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[u/SykoManiax]

it seems almost a crime to be excited for gta6 since in every post there will be at least 30 dudes exclaiming how They will NOT be excited or buying gta6, and that they never understood the appeal

Like ok dude, great, cool, im glad you found you and you know what you want.

[u/OptimusCoon-Esq]

It's so bizarre.

On one hand I can acknowledge Rockstars shady business practices. EA levels of greed dude.

On the other end, I personally believe Rockstar is one of those studios who sets the gaming landscape bar higher with every release. Other games have done that since the last GTA game, like Baulders Gate 3, Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, so my argument isn't that Rockstar is the only company that does this. Also I'm not going to sit here and defend GTA online (as that's the go to critique for the crowd OPs photo is describing), but I don't play GTA for online. I just think Rockstar makes high quality games, and their track history speak for itself: Bully, GTA series, Red Dead 1 & 2, Midnight Club series, Max Payne, The Warriors, LA Noir.

I understand not caring for a game, it just seems there's some desire to "be different" when you go about constantly letting others know you don't care about said game.

Just my 2 cents.

[u/Nosidda89 → u/OptimusCoon-Esq]

I think part of it is that people who actually don't care about GTA 6 feel extremely unheard amongst the insane hype, and now feel more emboldened to say it because GTA 6 has controversies. GTA often feels like one of those franchises that everyone just kind of expects you to be into if you love video games. Basically, if you love gaming enough to collect merch and talk online about it on the regular, the expectation often feels like you are obviously someone who likes GTA and is going to buy it day one. And if you don't, that's seen as odd and out of the ordinary.

And there is at least some merit to that belief when you have GTA fans responding to anyone complaining about the current GTA 6 controversies with the phrase "You're still going to buy it and play it anyway, because it's GTA.".

Basically, not liking GTA can sometimes feel like being the guy who doesn't like ice cream. And when you say you don't like ice cream, everyone looks at you weird, and probably thinks you're lying.

It does genuinely seem like people who like GTA can't even fathom the idea that a gamer wouldn't like GTA. That obviously leads to people who genuinely don't like GTA feeling unheard, or feeling like the outcast in the room because they have different taste. So now that GTA 6 has some outrage behind it, because of some of the choices the publisher made, those people feel emboldened to say "I don't care about GTA 6.", because it doesn't feel like such a hot take right now like it once did.

I can vouch for this too. I have never in my life bought or played GTA 5, and I have legit gotten weird looks from other gamers in the past when I would tell them this, as if there's something wrong with me for not finding the game appealing in any way.

[u/OptimusCoon-Esq → u/Nosidda89]

I can respect that take. I would counter, though, that calling the crowd who doesn't seem to care for GTA 6 "unheard" is a bit antithetical to the point OP is making with this post. If anything, I feel like I hear more people bashing the game than praising it nowadays.

I can understand how being someone who doesn't really care for GTA could be frustrating when others expect you to like it simply because you're into gaming. But as a big video game fan myself, I've always considered GTA one of those franchises that's worth playing for the experience alone even if it's not the type of game you usually play. I'd put it in the same category as games like Minecraft or Portal in that regard.

At the same time, I think it's completely reasonable to dislike the Rockstar formula. Not every game is going to appeal to everyone, regardless of how well-made it is. But I do think there needs to be a distinction between subjective taste and objective quality. Not liking Rockstar games is one thing, but when people start claiming Rockstar makes low-quality games, that's where I get a little baffled. You can dislike a game's design philosophy while still recognizing the quality and craftsmanship that went into making it.