On the PC Master Race and the Language Police

Thanatos2k

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Aug 12, 2013
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C.S.Strowbridge said:
So let me get this straight... A gamer website said that people should stop using Nazi terminology to describe themselves and in response these people double-down on the Nazi imagery. (Google PC Master Race Flag if you don't believe me.)

And in response... Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is siding with the fucking Nazis.

What the fuck happened to Yahtzee? Or was he always like this and I only recently noticed this?
I think you got it wrong. Here's a more accurate summary:

A gamer website said that people should stop using a joke because it offends them, and in response these people double-down on their mockery of the PC Language Police.

And in response... Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is siding against the PC Language Police.
 

Evonisia

Your sinner, in secret
Jun 24, 2013
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danielcofour said:
Evonisia said:
micuu said:
I've only ever used the term in self-deprecation. Are there people who actually take "PC master race" completely seriously? Because I've never met them.
Perhaps (no, definitely) on the internet, maybe not in real life. Look for old threads after the Xbox One was announced and try to breathe through reading all the smugness emitted from PC gamers (and would-be PS4 gamers, but very less so).

Now to go back to being a member of the glorious multi-platform master race.
Yeah, smugness does not mean that they actually take the PC Master Race thing seriously.
True, I should have worded it as "people who take up the mantle tended to be the smug arseholes on those threads", I did fuck up there.
 

Roxas1359

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Aug 8, 2009
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micuu said:
I've only ever used the term in self-deprecation. Are there people who actually take "PC master race" completely seriously? Because I've never met them.
Go into any thread about any console ever and on this site and I can guarantee the people who take "PC Master Race" way too seriously will show up, as they always do. A lot of the more venomous posters for have been banned over time however, but there are still some who take that way too damn seriously to the point in which it is damn hilarious.
 

JennAnge

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May 15, 2012
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THANK YOU! For being a beacon of calm and reason, for remembering that games are entertainment and meant to be fun, for not taking trivial shit too seriously, and for the best ever description of 99% of internet arguments. Howler monkeys indeed...

[EDIT: The trivial shit I meant was his brief mention of all the GG/Anti-GG stuff. Nothing about WW2 is trivial, but I'm on board the Suck It Dolfy train.

To paraphrase a French comedian from a few decades back, you can laugh at anything, just not with all people. What's funny coming from Yahtzee is not funny coming from a white supremacist - or PC supremacist, if such a thing exists to the same degree.]
 

Metalix Knightmare

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Sep 27, 2007
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C.S.Strowbridge said:
So let me get this straight... A gamer website said that people should stop using Nazi terminology to describe themselves and in response these people double-down on the Nazi imagery. (Google PC Master Race Flag if you don't believe me.)

And in response... Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is siding with the fucking Nazis.

What the fuck happened to Yahtzee? Or was he always like this and I only recently noticed this?
Congratulations! You are among so many people who completely missed the joke in the term "PC master race"! I recommend you never watch stand up comedy!
 

Tiamat666

Level 80 Legendary Postlord
Dec 4, 2007
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I've never used the term "PC Master Race" and keep out of pissing contests in general, but I've also never owned a crippled computer or what some people refer to as a "Console".

Except a Game Boy.
Game Boy doesn't count.
 

Darth_Payn

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Aug 5, 2009
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"PC Master Race" is just dripping in irony when you take PC as the acronym for Politically Correct in this context. I heard the origins of that term are rooted in Communism, where saying what was or wasn't "politically correct" would determine whether or not you and your family were shipped off to the gulags.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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Jun 5, 2013
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I used to understand the console wars back in the day, when each console had different games. However petty, there was something to an argument between being able to play Ocarina of Time or FF7.

But now? All the consoles play the same damn game, including the PC! What does it matter anymore?! If you prefer PC, buy a damn PC! If you want a console, GET A FUCKING CONSOLE!
Where is the debate? The conflict?! PCs can run games at higher graphics levels, but cost nearly x3 as much. Consoles offer convenience because you always know a console game will run on that console.

Personally, I have both. I have a PC for Steam games, and a 360 for the new releases my PC can't run. I switch back and forth.

Also whats the harm in 'PC Gaming master race'? Its an insult at the over-serious PC riggers. Deal with it and come up with one for console players.
 

rgrekejin

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Mar 6, 2011
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The only time I unironically use the phrase "PC Master Race" is when I'm being ironically unironic around my friend the unironically hardcore Nintendo fanboy. He proceeds to freak out that anyone would unironically suggest that any one method of enjoying games is better than any other, unaware that I'm using what was meant as an ironic jest in an ironically unironic way to unironically irritate him for my own amusement at the irony of it all. At some point during the process, I disappear up my own ass.
 

Frission

Until I get thrown out.
May 16, 2011
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MarsAtlas said:
I think "PC Gaming Bourgeois" is a much better counterpart to "Console Peasantry" than "PC Gaming Master Race" ever was, as not only does it contrast better, but "Bourgeois", to me, is much more obviously self-depricating, as Bourgeois has never been used as a positive identifier.

Thoughts, anybody?
Eh, 'Master Race' sounds completely absurd and it's funny especially if someone uses that un-ironically, because it's not a flattering term. That and there's bound to be someone who gets offended at a 'communist' word instead of a 'nazi' word, even though bourgeoisie is a valid word to describe the educated middle-upper class.

That being said there could be other social classes, such as the 'Clergy of Handhelds', 'Old System Nobles' and 'Console Proletariat'.
 

NuclearKangaroo

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i think the nazi references were almost completely lost when the term became public, instead of tyranical warmongers we got hedonistic super humans

the term i believe remains used mostly in an ironic way, hence the fact right now it keeps being substituted steadily by the term "mustard race". or atleast it was, until tyler wilde decided to make PC master race hip and cool again by trying to bash it with the political correctness hammer
 

Nuxxy

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Feb 3, 2011
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MarsAtlas said:
I think "PC Gaming Bourgeois" is a much better counterpart to "Console Peasantry" than "PC Gaming Master Race" ever was, as not only does it contrast better, but "Bourgeois", to me, is much more obviously self-depricating, as Bourgeois has never been used as a positive identifier.

Thoughts, anybody?
Interwebs cant spell gud. And you want them to attempt "Bourgeois" and "Bourgeoisie"?
 

totheendofsin

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Jul 31, 2009
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I only ever use it in a mocking term, usually directed at my friend who's into PC gaming, he hates the term pretty much because of all the people who take it seriously.

Honestly people who get offended at silly jokes just make me want to tell them those silly jokes even more, if that makes me a bad person then I guess I'm a bad person
 

Phrozenflame500

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Dec 26, 2012
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Yeah, my big issue had always been when people began using it as an unironic banner flag, as it's almost a perfect example of the lack of self-awareness certain aspects of gaming culture suffer from.

When it's intended to be a joke though I have less of an issue, especially since the juxtaposition of a serious topic with a much less serious topic is basically the punchline.
 
Jan 27, 2011
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Frission said:
'Clergy of Handhelds'
*knocks on your door with 3DS in hand*

Excuse me sir? Can I have a moment of your time to discuss the wonders of Handheld Gaming?

We're also holding a candlelit vigil tonight for Club Nintendo and the PSVita, if you want to pay your respects.

(Yes, I'm aware the Vita's not dead yet and Idon'tknowwhatI'mgoingonaboutgoaway *covers face with hands*)
 

WouldYouKindly

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Apr 17, 2011
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fieryshadowcard said:
micuu said:
I've only ever used the term in self-deprecation. Are there people who actually take "PC master race" completely seriously? Because I've never met them.
Stick around in this thread for about 30 posts. I'm sure you'll find two or three getting the party started.

OT: "Suck it, Dolfy" needs to be put on a T-shirt like right now. Get on that merchandising, Escapist.
So explaining why the current consoles are a bit shit is elitism? I feel like I get called out for voicing an opinion on a product.

The common complaints against PC gaming are that it's complicated and costs more money on startup. Both are quite true. However, they're only slightly more of a hassle than the current gen consoles and fold that console money and the money you were liable to spend on a laptop or something together and you've got a pretty decent PC. What do you get for this extra money and hassle? Better looking games. More games. Cheaper games. Old games not tied to any DRM(thanks GOG). Free multiplayer features(games don't lock you out of voice chat because you don't want to pay Sony or MS every month). Mods. And finally a network of problem solvers who will at least attempt to fix any PC problem you have free of charge, all you need to do is ask.

/rant
 

Jhonie

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Oct 24, 2011
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MarsAtlas said:
I think "PC Gaming Bourgeois" is a much better counterpart to "Console Peasantry" than "PC Gaming Master Race" ever was, as not only does it contrast better, but "Bourgeois", to me, is much more obviously self-depricating, as Bourgeois has never been used as a positive identifier.

Thoughts, anybody?
Fancy as heck, but a pain to say. The term "Master Race" simply flows better on the tongue, and that does matter. It matters a lot. Maybe the "PC Highborn" or the "PC Nobility" would be better? Regardless, the term "PC Master Race" is a bit too deeply entrenched in gaming lingo to change at this point. Personally, I don't really mind. Where I'm from, we've been making Nazi-jokes for over two decades, and I'm from northern Europe. All aboard the "Suck it, Dolfy!"-train, I say!
 

Olas

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Dec 24, 2011
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MarsAtlas said:
I think "PC Gaming Bourgeois" is a much better counterpart to "Console Peasantry" than "PC Gaming Master Race" ever was, as not only does it contrast better, but "Bourgeois", to me, is much more obviously self-depricating, as Bourgeois has never been used as a positive identifier.

Thoughts, anybody?
Bourgeois is definitely more accurate to reality, but somehow I don't see PC users proudly identifying as the rich fat upper class with a term few know how to pronounce or spell correctly. Everything about "PC gaming Master Race" just feeds right into the (frankly somewhat deserved) superiority complex they have.

Also, I feel people are wrong when they say that people use the term "ironically" because that would imply the opposite is true. People use the term jokingly, non-seriously, with knowing hyperbole, but not ironically.