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[Euron]

The toxicity has only really stopped me from quitting most gaming personalities and YouTubers. Seeing Jon Tron become an alt right white supremacist hurt quite a bit and that coupled with other YouTubers like PewDiePie promoting bigotry across the community are enough to turn me off of it.

It's really just my dislike of current business models that has made me essentially quit buying new games. I hate loot boxes in 99% of cases because they do change the gameplay and are only otherwise acquired through grinding. They add too much randomness to games for my liking and make success in them more due to luck and deep pockets than skill and achievement. Since they are now coming to single player games, that harms many that were once safe. Plus the developers I still enjoy (From Software, CDPR, Kojima, R*) don't put out games often enough for gaming to be a regular thing for me anymore.

However, if you're quitting gaming due to the toxicity of communities like Overwatch competitive, I do not blame you at all. Even if toxic behavior has always been around, encountering it can be exhausting and nothing is done to filter it. Since games are meant to be pieces of entertainment and enjoyment, why should people spend their time in them getting threatened and insulted?

 

[GlenChivas]

I hate the word "toxicity" but it's the best word I can think of currently.

I think I've reached that point. Tomorrow I'm packing everything up gaming related and taking my cash bounty of 1300 dollars from GameStop and more than likey never touching this hobby again.

Since that nonsense happened a couple of years ago it's been really, really hard to look at gaming in a positive light and wanting to be associated with it.

I read an article, it's politically charged. The comments are a shit show on both sides filled with adults who are way too old to be displaying behavior fit for 3rd graders.

I try to watch streams and people are sexually harassed and being threatened with violence constantly.

I read about museum and video game archival projects that have interested me being shut down because of gamergate.

There's no fun anymore. Everything in gaming has such a large amount of politics and shit people associated with it that I can't by association support it anymore. The dregs of society have won yet again and I guess they got what they wanted by running people like me away from gaming to save "gamers"

I just can't deal with it anymore.

 

[Kyrios]

I won't let people negatively interfere with how I look at one of my main hobbies. If I play online, it's only party chat or I mute anyone using a mic. I have my messaging set to "Friends Only" so no hate messages either.

The way I look at it, there are idiots no matter the hobby, be it more vocal or not.

That being said, I can see how all of that negativity can get to you, nowadays it's information overload with the internet. I suggest maybe taking a break from forums and the communities and try out some single player games.

It's your choice no matter what, but I'd hate for someone to give up something they like because of some bad apples.

 

[Phatcorns]

Yeah, I would say just stop reading articles and stuff. There's no reason to stop playing games if you still enjoy them.

 

[galvatron]

I understand where the OP is coming to some degree because racist, sexist, or rude people don't really have another means to wander into my life aside from gas stations, neighboring restaurant tables, and video games. I hang out with mostly highly educated people with social skills and HR typically keeps the jerks in line at work.

I'm not quite at the point of giving it all up, but I do understand how that might be a bit tempting. The average person is terrible and gaming being so unfiltered and democratized means a good half of the randoms I play with are people I want nothing to do wth. Never mind the paranoia of one experiences of perhaps discovering the bigot who started off nice enough because "you don't sound black". Not chatting helps, but spending a lot of time playing solo isn't something I want to do to excess as I get up there in years and fewer of my friends play the games that I do.

 

[g11]

I haven't quit gaming but it's seriously limited how I play games anymore. Growing up a lot of my friends liked to talk trash in MP games and for a while I kind of saw the fun in it. That didn't last long and eventually even my friends tired of it and so we'd play in group chats only in MP. Then people would start sending post-game XBL messages and once that started happening nearly every game, I pretty much stopped playing online MP with a few exceptions. TLOU had great multiplayer and I rarely heard trash talk in that. Rocket League was okay for a while but then people started abusing the in game chat system to where I just turned it off every time I got on.

Now I pretty much just play co-op or single player games. I didn't even have to deal with racial shit or anything, and even when I did, it was more funny to me than anything because I'd get the same banal insults despite being white. It just zapped the fun out of it and made the whole thing irritating instead of fun. I don't really miss it though. I had a solid 10 years of shooting people online in games, most of it during a time where being good at the game and having a good K/D got you compliments and people wanting you on their team rather than incoherent screeds and accusations of cheating. Voice chat was a mistake. Possibly console multiplayer too.

 

[DarkConfidant]

Quit following enthusiast communities and just play the games.

This. Most of the things OP listed aren't really playing games at all.


If anything they're all things you'd find out about from going on the internet.
That seems to be the real cesspool.


EDIT: Reread it. Nothing in there was actually games. It was reading an article, looking at streams, and probably reading another article.
Stop reading them if it's getting to be problematic for you.
The games have absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

[Filben]

Mute every (voice) chat channel right from the start #overwatchrelated. My way to deal with that. No way I'd give up all those wonderful singleplayer games.

I've been staying away from most comment sections and many message boards (there currently only two I use, and NeoGAF is one of them.) That includes every gaming related comment section like on Facebook. Maybe I'm just too old for this shit but I don't care about random people's thoughts expressed in a toxic way. Why would I discuss to entitled opinions and behavior no one would dare to show in real life, eye to eye.

This is the reason why I stay around NeoGAF, however. Discussions here are polite and evidence based most of the time. In short: it's fun. Don't do something that's not fun and you don't have to.

Don't sell your gaming equipment.

 

[TeegsD]

This is definitely excessive. I get where you're coming from, but it is very easy to separate the trash from the hobby I love. Like really easy.

 

[Mattdaddy]

I haven't and won't quit gaming, but it definitely dampens my interest in any kind of ranked or high end competitive pay.

 

[Tahnit]

I hate the word "toxicity" but it's the best word I can think of currently.

I think I've reached that point. Tomorrow I'm packing everything up gaming related and taking my cash bounty of 1300 dollars from GameStop and more than likey never touching this hobby again.

Since that nonsense happened a couple of years ago it's been really, really hard to look at gaming in a positive light and wanting to be associated with it.

I read an article, it's politically charged. The comments are a shit show on both sides filled with adults who are way too old to be displaying behavior fit for 3rd graders.

I try to watch streams and people are sexually harassed and being threatened with violence constantly.

I read about museum and video game archival projects that have interested me being shut down because of gamergate.

There's no fun anymore. Everything in gaming has such a large amount of politics and shit people associated with it that I can't by association support it anymore. The dregs of society have won yet again and I guess they got what they wanted by running people like me away from gaming to save "gamers"

I just can't deal with it anymore.

Nintendo is the answer.

 

[DirtyLarry]

I just do not get this. I truly do not, and I question if gaming was your preferred hobby to begin with.
I do not like a lot of the "toxicity" associated with gaming either? You know what I do? I do not even interact with them.
I play Single Player games. If and when I hop online, I mute everyone, etc.
You can still play video games and not interact with others.

 

[Natasha_c13]

No, I have a fairly thick skin. For every toxic experience, I've had many more positive ones. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself "is the juice worth the squeeze?" For me, I derive a lot more pleasure from gaming (yes, online) than any negative vibes.

 

[Fat4all]

ive never been a multiplayer-heavy gamer, so it hasn't effected my gaming habits

 

[DeathbyCheerios]

I just do not get this. I truly do not, and I question if gaming was your preferred hobby to begin with.
I do not like a lot of the "toxicity" associated with gaming either? You know what I do? I do not even interact with them.
I play Single Player games. If and when I hop online, I mute everyone, etc.
You can still play video games and not interact with others.

Same here.

Or you play games like Hearthstone that have no chat.

You can play lots of games and never have to interact with another human being.

 

[Taliban Stan]

Toxicity can make me not want to play a certain game online or in a specific mode for a while but it hasn't turned me off to gaming as a whole.

 

[outunderthestars]

I have stopped playing online multiplayer all together due to the combination of most people using private chat and the few people who don't being horrible.

 

[Izayoi]

There's no toxicity when you just play a solo game.

My man.

The only stuff I play online anymore is Nintendo games, and for the most part they are free from this shit.

 

[Megatron]

Serious question, but is gaming more toxic today? As far as I know, online gaming has always been a cesspool of racists, misogynists and homophobics. It's absolutely inexcusable, but what is worse now than previous years?

 

[Forward]

My man.

The only stuff I play online anymore is Nintendo games, and for the most part they are free from this shit.

I have always been like that. The only multiplayer I have ever truly enjoyed, was all local.

 

[Dipper145]

Exposure to this toxicity has vastly decreased from what it was 10 years ago due to the ability to very easily mute all in game communication in most online spaces.

 

[BruceCLea]

Don't quit. Fight against it.

 

[Herp Derpington]

Funny enough this is why I quit going to Facebook for the most part (or social media in general). I'll go on every once in awhile to check my fiance's page but other than that I've pretty much given it up. Just got sick of the negativity, stupid memes, and general lack of self awareness people display publicly now. It's pretty depressing and I've not missed it at all since I quit. Good luck to you man I can definitely sympathize.

 

[secretanchitman]

I don’t even do group chat unless it’s with my friends. I’m thankful there is a mute button so I don’t listen to anyone if I choose not to.

I also don’t play in ranked/competitive so it’s always casual matches for me.

 

[The Dear Leader]

I don't let others toxicity effect my hobbies and passions, if everyone stopped doing what they love because of some mean people and bad words the world would be an even more negative place and so would all your favorite games communities. Do what you want though.

 

[Soar]

I'm not going to stop eating cake just because other cake eaters think it's a lie or are elitists about the frosting.

 

[Indecisive]

There's nothing toxic about games. Your ps3 and DS collections didn't do anything wrong.

This is like a guy who likes shooting hoops on the weekend with his son stopping because an ESPN 2 commentator said something slimy about the NBA. One has nothing to do with the other, and it's silly to think they do.

Your problem is with Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media. Stop going to those places. Stop coming here. Just enjoy games. You don't need all that other shit to do so.

 

[rackham]

People have been getting harassed in games since your sibling kicked your ass in Street Fighter and told you that you were awful at Mario games.


People need thicker skin. No it's not right and no it's not an excuse

 

[lawnchair]

you'll be better off without it.

 

[FUME5]

Don't let shitlords ruin your enjoyment of a medium you like.

 

[Acorn]

Never leave mics on (apart from friends obviously)and I'm primarily a sp guy anyway.

 

[Lunaray]

I used to play a lot of MMORPGs, but these days I stick to single player games or single player modes in games exclusively.

 

[Fjordson]

Not I. I mostly game in a bubble separated from any of the bullshit that goes on and there's so many good games coming out all the time, it's an amazing era for the medium. I'm playing more games now than I ever have save for maybe my high school days.

I do engage with the culture around gaming a bit less. Don't play as much multiplayer, don't post on forums outside of GAF, etc. Lots of fucked up people have sadly infiltrated the hobby.

 

[smurfx]

been playing online for a long time and i've rarely had many bad interactions. don't use a mic so maybe that is why.

 

[ieptbarakat]

The focus on making everything a competitive esport has pulled me from playing a lot of games, people treat every game like it's a life or death matter and constantly harass you for letting the team down if you don't live up to their absurd standards. So while I used to play a large amount of team games I mostly pulled back to just playing coop games with friends as to just avoid the problem altogether.

 

[Marceles]

Haven't gone that far to quit gaming, but I've played a lot less multiplayers games than I used to

 

[Doctoglethorpe]

You'll be back. And you'll regret selling everything. Cause you'll realize you had formed a false equivalency in your head.

Now, quitting the internet would be more fitting. Good luck with that too though.

 

[Luminaire]

Wouldn't dream of quitting because of other people. That's how shitbabies like GGers win. It's what they want.

Although over time I've become the type to fight back/engage when I or someone else is being targeted with toxicity. Likely also what they want, but it's more fun and dramatic than doing nothing/muting.

 

[Lexad]

I like videogames because I can play fun minigames with Winnie the Pooh and fight a very handsome brown man with lightsabers in the same game. Other people being dicks can't stop Winnie the Pooh being adorable so I'm fine playing games

You I like you

No it doesn't really bother me. I have always been pretty good about compartmentalizing aspects like that because it doesn't really affect my joy for games, nor should it.

 

[Copper]

Just don't play a game if you think it is toxic? There are plenty of games out there. Seems like a silly stance to me.

 

[Alo0oy]

I didn't stop playing, but I stopped participating in 90% of the gaming communities.

 

[MoonFrog]

I'm not really plugged in so much. I'm in my mid-twenties and I've only been online wrt gaming since June 2015; it is pretty much just GAF for me since late 2015. I used to read IGN as a kid, but I wasn't a commenter or comment reader by-and-large. I also quit doing that and just did my own thing starting in the late 2000s.

I also haven't played many games online in my time or used voice much when I did.

This is part of a general pattern in my behavior: I missed pretty much all internet bullshit that goes on; know about it mostly from relatively mild and few personal encounters but a lot of stories about it.

Obviously it is a social current that is something more than just an expression of the ugliness of society: the Internet is a vector for ideology and offers ways to bring together and organize disparate people.

But, I don't think a) the problem is games, b) that buying games feeds these social problems in a peculiar way, and c) that it is burying my head in the sand to mostly ignore and move past these issues.

Problems of contemporary masculinity, problems of contemporary whiteness and the sort of monsters these can breed aren't "because video games." Video games are a popular past-time and also a popular source for escapism and comfort for a lot of young men (including young white men) and there are landmines therein: indulging ideas about how their lives should be shaped and how women should be and such do color peoples' reactions to those things not coming to be in reality and encourage a violent reaction in some. But life in general is guilty of this. Video games aren't THE reason or even the main reason these issues are around.

I also don't think gaming is inherently problematic in this way or that nothing in problematic content is brought to it by the consumer. I'm also willing to live with and enjoy problematic content. I do think I ought to be willing to step back and realize how it is such and what is in that, which makes it appeal to me. But I think there is a balance between being circumspect and allowing yourself to indulge in self-affirming fantasy. And there also is separating what fiction can give you and what life may or may not give you and you have no grounds to expect or feel you deserve.

IDK. I try to be frank on GAF and such about things and when I do wade into social issues that does tend to make me no one's friend. But I come at it from a sheltered place rather than as in the trenches of the online "culture wars." Breaking things down into two camps and blurring the lines between competing "good ideas" of the future and being unwilling to touch what the shape of a good future should be is the death of nuance, and, from my sheltered perspective, for that reason, meaningful conversation. But, I think there is a case for "So much the worse for thinking," so to speak, and it is not like I'm constructive or particularly right about anything so I try to wade into that stuff less now.

That said, I do feel I share a lot of demographic similarities with the stereotypical problem case--I'm a failure by my own standards, as a man and a person; I'm white; I'm sexually frustrated, although this is largely because of general social and personal hang-ups, rather than women not ever wanting me (although, tbh I do think if a person did ever get to know me it'd be impossible to still be interested in me : whatever appeal I have is fraudulent and in not letting people get too close I can keep that advantage)--so I do think it is good for me to be "on guard" and to read about these issues.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

I hate the word "toxicity" but...

...I just can't deal with it anymore.

Now that you quit gaming, you should... like... eat seeds as a pastime activity.

 

[JohnMatrix]

What sort of games are we talking about here? Team based shooters and mobas etc?

Overwatch is probably the only experience I've had with repeated toxicity

These days the only multiplayer games I play are Tekken and Dark Souls / Nioh, where a salty text message is about as far is it goes.

 

[SMOK3Y]

OP if you mean social toxcity or game toxicity well this is why I only play with irl friends and chat party

 

[AmaterasuOkami076]

I separate the game from the politics and enjoy them on their own merit. When I'm looking forward to Yakuza Kiwami at the end of the month, or Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade, Zelda story DLC, Chaos;Child and a ton of other games this year, I don't really care about GAFs reaction, or the internet's reaction, or YouTubers stance on them. They're all games I'm looking forward to playing and any issues that could potentially arise that falls under the toxicity you mention isn't even thought about whilst I'm playing them.

Maybe it's because I'm heavily a single player sorta person. But I'd say it's worth stepping away from all gaming forums and gaming related social media/YouTube stuff for a while and see if that helps instead.

 

[Gravy Boat]

It's very easy to ignore that stuff if you don't want to be exposed to it. Quitting a hobby you enjoy seems really extreme when every multiplayer game has mute options. Also don't ever read YouTube comment sections. That's not a video game thing, that's just a people thing.

 

[Dr. A]

Yeah, I'm not gonna quit something that I have enjoyed for most of my life because of some mean jerks. Just shake it off and ignore these fools.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

I'm sorry for your horrible experiences with shitheads online, OP, but by giving up gaming in its entirety, you're indirectly saying/accepting that every gamer is a sexist/racist/bigoted asshole.

I've honestly never come across someone like that in my time gaming, and tbh, I play mostly single player games where shitheads online aren't allowed there to ruin my enjoyment.

The anonymity of connected cyberspace allows for idiots to sate their every wicked desire. Just ignore them, OP. Otherwise, all you're doing is indirectly legitimizing their bullshit.

 

[Darksol]

I generally don't play multiplayer games. I'm great company and have never made my environment toxic enough to stop gaming.