I Swear I've Posted This Before

I was browsing the discussion forums of a certain PSU fansite when I came across a thread asking players if they liked the game or not.

In the first post, the thread creator had this to say about the players in general:

...do you even LIKE this game? If all you do is complain, then why are you here? Why play a game you dislike and why post on a board to CONSTANTLY deride Sonic Team?

I feel like what I'm about to write has already been written before, but just for the hell of it, here goes nothing.

Most players do not dislike PSU. Most players are simply frustrated with Sega/Sonic Team's handling of the game -- and they have a right to be frustrated.

Sure, the game is fun to play, but even fun games can get boring after awhile. Sega promised players regular content updates to keep the game fresh and interesting, but they haven't always lived up to those promises. They have not always managed this game in the best way possible, and fans have every right to let them know.

It's true that real fans of PSU should compliment Sega when they do things right. But real fans also have an obligation to let Sega know when they are unhappy with the state of the game, or of its management, or of anything else that is wrong. We do that right here on this blog. I don't mind giving Sega credit where credit is due, but I'm also not afraid to speak out against the stupid things they do.

To say that the fans should be kissing Sega's ass all the time is outright ridiculous (and wrong). If the players like all aspects of the game all the time, Sega has no motivation (or desire) to improve on the game's faults. Complaints from the Japanese players played an integral role in the vast improvement of Ambition of the Illuminus over the original V1 PSU. What kind of game would we have gotten if the players had just kept quiet? Chances are it probably would have been much different than what we have now.

Complaining is just a part of human nature. The vast majority of players complain because they want to help improve the game we play. True fandom is not simply about quietly accepting the faults. It's about enjoying the game and speaking out when something isn't right. Positive feedback is important, but without criticism, the game has nowhere to go but down.