of people, your accusation is laughable from a scientific point of view.
(For the record, I'm not an MW3 fan.)