Internet Backdraft/Video Games

Video Games are a relatively new form of media, at least when compared to how long radio, television, and feature films have been around. Like them, whenever a controversial even occurs in the realm of video games, expect an Internet Backdraft to occur.

Consoles and Game Media

 * The Console Wars; usually, which of the current generation is better, but occasionally spilling into Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis or Dreamcast vs. anything else.
 * And, more recently, PCs vs consoles.
 * Paint yourself in asbestos, go to any gaming forum and quote any article written in the last twenty years that says 'PC Gaming is Dead/Dying'. Bonus points if you can link one such article from the late 80s and nobody notices.
 * An example of flame wars being born over this is Chad Warden's infamous sarcastic rant asserting that the "PS Triple" is better than the Wii and Xbox 360. Many people took it seriously and thus began a Youtube flamewar, with many videos of Chad Warden's rant remixed into all sorts of mocking messages.
 * One notable flamewar centers on Sony's removal of the Other OS function in the PlayStation 3, meaning you can't use Linux on your PlayStation 3 anymore.
 * PSP vs. PSPgo. And by extension, physical game media versus digital download.
 * Implying that you prefer the Sega Saturn over the PlayStation or Nintendo 64 can be a death sentence. Even stating that the Saturn was good, even in Japan, can cause problems. Don't even try to mention the the "Dreamcast 2" myths, or if you want a Dreamcast.
 * Whether or not Microsoft should make a handheld is quite the issue within the gaming community.
 * After the commercial failure of the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo dropped the price of the system to a paltry $170 in the US, literally 5 months after its release. People who bought it prior to the price drop, despite Nintendo trying to compensate with a collection of 20 games (most of them classics like Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi's Island), were not pleased.
 * DLC as a whole will lead to two Broken Base arguing with each other, with one half despising DLC, and the other half praising them. The fact is that DLC can have a lot of different meanings, DLC can be of very different types, and the absence of clear legislation about it doesn't really help, leaving the editors to do as they please when they propose DLC:
 * On the side of those who hate DLC, we have understable complaints, since some DLC are content removed from the game in order to sell it under the disguise of DLC (such as some missions of Assassin's Creed II), content already on the disk but that you need to unlock with a DLC in order to use it (such as the costumes of Street Fighter IV), content which could be seen as vital (or at least very useful) but that you need to buy as DLC in order to use it (such as the chest in which you can store your equipment in Dragon Age Origins), or even some content which we can reasonably think should have been available in the game right from the start instead of being sold separately as DLC (such as the costumes and arena fights of Final Fantasy XIII-2, DLC available since the release of the game). Some DLC are not new content, but just a way to bribe your way to victory (such as some DLC in Tales of Vesperia, which allow the player to gain levels, money, artes, items... It's not so much "downloadable content" here, and more like "paying cheat codes"). And let's not start about the activation codes of Batman: Arkham City, preventing you from accessing a part of the game if you buy a second hand copy of the game instead of a new one, which will make you unable to enjoy it... Unless you buy the DLC which allows access to these parts of the game. Overall, this side sees DLC as a cash machine for the editors, and fear that they are considered as cash cows.
 * On the other hand, the other side argues that DLC can provide new content and fun to a game long after its release, allowing us to prolong the experience. Also, some DLC are whole new levels or adventures, depending on the game, which can lead some DLC as being seen as true extensions. Needless to say, it depends heavily on the quality of the DLC.
 * When one side will complain about the presence of DLC, the other side will often point to the other that they are not forced to buy DLC, which will lead this side to argue about the abuses of game companies when it comes to DLC, which will lead the other side to argue that some DLC are worth it, which can lead some people to say that the content should have been in the game originally, etc... Rinse and repeat ad nauseum.
 * Anything that has to do with console exclusivity. Probably the worst offender is when a DLC is released for PlayStation 3 instead of Xbox 360, or vice versa.
 * And for that matter, the only super-platforms of video games that exists are PCs, consoles, and handhelds. Do NOT acknoledge the existence of arcade games made after Street Fighter II.
 * One of the biggest ways to kick up a fuss is to ask whether a hot console exclusive or console-exclusive bonus content will be ported to another system. Most fanboys of the system that exclusive belongs to will immediately lambast you with flames. The more rational amongst them will give you plenty of reasons why such a port will never happen, usually peppered with flames. You'll also probably be told that you're cheap and that you need to buy the original system, and/or will be told to go have your mommy buy it for you. This typically happens when PlayStation 3 or 360 owners ask about things being ported to the other system, though it sometimes happens with situations like PSP games potentially being ported to the PlayStation 2. (The Wii and DS are often left out of this loop, due to fundamental hardware differences. Wii titles are always assumed to be fundamentally different from their PlayStation 3/360 counterparts anyways, due to the Wii's inferior processing power and Waggle-based controls.)
 * This happened in a BIG way when rumors of a MGS4 port to the Xbox 360 surfaced, complete with images of a MGS4 360 skin. Whether they were real or not doesn't matter, it started a giant flame war. Said MGS4 port turned into the Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
 * And this is coming up again with Street Fighter X Tekken, since it was revealed that the 360 would get no exclusives whatsoever and the PlayStation 3 will be getting five exclusive characters...two of them being Pac-Man and Mega Man (Okay...Bad Box Art Mega Man...but people are mad all the same)
 * Of course, if said port actually does happen down the road, expect an enormous backlash, with fans of the original system complaining about being "betrayed" by the company that decided to port over the game, and fans of the system the game is being newly ported to coming over with victorious "I told you so" remarks.

Companies and Individuals

 * Capcom has been getting massive, massive amounts of flak for cancelling the third Mega Man Legends game, especially so shortly after cancelling Mega Man Universe... and announcing another version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
 * And now that the new characters for Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 have been leaked, Mega Man himself is still nowhere to be seen. Mega Man fans are seething with enough rage to power a solar system.
 * Even more fuel was added to the fire when it was revealed that Zero's DLC costume turned him into Mega Man X (and that Frank West's was the Mega Man suit from the original Dead Rising), with many claiming that Capcom did it to deliberately Troll them.
 * And then there's Street Fighter X Hello Kitty... Yes, Hello Kitty. A franchise that is blatantly aimed at prepubescent girls. Needless to say, this left several people completely nonplussed...until Capcom revealed that the crossover really is for merchandise (toys, dolls, figurines, etc.) in which Sanrio charactersare depicted in Street Fighter costumes. There are no plans for an actual game...yet.
 * And then, they announced a game based on Sour Patch Kids. Yes, you read that right. They're making a game based off of a freaking gummy candy, but won't even do a thing with its main mascot. Fans are not happy.
 * Mega Man fans are furious about his inclusion in Street Fighter X Tekken. Why? Because not only did they give him his Off-Model appearance from the first game's NES cover, but deliberately made him a middle-aged, fat loser who just screams "Joke Character." Capcom's mishandling of the series is one thing, but deliberately rubbing salt on the wound by turning your company mascot into a complete joke may just drive them over the edge. It doesn't help that his bio is almost identical to Trigger's bio, which only serves to remind people of the cancellation that started this whole mess. Keiji Inafune himself, who was currently working at Capcom at the time before the games above were cancelled, made the decision to use the "Bad Boxart Megaman" design when Mega Man was included in the character roster. Not that it has stopped fans from screeching at Capcom about the design decision (it was supposed to be a joke, but it backfired immensely).
 * And then, Capcom outright stated that they were trying to draw in Call of Duty fans, even calling it "the dream," and they were deliberately making RE6 more action-based to do so. Cue fan backlash at Capcom "dumbing down" RE for the Lowest Common Denominator, and people retracting their excitement for the game. Nice going, Capcom.
 * Three words: On-Disc DLC. This already caused controversy elsewhere, but the Street Fighter X Tekken DLC fiasco takes the cake. It was announced that a huge chunk of characters would be exclusive to the Play Station Vita for a time(Beyond characters from Sony franchises, of course). Of course, Xbox/PC fans felt cheated. But when the game came out, a few enterprising hackers found out that these characters were not only still in the game's code, but were fully playable, complete with their own story and endings. Fans, to say the least, were furious at the obvious cash grab.
 * Capcom's path towards ruination just keep on going, when 4-player co-op was removed from the Xbox version of SFXT, despite the fact that it's still displayed in the manual AND promised to be there. Unlike the above debacle, Capcom has no plans to patch this, and pulling an explanation out of their ass that the PlayStation 3 was more conductive to this feature(despite the fact that another fighter had this feature on both consoles). It's one thing to remove a feature because of technical limitations, but to do so unannounced and seemingly out of laziness is maddening.
 * Ace Attorney fans weren't too happy at all when Capcom gave the No Export for You treatment to Ace Attorney Investigations 2. The petition for it to be released is still up.
 * Nintendo's recent business decisions and the fact they keep milking their top franchises dry have come under criticism in recent years. The more hardline Nintendo fans, and even Nintendo itself, tend to be derided as living in the past, unable to accept the current trends that Sony and Microsoft are adopting in their game consoles.
 * If you really want to see the savageness of fanboys, just go to any Nintendo-based forum and proudly state that you approve of Nintendo's direction with casuals/casual gaming and how it doesn't need HD graphics or super online. Expect to see phrases like "true gamer" and "sold out to the casuals" being thrown around.
 * Gaming becoming popular wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to get more of their games, and we were supposed to keep getting our games. Why can't it be like that?
 * Not only that, but Nintendo's 2008 E3 event left its fanboys foaming at the mouth, wishing Nintendo to burn in hell after saying they had been lied to about Nintendo claiming to be revealing some games that weren't casual (aka core titles like Mario and Kid Icarus). Reggie's co-worker explaining about her broken wrist has already become a popular fad on forums.
 * In a funny twist, with the announcement of the Wii U having HD graphics, a good chunk of fans are proudly touting this as a great feature. Bring up how they didn't care for HD graphics for the Wii and watch the fireworks.
 * Want to see Nintendo fanboys explode in rage? Suggest the idea that Nintendo should adopt the achievement (Xbox360) or trophy (PlayStation 3) system because it adds more replay value. Replies will include "How did you play games before achievements?" and "Achievements don't give you anything."
 * Funnily enough, Nintendo seems to have adopted a similar system for the Wii U. Fans were surprisingly bemused.
 * Bringing up the subject of limited online and friend codes to Nintendo Wii fans can be hazardous to your health. Mention that you think Wii games should have more comprehensive online modes/play and you'll either be labeled a Stop Having Fun Guy who wants Wii games to be havens for cheaters and griefers, or worse, you'll be told that you only want to play online so much because you don't have any real friends. Of particular controversy are the debates over the limited online play in Super Smash Brothers Brawl and the lack of online multiplayer in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * Of course, this can cut the other way, with particularly zealous proponents of online play labeling Wii players as "mindless fanboys" or "casualfags".
 * Bring up voice acting and Nintendo in the same sentence and watch flame wars break out over whether or not Nintendo has to start using voice acting or are fine without them.
 * Mention any EA game from  Spore  Mass Effect onwards and SecuROM on the same sentence. You can expect carnages on the level done by that DRM, the morality of pirating, and all that wazoo.
 * Or, heck, bring up EA in general, particularly if you bring up anything speaking in their defense, or otherwise question their internet Butt Monkey status.
 * Newest offender: EA's "Online Pass" and used games.
 * EA apparently is losing its spot as most hated company in the web to Activision, since EA is releasing popular titles such as Dead Space, and Activision is becoming more proeficient at milking Cash Cow Franchises and destroying developers.
 * And then gained it back when it announced the Origin cloud based distribution system. Which sells EA exclusive games with little chance of a sale like Steam, as well as running poorly, lacking the features of Steam, and periodically scanning the user's hard drive.
 * If you want a real flame war, try and mention G4TV and its status as a credible news source. Watch as people crawl out of the woodwork, either stating that they are the best news source ever, or a Fox News-esque mouthpiece for "hardcore" players. But whatever you do, don't mention them in front of Nintendo fans.
 * More importantly, if you value your soul, never state that their response to Skyward Sword winning the 2011 Videogame Deathmatch was justified. Even fans of the games that got shot down will eat you alive.
 * For context, Skyward Sword beat out games such as Arkham City, Assasin's Creed: Revelations, and Skyrim for the title, leading to huge masses of Fan Dumb complaining about how G4 had cheated in some way to make it win. Then the SS section of the award ceremony was spent essentially insulting SS and complaining about how it won even though it was a Nintendo game.
 * E3 2010:
 * Microsoft dedicated half of their conference to Kinect (A.K.A Project Natal) which controlled questionably. A quarter of the conference was dedicated to features on Xbox Live that most gamer would probably never use and another quarter was used to showcase the games gamers actually care about. It was so bad that they had to give everyone in the audience the new Xbox 360 model.
 * Ubisoft took the cake, however. They started off well showing gameplay for Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, started to wobble a bit with Shaun White Skateboarding, got back in with Ghost Recon and Driver, then completely flew off the handle with the same Kinect game that was showcased in the Microsoft conference and a BREATHING GAME. There was a brief point of redemption with the return of Rayman in Rayman: Origins, with got quickly shot down with a Michael Jackson dancing game in the style of Just Dance. With no actual footage, just dancing. Cue Face Palm.
 * Nintendo's conference overall was received rather well, especially in contrast to E3 2008. But no game has so polarized gamers as much as Skyward Sword. The graphical style, which is roughly a median between Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, managed to irk the Fan Dumb the most, but there was also the supposedly wonky controls that were showcased by Miyamoto (due to wireless interference, what with all the journalists and their phones, computers, and cameras present). Fans are starting to lighten up a bit, however, now that they've seen and heard about the controls as they were intended to work, the streamlined item interface, and the actually quite gorgeous impressionist-style world.
 * On that note, just say that Shigeru Miyamoto is anything but a video game legend who can do no wrong, and watch the fireworks explode.
 * The game's motion controls are a point of debate with several fans. Are they just what Zelda needed after years of button mashing(or, in Twilight Princess Wii's case, Waggle), and a return to the depth of Zelda II the Adventure of Link's combat? Or are they needlessly clunky, and make the combat sluggish and needlessly difficult? There is no middle ground here.
 * There have been arguments on whether VG Chartz is a good place for software sales estimates. You do not mention these numbers on NeoGAF. (Wikipedia outright banned it.)
 * For those who only care about American software sales, VG Chartz vs NPD. Escpecially after a weekly sales update.
 * Gamespot decided to run a Greatest Game Hero popularity contest/tournament. The first round featured grossly biased matches pitting virtually unknown characters in this day and age against titans of popularity; e.g. Lester K. Chaykin of Another World vs. Cloud Strife, Earthworm Jim vs. Link, and Mega Man vs. Mike Haggar. When Master Chief vs. Bub & Bob appeared for voting, members of The Imageboard That Should Not Be Namd (To be specific, /v/, /a/, and /b/) rallied together to turn it from 82-18 in MC's favor to 57:43 for Bub & Bob. Cue enough tears and whining to power the Internet for the rest of 2009. (They repeated the same feat against Sonic the Hedgehog, but considering the statement just below, it was ironically less controversial.)
 * Later Gamespot cheated and flipped the votes between Samus/B&B when B&B were winning thanks to the said imageboards; the tirade that ensued on the Gamespot forums were not light following this, just HINTING that Gamespot pulled a fast one caused week suspensions at the LEAST. Never talk about proxy voting on ANY character....
 * Related was the Greatest Villain contest. Two of the four semi-finalists were Darth Vader and The Joker, having crushed entries like Diablo and Kefka on the way up. Half the community insisted they shouldn't be in the contest due to being Movie and Comic Book villains, while the other half defended the decision.
 * And then that certain Image Board once again messed with the votes and allowed General RAAM, a very bland villain that hardly appeared in the game, to beat powerhouses like Dr. Breen and Sephiroth.
 * And now with the Greatest Sidekick contest, the Image Board succeeded in making the final battle one between Launchpad McQuack and Albert Einstein, with Launchpad taking the win. Gamespot responded by taking the link to the polls off the front page in the semi-final round.
 * Similar to the above, The Escapists March Madness has attracted this for three years straight. It came to a very stupid peak when Zynga, creators of Farmville, were up against Valve, the site's collective (not so) secret crush. People began saying it was an atrocity that Zynga had made it this far, that they were cheating shamelessly by asking their fanbase to vote for them (despite Valve doing the same), and the page going to over 50,000 replies of people expressing their hatred of Zynga. And then people began posting on other forums that "Valve needed their help." Zynga were also accused of promising bribes to their players for votes... and that is genuinely against the rules. No such scenario, however, existed when the whole damn thing kicked up again the year after, when Mojang AB (Creators of Minecraft) won from a wild-card entry, beating Valve once again. The whining and flaming hit epic levels once more, even though this time nobody mounted a convincing argument that Mojang cheated in any way.
 * Related to that, the GameFAQs Contests Board ("Board 8") takes any tournament seriously, from the GameFAQs Character Battles (annual tournaments similar to the Gamespot one) to "Most Powerful Character Contests" done by the users themselves.
 * For that matter, saying you post on GameFAQs will get you branded as mentally retarded.
 * IGN as game reviewers. Do they just whore out higher ratings for the big budget AAA titles regardless of actual merit, or are they fair in their judgments? For am especially sore point, bring up their review of Metro 2033. The reviewer went through the whole review sounding like he had rather enjoyed the game, which he stated was good but had a few issues. And then he suddenly slapped it with a 6, specifically stating poor stealth and glitches. To people who defend IGN, these would be justifiable reasons to mark a game down. To IGN doubters, these are just excuses to mark down a great game.
 * It doesn't help that the premier Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, and Gears of War games are almost exclusively the only games to have 9's and higher. or even are the only games or series to routinely score high 8's and above.
 * Every time IGN makes an article bashing Nintendo (or saying that a different game or console is superior), there are always whiny, butthurt Nintendo fanboys in the comments who are defending Nintendo and bashing the rival companies/games.
 * The Paul Christoforo/Ocean Marketing incident. The CEO of a marketing firm responds to a confused customer because a certain product didn't make the release date on time, and by responding we mean openly ridiculing him for his supposed impatience despite clear mismanagement on his part, using language you'd expect from a GameFAQs troll. Thanks to the email exchange being posted by Mike Krahulik online, the backdraft was immense enough to practically destroy the firm, getting them fired by the company producing the product, and people quickly finding out that Paul has a history of terrible customer service, which makes this backlash even more satisfying.
 * Even video game strategy guide companies come under fire. Who's better? Brady Games or Prima Games? Flame wars often erupt over this argument.
 * Just bring up the Nintendo Power magazine anywhere you go. Expect everyone to call it biased and how it ain't what it used to be.
 * Michael Pachter. An egotistical "analyst" that's frequently totally wrong(and fully aware of it) but still holds a job, or a knowledgeable fellow with an interesting view on the industry? Whatever you do, bringing him up around Nintendo fans isn't advised.
 * Try and bring up Sean Malstrom on a Nintendo fansite, especially a Metroid-based one. The flames will be bright enough to be seen from space. For toastier results, say anything even remotely positive about his views.
 * Ted Woolsey. You either hate him for his horrible scripts that ruined the purity of the Japanese games, or you hate people that can't grasp Ted Woolsey made his games far greater than any mere Japanese developer could crreate. No, you may not suggest that the scripts were good for their time and hold up well, but could have been improved on if he'd had more time and storage space, even if Ted Woolsey himself says so.
 * Similarly, Victor Ireland either massacred Lunar with Clinton and fart jokes or salvaged a stupid generic JRPG and is the true father of Lunar. Since Ireland himself falls into the latter camp and remains extremely bitter that XSEED did not hire his new company when they licensed and localized the PSP Enhanced Port, this gets ugly really fast since there's a good chance he may show up and egg people on.
 * Controversial game reviewers get this at times, especially ones that invoke 8.8.

Specific Games

 * Say Sonic the Hedgehog's mere name anywhere on the Internet.
 * For some considerable time after Sonic Adventure 2, whether Shadow had been Killed Off for Real or not was one of these issues. Now the problem is whether or not he should have been...
 * Mention anything about the 3D Sonic games, and watch the natter build up.
 * For Massive Damage, attest that you found Chris Thorndyke (from the Sonic X anime) to be a well-rounded and likeable character throughout his two-season run.
 * Or ask whether it's Eggman or Robotnik. Check the section on Birdo's gender for the likely responses.
 * Need some Flames of Disaster yourself? Say anything positive about the old 4Kids voice actors (other than Mike Pollock or Dan Green), bonus points if you say that Jason Griffith was better than Ryan Drummond and Roger Craig Smith combined. Watch the usually passive Adventure fans and the modern fans tear each other apart.
 * Also talk about your favorite shipping and say why all others are wrong. Sonamy vs Shadamy and Knuxouge vs Shadouge are highly popular debate topics.
 * Heck, just saying you don't like a character will get you into trouble. Depending on the character of course. Then there are the characters that saying you like them will get you in trouble.
 * In terms of the fanbase, mentioning a potential "Sonic Adventure 3" idea will just get swarms of people going off on one about how Sonic 2006 was basically Adventure 3 in all but name, that Adventure 3 would have the alternate gameplay styles people don't like, and that it's just a title anyway.
 * Hell, you don't technically even need to say "Sonic Adventure 3" to tick anti-Adventure fans off. Two words you NEVER want to say around them: Chao Garden.
 * Say that Sonic Generations is better than Sonic 3 and Knuckles or vice-versa.
 * Or Take a Third Option and say Sonic Adventure 2 is better than either of them.
 * And of course, the ongoing Classic vs. Adventure vs. The newer games debate. No matter what side you're on, you'll have the other two sides spewing flames against you so hot, Blaze the Cat would blush.
 * "So old-school Sonic fans, how were the physics in Sonic the Hedgehog 4?" After saying that, you'd better run like you were the Blue Blur himself.
 * Crank it Up to Eleven by stating that you found Sonic 4 to be a superior game to the Genesis games, let alone a good game. That alone should spark a holocaust between fans of the classic Sonic games and fans of Sonic 4 (especially if the most elite of both sides are involved, who depending on which side they're on condemn any praise or criticism of the game) so intense, you'd need to borrow a flame shield just to avoid getting charred in the process.
 * Go on Sonic Stadium's forums and bash Sonic '06 or Sonic and The Black Knight. Then watch the flaming begin.
 * Need to get a really big flame going for a barbecue you're planning? Just follow this simple 3-step-process:
 * 1) Go to the No Mutants Allowed Forum.
 * 2) Post any remotely positive comment about Fallout 3.
 * 3) You'll have a fine meal in no time.
 * Similarly, posting anything about the console game Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Back when the above game was in production, Interplay shut down their own official forums for the game due to being filled by angry posts.
 * When discussing Super Smash Bros., the quickest way to annoy a lot of people is to debate either the use of items in tournaments, or wave-dashing.
 * Or admitting you play as Pikachu. See this Penny Arcade comic and accompanying blog post.
 * Another one is to mention that Wolf, is too clone-y of Falco, who is too clone-y of Fox, and that previous characters that were removed should've replaced this triple-clone. You'll get a pretty nice battle going: might even result in some Soylent Snacks for the show.
 * Don't forget the classic phrase: No items. Fox only. Final Destination.
 * To many fans, "I like Brawl better than Melee" translates to "I am a huge faggot, please re-educate me on what games I'm supposed to play and not play."
 * There's also the problem of who should be the fifth rep for the Mario series in the fourth game, or if it even needs one.
 * Series reps in general. Go on, say "X character should get in over Y", "X should be cut," and the all time favorite, "X should be in!" Bonus points if you substitute X for any unlikely 3rd-party character like Sora.
 * Say that tripping in Brawl was a fair and well-implemented mechanic. If you make it out without 3rd degree burns then you are one lucky guy/gal.
 * The moral ramifications of fighting Nobodies and Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts II. What Measure Is a Non-Human? in general evokes this, but this gets it a lot in particular as you spend the first three hours of the game playing as one.
 * Oh, and how about this, go on a forum and ask 'so liek does Sora mac on Kairi or Riku or whut gaiz?'
 * Ohohoho~ Be sure to bring up the topic of Xion, Kingdom Hearts' biggest Base Breaker, on a popular KH forum. Then call her a Xarmy Sue. Be sure to wear your heat-resistant protective gear!
 * More recently in Birth By Sleep, we have the villain Vanitas who is revealed to be a seventh clone (if those numbers are crunched correctly...). Nomura is officially on thin ice, alongside half of the fanbase...
 * Go to a Kingdom Hearts forum (ESPECIALLY KH Insider) and post a simple topic of, "Why do people hate Kairi?" Sit back and watch as a freaking cult of people say she's a bitchy, obsessive Sora fangirl that hates Riku, exists to only be a Damsel in Distress, and that Namine and/or Xion are 10x better. Some even have the latter part in their signature.
 * Similarly, creating a topic like that regarding Xion and expect a similar response. I don't like Xion that much myself, but damn. The hate regarding the poor girl is enough to match Kairi's Hate Dumb
 * Oh, talk about the Disney portion ... especially upon talking upon various villains that should appear (i.e. Frollo, Gaston, Facilier, Shere Khan) ... you get bitched out by a bunch of Kingdom Hearts fans saying that that portion is stupid. While at the same time, you get Disney fans who bitch saying that Kingdom Hearts fails at representing Disney correctly.
 * Wanna see some fireworks? Make an argument whether or not Gaston should've appeared in the Kingdom Hearts series or not (A Heartless monster took his place).
 * Say you find any of the sequels/spin-offs to be better than the first, or vice-versa on any given forum dedicated to the KH series. I. Dare. You.
 * Want to start a fight anywhere on the Internet? Just go to any forum and say something, anything about Guitar Hero. Sooner or later, somebody will bitch about how Guitar Hero players are posers who should learn how to play a real guitar, and then you'll have yourself a nice, toasty flame war to warm your tootsies.
 * VG Cats once took a jab at it. Though, Scott Ramsoomair was actually making fun of people believing they could actually play guitar from playing Guitar Hero.
 * Guess what? Rock Band 3 will have a real guitar that will teach you to play properly.
 * Which is already starting to generate some backdraft from guitarists pointing out that plucking the string and knowing what fret to press isn't that much less superficial than the older controllers.
 * Not to mention the ongoing argument about whether Guitar Hero or Rock Band is the better plastic instrument simulator series, which has been going on since the latter made its debut in 2007 and shows no signs of abating.
 * Say anything -- anything -- about two certain other Rhythm Games to fans of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Or vice versa.
 * Any discussion of Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5. Is the game honoring him or standing against everything he (supposedly) stood for by including a virtual replica of him? Is witnessing him singing completely asinine songs just plain wrong or humorous in a sick way? Is Courtney Love a whore for lending his likeness to Activision? (On a side note, the late Johnny Cash was also subjected to the same treatment as Kurt in GH5, yet there was much less outcry over his avatar. Nirvana Fan Dumb much?)
 * Hyperspeed in Guitar Hero and its Rock Band counterpart, Breakneck Speed. The increased speed leads to notes being spread further apart, which some people find makes it easier to play. Now go to a message board and say that it's cheating.
 * Having trouble getting your campfire started? Go onto a Rock Band forum, and try to imply that there's a good reason for HMX to be reselling older tracks with keyboards and harmonies. You'll be roasting marshmallows and weenies in no time.
 * Final Fantasy fans are very rabid in their opinions over which games are the best in the series. To the point where every time a new entry is announced, there's practically a race to see who's going to be the first to declare it the worst in the series, then immediately devolve into a flamewar over whether they should wait for the game to actually come out before they make such bold pronouncements. Also volatile are debates over the original 2D entries versus the later 3D entries starting with Final Fantasy VII.
 * Although fairly obvious once you think about it, any comment making fun of the way Final Fantasy characters look, with a common one being that Cloud looks like a lady, is going to get you some action from the firebrands on the forum, though seasoned fans have heard it before and will dismiss it as trolling.
 * Other topics to avoid are "Who was the best villain?" and "Who's responsible for Sephiroth's actions?"
 * Say you like Final Fantasy VIII. For more kindling, try saying that on That Guy With The Glasses or The Spoony Experiment.
 * Hey, That Dude in the Suede likes the game and he's a part of TGWTG.
 * Call Squall Leonhart by any other name like Squall Lionheart or Leon Loire to any true fans of the series and see what happens.
 * The announcement during E3 2008 that Final Fantasy XIII, previously a Playstation 3 exclusive title, would also be coming to the Xbox 360.
 * And now that the game is out, saying you have any opinion on it, good or bad, will cause you to be attacked by half of the broken base. For extra spicyness, say you think its bad, and that all of the problems of it are because it went to the 360, and if it stayed exclusive it would be a much better game.
 * There's really four types of FF fans: the new fans, the fans who claim the series ended with Final Fantasy IX or Final Fantasy X, the fans who claim the series ended with Final Fantasy VI, and the ones who ignore the crazies and just enjoy the games.
 * While we are on the subject, never ever mention Final Fantasy X-2 if there are hardcore FFX fans around. They don't take it well.
 * Never bring up Marche. It will inevitably cause heated arguments about the morality of his actions, or whether he's actually the villain.
 * Never tell anyone that you were happy about . You will be flamed to eternity.


 * Aeris vs. Aerith on any site where Final Fantasy VII may be discussed in any capacity. It's especially annoying because you can't even mention the character without starting a fight. Even The Other Wiki had to kowtow to the fighting and spell it both ways, but the wars still continue.
 * Also, Aerith vs. Tifa. No more need be said.
 * Final Fantasy XI and Windower. The amount of heat generated from the flames about whether it's legit or not has enough heat to rival the sun.
 * Want to really light things up? Bring up Absolute Virtue, and say he actually is beatable outside of the now-defunct methods. The forum will then implode, collapsing on itself through sheer whining.
 * Both of these no longer work. Windower is now widely accepted as legitimate, and the community is getting closer to killing Absolute Virtue. In particular, one team managed to get him below half health, and has found out how to stop his most problematic abilities. There are still a few things that need to be found out, but it looks like the legendary AV may be coming down.
 * Want to brew a huge Flame War between Metroid and/or Nintendo fans? Talk about Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3, or Hunters, and talk about whether you think the games are a first person shooter or first person adventure. Be sure to mention what Nintendo's stance is on the genre for more flaming action.
 * Any mention of Hunters seems to have that effect.
 * Ditto any mention of Other M, especially the Ridley cutscene.
 * For more flaming, tell everyone that you think Metroid should have more multiplayer and online.
 * "Is Metroid Prime's gun attached to his arm or suit?"
 * Another fun one. Go to any gaming website, and suggest a match-up between Samus and Master Chief. For better results, give your argument supporting one or the other, then kick back and roast marshmallows on the flames.
 * Here's a great idea: go onto any Metroid forum and say that Super Metroid is anything less than perfect. The flames will fly.
 * Saying anything positive about the plot in World of Warcraft on a Warcraft fan-forum.
 * For bonus points, mention Richard Knaak, or the comics.
 * Or for that matter, arguing the relative merits of PvE and PvP in  World of Warcraft  any MMORPG.
 * Or try admitting you're one of the many millions of people that plays WoW on the chat channels or forums of some other MMOs, and you may as well have posted "I poop delicious cinnamon buns, while your dandruff is anthrax" for the way people will react to it.
 * As for those who care about lore, say anything about the Horde or the Alliance (but mainly the Horde) that paints them as anything but glittering saints incapable of evil, and you'll likely be slammed with threats to your health, comparisons to Hitler and death threats by the opposing side.
 * Want to make Smokey Bear very sad? Go to a Warcraft fan site and say anything that contradicts the notion that Sylvanas is the deepest, most well written and well developed character in the established lore.
 * Every single day on some forum, someone complains about the lack of a third playable faction that is neutral, or begs for the ability to have their Horde/Alliance character pledge allegiance to the opposing faction. Every single time, it ends in flame wars and tears. If it's an RP forum, expect Mary Sue accusations.
 * And don't even get started on which classes are overpowered or underpowered, or the "broken" state of PVP arenas which apparently makes them favor one side over the other...
 * In actuality, all one has to do to start an Internet Backdraft is to go on the forums and mention anything positive about the game or the developers in general.
 * In-game, as a Horde player, in the low-to-mid-level zone known as The Barrens, simply ask the simple quest-related question in General Chat: "Where is Mankrik's Wife?" Hilarity Ensues.
 * If the game's official forums are to be believed, EVERYONE who plays the game hates it, EVERY change made is bad and is cause to cancel your account (no matter how minor it may be) and of course, EVERY class is simultaneously overpowered, underpowered and fine how it is.
 * The Celestial Steed incident, where Blizzard released a mount for sale in the cash shop. The premise of the game's financial model means that players should not be able to pay to gain an advantage over other players. The mount cost $25/£17, and was sent to all characters on the purchaser's account through the in-game mail. The resulting explosion on the forums rivalled Eyjafjallajokull in severity. The mount is now called That Retarded Horse, or TRH for short, thanks to the EU Troll (in a number of ways) Totalbiscuit, who very suddenly disappeared from the forums a week or so later.
 * While the RealID feature, a Battle.net service offering players who trade their account info such as email and their real name improved means of communication while playing recent games made by Blizzard Entertainment, has been a very touchy subject due to the personal info required for its use, it was always optional and thus not really something to get worked up about. But when Blizzard announced that the service would eventually be made mandatory in order to make new posts on their forums... The playerbase, naturally, exploded. The change has since been revoked after three days of wild rage. And the fandom rejoices.
 * The backlash was epic in proportions. It hit about 300 pages within around 5 hours of the original post. Within a day, it had over 1500 pages (it currently has almost 2500 pages, with an additional 700 pages in its sister thread on the European forums). The previous record for a long thread in the WoW forums seems to have been something around 400 pages. Not only this, but several news websites decided the uproar was worth a story. To top it all off, a Blizzard employee, community manager Bashiok, posted his own full name as a show of good faith, and was quickly hunted down IRL and harassed mercilessly by irate players. Blizzard employees have since been made exempt from the changes, citing "privacy concerns".
 * RealID Fiasco, take 2. In May 2011, Blizzard announced they were developing a feature that allows the ability to group in the Random Dungeon Finder with your Real ID friends as a "premium feature" (i.e. Paying an extra fee on top of the monthly subscription). The announcement of this feature has come on the heels of the news that World of Warcraft lost 600k subscriptions from January to March 2011 and has been almost universally panned by the playerbase, most of whom feel this feature is a quick cash grab to make up for the lost subscriptions.
 * A couple years ago, Blizzard fanart section included a picture by Chalosan of a naked female tauren hugging a lion. The pic caused quite a bit of controversy on the forums over whether or not it should have been allowed. Blizzard ultimately removed the image a few days later, which caused another surge of threads about whether it should have been removed. Chalo later admitted he submitted the picture just to see whether it would be admitted.
 * Controversy has cropped up again in May 2012 in relation to a picture of a female Worgen eating a dragon burger, comparing it the previously mentioned nude female picture. Backlash has even gone so far as to condemn other "sexual" pictures after its removal.
 * Just mention Gearscore in trade chat or on the official forums and everyone experiences intense butthurt.
 * Since Blizzcon 2010, where the Blizzard developers made several jokes at the expense of Alliance players (but also got owned by one in particular during a Q & A session), there have been several threads popping up on the official forums about Horde favoritism and how it seems to be reflected in-game; most notably with the development time Goblins got in comparison to the Worgen and how Horde quests seem to be better designed that their Alliance counterparts. The debate had gotten so heated, a "Horde bias" page was created at Wowpedia as a joke; eventually, the page took on a life of its own and got deleted due to butthurt Horde fanboys taking it seriously and vandalizing it.
 * This issue came up again at Blizzcon 2011. After a largely apologetic Blizzard made concessions to cater towards both factions at this year's event, Samwise Didler introduced "Corpsegrinder", the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse, as the "unofficial ambassador of the Horde" and played a video clip of Corpsegrinder that was little more than of him saying a string of homophobic insults towards Alliance players and telling Alliance to commit suicide. This stirred people into a frenzy that it led to people being attacked for showing their Alliance pride. Community manager Bashiok tried to pass it off as being "Just a joke, not to be taken seriously", which made matters worse; since then, they have been threatened with multiple lawsuits, as well as being reported to the homosexual rights committee (as some lawyers would note, they actually do have a good case against them). Both Samwise Didier and Blizzard President Mike Morhaime (separately) released apologies to the community for the conduct at Blizzcon.
 * Go to the official forums and mention that you like the worgen female models. Alternatively, mention anything at all about Sylvanas and the Forsaken's rights to Lordaeron, and make sure to derail a completely unrelated thread by doing so. The bonfires will last for weeks.
 * Ever since Blizzard decided to try making 10 man and 25 man raids equally difficult and rewarding so that people may focus on just one size at a time, bringing up concerns on the official forums about either size will often end up with members that raid either size flaming each other viciously. Popular opinions are that whatever they're not raiding is lots easier (seemingly faceroll from the overall difficulty of encounters, but also the logistic aspects)and saying that 25 man raiding is the only real size anyway(so the privileges are obvious), so 10 man raiders can bite themselves.
 * Garrosh. Hellscream. Picking either side of the arguement will end poorly for you as you contest if he's in the right to be an Ax Crazy Blood Knight, or if his warmongering is leading the Horde to be Violent and dumb like every other orcish race in fiction.
 * Faction Favoritism posts, in fact it's become a meme due to the simple fact that it inevitably becomes a flame war and that there are insane amounts of Imagine Spots where one side is eliminated, insults to Garrosh Hellscream/Varian Wrynn, ideas that Blizzard favors one faction (Alliance/Horde), Cries about how "their" race is under-represented in lore, people who tell the others to shut up, and other people who tell the previous group that it's just hopeless.
 * Go to a video related to Burning Crusade or classic content and say you liked anything in Wrath of the Lich King or started when it was the newest expansion (Cataclysm counts to a lesser degree). You will then be derided as a "Wrath baby" who does not have the skill or dedication for raiding.
 * The Lord of the Rings Online has always had a backdraft regarding Eagle/Flying Mounts. A forum member will start a thread stating their opinion that the ability to fly Eagles around Middle-Earth in some form would be a great feature. It does not matter whether they suggest free-roaming flight, scripted flight path travel or storyline only flashbacks. Fans of Tolkien's Lore will flock to the thread denouncing the idea, quoting source material, demonstrating how it would be impossible/difficult to program, and providing links to numerous threads in which the Developers have flat out said that they have no intention of introducing Flying Mounts. More gameplay minded forummers will weigh in arguing that the Lore should not get in the way of fun, that new code can be written and that the developers could always change their minds in the future.
 * "The Eagles of Manwe are not a taxi service."
 * Even if the forummer who mentioned Flying Mounts did so amongst many, many other good ideas for Lot RO, those ideas will be ignored and the Flying Mount will become the sole focus of discussion.
 * After Lot RO introduced the Free 2 Play system, the influx of new players unfamiliar with the long history of the Flying Mount flame wars has lead to a spike in threads suggesting their introduction.
 * Similar to the Flying Mount debate, players have suggested Lot RO servers introduce PvP and PvMP combat to all zones. The results are similar to the Flying Mount suggestions.
 * The practice of snaking in Mario Kart DS. Snaking is the usage of multiple power-slides across straightaways in order to move faster. Essentially an exploit in the DS version, which led to multiple wars over whether it was actually cheating or mastery of the game engine.
 * Nintendo has even poked the hornet's nest a few times. Once with an official expressing surprise at the controversy (and claiming the technique worked as designed), and again with the announcement that power slides had been reworked in the engine for Mario Kart Wii to prevent snaking. This led to flame wars that once more pitted snakers against non-snakers, only this time over whether the game was being deliberately dumbed down or whether an exploit had been patched.
 * Whether this is intentional by Nintendo or accidental, snaking seems to be making a return in Mario Kart 7, rekindling the flame wars over snaking all over again.
 * "Snaking" also occurred in F-Zero GX / F-Zero AX (the latter being essentially an arcade version of the former), and possibly the other 3D games in the series. In fact, the term was used in reference to F-Zero first, and imported into Mario Kart discussions.
 * "Permanent Rocket Boosting" (PRB'ing), also in Mario Kart DS. A trick/glitch found where someone could keep the boost start going indefinitely by constantly mini turboing (and not lose speed off road as a weird result), this caused the same kind of flame wars among tournament level players as snaking did among everyone else (some record sites banned it, some allowed it, etc). Mario Kart fans seem to always have something to complain about.
 * Go to any Halo forum and bring up the pistol. Bring your fire pistol-retardant suit.
 * Be careful when critiquing Halo's plot: some fans will let a few things slide, but a single use of cliche as a descriptor will set the forum on fire.
 * Never, ever point out that Sergeant Johnson died in the first game and his death was retconned because, frankly, Sergeant Johnson is awesome. It doesn't matter if you are criticizing the plot or just simply stating it as a fact. You will get long rants about Project Orion and Spartan-I's and other plot points that are never, ever mentioned in the games, barring Johnson's "classified" handwave.
 * Just try and ask whether Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong are Donkey Kong's parents or grandparents. Also, whether the Donkey Kong that fought Mario was Donkey or a younger Cranky.
 * This is especially ridiculous when you consider that official media that was around when the original game was released explicitly state that Cranky is Donkey's father and that Cranky is the one who threw barrels at Mario.
 * It's not really that ridiculous when you consider that in the ending of Donkey Kong Country 2 after you rescue Donkey Kong, Cranky says something along the lines of "You've saved that lazy grandson of mine", and ever since many people have been understandably confused on the matter.
 * Anything related to Enhancement Diversification or the Global Defense Reduction used to be backdraft material in City of Heroes. Those wounds seem to have mended since boosts to player enhancement power. Continuing hot buttons are insistence on a traditional "Healer/Tank/Damage" structure in teams, as well as the increasing role of super-super "Incarnates" in game lore.
 * "Who are Roy and Lilina's mothers in Fuuin no Tsurugi?". Or any such variant.
 * Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Go to any forum and bring up the issue of Ike's sexuality. Bring marshmallows to toast around the fire.
 * Go to any forum and bring up Micaiah. Inevitably, someone will bash. Just as inevitably, someone will retort with how interestingly conflicted her character is. (Sometimes, you get the bonus of someone comparing her to Ike, which then devolves into Ike's Sexuality territory.)
 * Awakening added layers of They Changed It, Now It Sucks...more to Micaiah with her Hotter and Sexier DLC Art.
 * Go to a Seisen no Keifu forum, mention Beowulf even once, and watch the fans vs. the haters drag the threads out for at least 5 pages before the wank dies down.
 * Earrrgh... Lachesis is constantly called a slut by the fanbase. Despite her initial claim about not wanting to marry anyone who's not better than Eltosian, she is constantly paired with either Eltosian, Beowulf, or Fin. (it's not like she's unpairable AT ALL). And THEN comes all the OTHER males in the series... and sometimes females... Talking about any possible Lachesis pairings is a GREAT flame war in the making.
 * Discuss the criteria you use to pair any of the Seisen girls. Do you prefer to think of the stats their children will get in Gen 2? Or do you pair them according to their and their beaus's stories and personalities? Don't tell your "secret" to anyone. And if you do... good luck surviving the upcoming flame war.
 * "YOU SERIOUSLY USE RHYS?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? YOU SHOULD SPEND ALL YOUR BONUS EXP ON MIST BECAUSE SHE GETS A C IN STAVES WHEN SHE PROMOTES! PEGASUS KNIGHTS ARE USELESS! YOU SHOULD BE INVESTING YOUR TIME IN WYVERN LORDS, THEIR DEFENCES ARE GREATER! YOU USE ISADORA?! ARE YOU SICK?!"
 * Lyn's true pairing has been a case of Flame War for some time. Hector has all the Slap Slap Kiss and acting like a married couple, not to mention the "Respite in Battle" conversation. Rath's only pairing is with Lyn, and he's the father of Sue from FE 6... and then she looks like both of them. Kent is her devoted knight, and knight/princess pairings are super popular in Fire Emblem. And are we forgetting Eliwood and Florina, by the way?) Then come the Smash Bros. Ike fangirls...
 * Eliwood's true pairing, too. You like him with Ninian? You're an antifeminist and a Mary Sue supporter. You like him with Lyn? You're one of "these feminists" who think she's entitled to his cock just for being an Action Girl. You like him with Hector? Eeeeew, gay cooties. You like him with Fiora? ... Fiora WHO?
 * Go on an Elder Scrolls forum and ask about CHIM. The results are especially interesting because almost no side in that argument has more than one supporter.
 * Similarly, go to a lore-oriented Elder Scrolls forum and bring up Sithis. Such topics usually have their posters split into multiple camps with conflicting conclusions on what Sithis actually is.
 * Criticize Morrowind (beyond graphics)in TES general.
 * Outside "lore" questions, how about that voice acting, eh?
 * Avoid speaking about Skyrim at RPG Codex at all costs.
 * Just attempt to say "I don't like Elder Scrolls" at Reddit's /r/gaming subforum. This troper bids you good luck.
 * Don't be a jerk to Alienslof or Rem, being mean or trying to censor them will get you bombarded by people who think you're a zealous Moral Guardian who can't see the beauty of the human body, doesn't help that Slof is one of the only known female modders with noteriety.
 * Mentioning anything about arrows and knees pretty much anywhere will get you burned at the stake.
 * Go to any Legacy of Kain forums and declare that Blood Omen II absolutely deserves to be part of the game canon.
 * Or better yet, ask why the pre-evolved vampires all wear tight leather pants with noticeable bulges. If you're lucky, you'll just get IP-banned from the forum.
 * Go to any Castlevania forum, and ask why the gamers hate 3D games. Or better yet, ask which game is worse: Curse of Darkness or Lament of Innocence.
 * Or how about this phrase: "I love the new anime art they chose for Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin!"
 * Uncyclopedia astutely notes that the easiest way to troll a Castlevania forum is to argue that Castlevania Legends should be canon and IGA retconned Sonia Belmont because he's sexist.
 * Mention that you like the way Obata redesigned the character for Castlevania Judgment and you'll immediately be torn apart as a Death Note fanboy by people who consider themselves true fans (unless you bring up Cornell, who they generally agree got a kickass redesign).
 * Discussing the pairings in the Tales of Symphonia fandom (especially Lloyd/Colette, Lloyd/Sheena and Zelos/Sheena) runs the risk of initiating a flame war. If you must discuss the pairings, do not bring up the Drama CDs and whether they're canon or not. If you do, you only have yourself to blame.
 * Or bash Colette. Seriously, this is a far greater source of flames than any of the Ship-to-Ship Combat situations.
 * Hell, how about the sequel in general?
 * Go to Tomb Raider Forums and say that either Core Design or Crystal Dynamics suck. Watch the fur fly.
 * Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness have divided the fanbase. There are Legend fans who hate Angel of Darkness and vice-versa. The Angel of Darkness fans tend to be more bitter and outspoken towards Legend because Legend was developed by new developers Crystal Dynamics, and "Only Core fully understands Tomb Raider!" because "They made the classics!", casually forgetting that Core's interpretation of the Tomb Raider series changed radically over the six games they developed, and that Legend is much closer to the style of the original game than Angel of Darkness ever hoped to be.
 * Enjoy pain? Just go to any Zelda forum and bring up Sheik's physical sex. Hope you already wrote your will. Hell, do it just about anywhere!
 * If you want to get Legend Of Zelda fans riled up, talk about whether or not you think voice acting should be introduced to the series; this is one of the most controversial topics among Zelda fans. And if you really want to get them riled up, talk about whether or not you think Link himself should talk.
 * Apparently, multiple Links running around is fine with Nintendo fans, but a simple parentage affair hurts their minds.
 * If you do bring up voice acting discussions on a forum or blog, watch the amount of people who respond to you by quoting or showing you Youtube Poops of The Legend of Zelda CDI Games. Because a billion-dollar company doesn't learn from its 15-year old mistakes and can't just hire a professional, unionized voice acting studio for its projects.
 * That wasn't even Nintendo!!!!
 * An efficient way to get flamed is to mention that Wind Waker was anything but a childish insult to hardcore gamers. If you have fireproof clothing handy, you might even claim it (or The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask) was better than The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, or criticise Ocarina of Time.
 * Now that a dedicated timeline has been released, the war has shifted over what the timeline could be to if the Canon is better than the Fanon. Especially since the new, third timeline is based in a world where the hero of time failed to stop Ganon.
 * Despite not being popular in the Super Mario Bros. universe, if you're bored enough, go to any Mario related forum and talk about how Birdo is really female or is totally male. Expect to see responses that include "translation errors" or "Birdo was always male because the manual said so."
 * The same goes with Vivian. No doubt why Nintendo cut the "she is really a he" joke in the English versions.
 * Guild Wars, go on one of the major forums and make a thread ranting about how high end PvPers are elitists for refusing to help newer players and how people in Heroes Ascent are killing their game type by refusing to let low ranked people play with them. You are in for a world of hurt.
 * Alternately, say something positive about the assasins and especially the skill Shadow Form.
 * The Mass Effect fandom:
 * If you want to get them riled up, mention that BioWare must be homophobic since they didn't include any gay/lesbian love interests in the second game and, along similar veins, point out that their classification of asari as a mono gendered race instead of an Always Female one proves your point. Related to this topic, imply that everyone who disliked Mass Effect 3 did so because they are homophobic and hated the inclusion of the same-sex romances.
 * Casually ask a group of fans this: Who do you prefer overall, Male or Female Shepard? Take it one step further and then ask Default Male Shepard or Custom Male Shepards? Hope your shields are optimized.
 * Surprisingly, when Mass Effect 2 was announced for the PlayStation 3, the biggest issue seemed to be that Mass Effect 1 was not being ported, so PlayStation 3 users were missing the full experience.
 * Ask why the PlayStation 3 is getting free DLC. We dare you
 * Casually mention that you play as a renegade or a paragon. Within minutes you'll get multiple people referring to you and/or your character as "stupid" or "naive" (if paragon) or "sociopathic", "evil", or "deserving of a bullet in the back by squadmates" (if renegade).
 * Similarly, mention what class you play as. Soldiers get decried as 'boring Gears of War nuts', Adepts, Sentinels, and Engineers are 'underpowered and weak', Vanguards are 'flashy, cheap, overrated, and annoying', and Infiltrators 'can't do anything but hide'.
 * Bring up Mass Effect: Deception.
 * Ask about the day one DLC, From Ashes.
 * Go and pretend you are a random nobody on the Normandy in Cerberus Daily News; oh boy, you wil be shot on sight.
 * The biggest case of backdraft in the history of this franchise is certainly the one regarding the ending of Mass Effect 3. Say anything about that ending that isn't distilled disgust. For best results, say it's a good ending and that Bioware shouldn't release some kind of DLC overriding it. Imply that those who don't like it simply don't understand it.
 * There's been a certain amount of backdraft against all the arguments about the endings as well. In particular, many people have gotten just plain sick of hearing about it and want to move on to other topics. There was also a case where some people who'd donated to the Child's Play charity said they wanted to withdraw their donations after learning the charity itself had no ties with the goal of Retake Mass Effect, which got a lot of people angry (including people from said movement), out of concern that they were using said charity to promote a cause other than helping sick kids.
 * Bring up Warhammer Fantasy Battle in a Warcraft forum or vice versa, note the similarities, and enjoy the fireworks. In an attempt to prevent fires, many WAR posters started calling World of Warcraft "that other game", The Game That Shall Not Be Named (TGTSNBN).
 * In a similar but even more flammable way, mention Warhammer40000 in a Starcraft forum, and without any further action on your part, it will inevitably devolve into a massive flame war between the two settings.
 * The fastest way to piss of the NIS fan base is by being a graphics whore.
 * Artina, oh Artina. A normal yet perhaps bland character in a sea of extremes, or a bitch Purity Sue that everyone loves? You won't hear the end of it. And good luck if you ask about shipping her with Val.
 * Pick somewhere, anywhere, doesn't matter, just go to someplace on the internet and even suggest that Dan Hibiki is a Joke Character. You will have multiple Dan Devotees crawling out of the woodwork to explain to you how he's just as serious and valid as any other fighter and you had better show some respect to the greatest street fighter EVAR.
 * Mention you're fine that he was killed off in Street Fighter X Tekken and you'll get roasted.
 * Due to the causes of its delay, discussions about Islam around anything related to LittleBigPlanet.
 * Or worse, the user-created content intellectual property and/or moderation debacles. Especialy ludicrous with the latter, since Sony does remove levels based on other intellectual property, even those that they own.
 * Suggest a change to Eve Online that would make piracy more difficult or borrow from other MMOs.
 * Suggest changes to Eve Online that would make Suicide Ganking more difficult. Or that changes the way aggression from salvaging someone else's wreck works. Or that would change the aggression mechanics for Remote Repair modules.
 * Go on the GameFAQs board of Street Fighter IV and suggest that the game may be actually pretty decent and that Capcom isn't conspiring to kill the franchise. You're in for a whole world of pain. Though, considering what the GameFAQs boards are like, that's no surprise.
 * If you value your life, do NOT say anything positive about Wii Music. Apparently, nobody is allowed to even remotely enjoy the game, since doing so will cause Nintendo to make more casual games, thus games are Ruined FOREVER!
 * Go into a messageboard or blog comment thread based around a Gran Turismo game and bring up Forza Motorsport, or vice-versa. Or bring up how much more fun arcade racers like Burnout are. Or mention that you've been playing super-technical PC racing sims like GTR and Live For Speed for years and know for a fact that they are more true-to-life than any dumbed-down, arcadey console ?sim? racer.
 * Kanji's sexual preference in Persona 4 is up to the interpretation of the players. As a result, you have people arguing that he is, without a doubt, 100% straight/gay/bi. This situation is made worse when Shipping enters into the equation, since Kanji's sexuality would naturally determine whether he can be with Naoto or not. Of course, Naoto.
 * On that note, never ever bring up unless you want to spend the next few hours of your life arguing fiercely about heteronormative gender roles, feminism, or pointless fanservice. And God help you if you voice your approval for it.
 * In fact, just mention Persona 3 or Persona 4 around people who liked the first (or second) one better, and tend to have a really snotty attitude towards people who entered the series at P3 or P4.
 * Two freaking days after a Famitsu scan of the Persona 3 Portable release, and the forums are starting to heat up. Damn.
 * Do not bring up any of the female main character's romantic social links, or the lack thereof.
 * Go to any SMT forums, and call Persona 3 and Persona 4 "Glorified Dating Sims", and duck!
 * Or say you prefer Yuzu's Ending in Devil Survivor (for anything besides its Sequel possibility), and pray that you won't be incinerated.
 * Tell a Persona 3 fan you liked Persona 4, and watch as you get flamed.
 * Saying something bad about EV training or IV Breeding, saying you competitively battle Pokémon you don't do these with, or even admitting you don't EV train can make you hated by some hardcore competitive Pokémon fans.
 * Three words: Random number generator.
 * Which Eeveelution (IE: The numerous evolutions of Eevee) is the best? Don't ask. You'll never get an answer that doesn't result in a billion flames in response.
 * At least it's practically 100% agreed that Flareon is the worst, as far as gameplay goes.
 * Speaking of the Eeveelutions, try to mention that you find them overrated. If you're lucky, you'll be able to make it out with only a few minor burns from the ensuing flame war.
 * Asking whether or not (insert Pokémon here) is overrated will cause flaming as well. Examples include Mewtwo, Charizard, Dragonite, Pikachu, and Blastoise, among others.
 * Never casually ask whether fans think the classic games (Generations I and II) are better than the new games (Generations III, IV, and V). One side is surely bound to get heavy flames from the other and vice versa.
 * On the subject of Legendaries, go and claim that Suicune, Entei, and Raikou are dogs/cats. Enjoy the heat!
 * Better yet, contest that they're gerbils. Hilarity Ensues.
 * Arceus is getting a lot of this lately. Either its the ultimate legendary Pokémon (IE: Pokégod), is just another legendary (albeit a very powerful one), or simply some gimmick that Game Freak thought up for yet another random event. Fans will never fully agree on either one.
 * If you don't know how to RNG abuse, then you are a noob who doesn't deserve to know.
 * Mew's gender. Good Arceus, Mew's gender! Officially, Mew is an "it" (it doesn't have a gender at all). That hasn't stopped many-a-flame-war of people saying "Mew's a girl! She's pink and she gave birth to Mewtwo!". Heck, just genders of any Legendary Pokémon for that matter... especially since most of them oficially don't have a gender at all.
 * May Arceus have mercy on the poor soul who goes onto any Pokémon forum and asks "Is Rotom a Legendary?". Officially, it's not, but that hasn't stopped MANY a flame-war due to the fact that the music that plays when you encounter it is the same as when you encounter an actual Legendary.
 * It doesn't really help considering it's a one-of-kind Pokémon that you can only get after defeating the Elite Four.
 * You can get it before the Elite Four in Platinum.
 * Two Words: Hacked Pokémon. Is it reprehensible, or a perfectly legitimate (albeit unconventional) way to get perfect Pokémon?
 * Actually, asking whether things like Game Shark,Pokesav or Action Replay (the, or one of the,main methods of acquiring hacked Pokemon as well as health and item cheats ect)are good or bad in general will cause a war to break out. It's either a nice way to get better mons and event mons you otherwise can't get after a certain amount of time has passed or terrible and sure to break your game. (Some AR codes will cause crashes or the notorious 'bad eggs',so you do need to be careful.)
 * Call Red 'Ash'. There has been blood spilled at GameFAQs over this.
 * Even worse, try to say Red and Ash are one character or that Red is based off Ash. Also, implying Leaf or Silver are named anything other than "Leaf" or "Silver" can cause blood to spill. Occasionally calling Ethan "Gold" will garner a heavy backdraft.
 * Just casually mention Zoroark. Chances are, you'll be bombarded with flames stating "It's a rip-off of Lucario!"
 * Mewtwo's relationship with Mew. Just. Mewtwo's relationship with Mew. Did Mew give birth like the game says? Is Mewtwo just an artificial clone of Mew? No two fans will fully agree on which is canon.
 * Team Rocket VS Team Magma/Aqua VS Team Galactic VS Team Plasma. On second thought, don't ask. In some cases, you can safely compare any of them to Cipher, but it may be better to not take a chance.
 * Contests. Dear sweet Arceus, the Contests! Do they add more variety into the games, or are they just a pointless gimmick to distract the player from the main goal?
 * Go on any big Pokémon forum with a large amount of UK users and mention either 'Gazooki', 'Kinneas', 'VGC 2010', or '512 EVs on Giratina'. Sit back and watch as people argue whether Kinneas was robbed or he deserved it for getting someone else to hack for him (strangely enough, the culprit seems to get awaym with it for the most part).
 * This is why you should always check for 512s via CHECKING THEIR STATS. If the stats are legal, check the Hidden Power type.
 * Leaf and Lyra break the base quite easily. 'Does Leaf exist in canon? Who is better, Kris or Lyra? Is Lyra a redesign of Kris; are they the same person?' Don't ask any of these, even on the most calm of boards all hell will break loose.
 * Reshiram and Zekrom, the mascots for Black/White. It's nearly impossible to simply mention them without getting flame wars of "OMG! Reshiram/Zekrom is awesome!" VS "They look like rip-offs of Digimon!".
 * Zekrom itself especially seems to fall victim to this. Some fans love its appearance, while others immediately cry out "Its a rip-off of Palkia!". It's best to just not ask fans what they think of it.
 * Ubers. Just casually mentioning them is enough to warrent a major flame-war among the fandom.
 * Just try to get into a Stealth Rock debate on a forum populated by competitive battlers.
 * For some nuclear-grade heat, just go onto some Pokemon-related board and mention Smogon. Sit back and enjoy the show.
 * Even how to simply pronounce the names of Pokémon can cause a good sized flame war. Is it "Ar-cuh-nine" or "Are-cay-nine"? Is it "Pid-gee-ot", "Pid-jot", or "Pid-jit"? Is it "Ar-say-us", "Ar-see-us", or "Ar-kee-us"? No two fans will ever fully agree.
 * Speaking of names, never mention that you think the Japanese names are better than the English ones. EVER.
 * Who you believe is the canon protagonist is a big problem in the fanbase. Lately, timelines are becoming an issue too. Go onto any Pokemon forum and say the Johto games came after the Sinnoh games, or that the Hoenn games and Kanto games aren't happening at the same time.
 * The overhaul of the battle system in Generation IV which meant a move's status as 'physical' or 'special' wasn't necessarily dictated by type. Many of those who prefer the old system believe the new one dumbed down the game by making it too easy to counter weaknesses, and that people who prefer it either lack the ability to make trade-offs or are too attracted to flashy presentation to make a fair decision. Many who prefer the new system think the old one restricted the player's choices when building a team, and that people who prefer that system either can't strategise for themselves or can't appreciate that the new system is more logical. Both level at each other the accusation that the other system is less strategic.
 * It would be complicated to explain how the changing mechanics of the games have altered the popularity of Gyarados, but let's just say that the further back the generation in which you believe he debuted as a useable character, the more likely any expression of that view is to start an argument over his usefulness in various games.
 * F.E.A.R. (Focus Sash, Endeavor, Quick Attack, Rattata). Is it a legitimate strategy to face off against tough opponents, or just a cheap gimmick to win a battle using an otherwise very weak Pokemon?
 * Likewise, saying you managed to beat a team of Ubers using far weaker Pokemon will either cause people to congratulate you, or point out in annoyance how you're bragging over something a "noob" learns how to do pretty early on.
 * Ever since it was first revealed, Black 2 and White 2 have fallen under this. Fans are arguing whether or not a direct sequel to a previous game is a "fresh new turn" for the franchise or a "bad sequel to a good/bad game".
 * Go ahead and imply that the announcement of Black 2 and White 2 means that there won't be any remakes of Ruby or Sapphire. You'll be lucky if you make it out with only a minor flame war.
 * Kyurem's two new forms. Are they gimmicky, plot-relevant, ugly, awesome? No two people will agree.
 * Just mentioning the looks of Pokemon will cause an inferno of flame wars. Are the newer Pokemon uglier than the older ones? Are the older designs duller? Do the newer Pokemon look too cartoony? Do the older Pokemon look too animalistic? Or vice versa?
 * For added bonus, say you like/dislike the looks of certain Pokemon. Bonus flame points for mentioning you like Jynx's appearance (both new and old).
 * Speaking of Jynx's appearance, say you like her older design better and claim it wasn't racist. Be prepared to have tons of "evidence" from both sides of the argument dumped onto you.
 * Try asking if Pokemon promotes "animal abuse" or if it encourages "dog fighting" and/or "cockfighting" (Ahem, we mean with roosters). If you're lucky, you'll manage to get away with a simple heated debate. If not, you'll be roasted by flames.
 * The fifth gen games actually use this concept as one of the main conflicts in the game. Fans tend to widely disagree with whether or not N was in the right.
 * Go to the Earthbound forum. Find one of the threads where people have posted negative reviews of the game from GameFAQs. Next, suggest that Earthbound might not be for everyone. You may want to wear body armor for this one.
 * Or mention that the black space in the third part of the Giygas battle looks like a fetus. One site even temporarily banned the word "fetus" from its Earthbound forum because the mods were sick of cleaning up the flamewars.
 * Just say you like other RPGs more than any of the MOTHER games, they will probably call you a retarded Final Fantasy fanboy.
 * Here's a fun one for all you Touhou fans: First, create a hack for the original games that completely changes the playing experience (newer graphics, invincibility cheats, what have you.) Now, post it to the fan community. The blood that will be shed soon afterwards will be enough to keep Remilia happy for decades.
 * Or, say that you want to buy the physical copies of the games instead of torrenting them. Or, mention that you use any kind of input besides a keyboard to play.
 * The biggest backdraft comes from outside the fanbase, not from the inside. Go tell some forum that you like Touhou and see what happens. Better yet, do a crossover between Touhou and a manly American thing like Halo or God of War and hear them scream.
 * "What anime is this?"
 * "NO YOU STUPID HORRIBLE INSUFFERABLE IDIOT, IT'S A VIDEO GAME SERIES."
 * Say that you dislike Touhou because it's Moe, has lolis, or is a Cute'Em Up. Fans will proceed to dismantle your claims because of your word choice.
 * Any mention of the McRoll's. Especially if it's remotely positive.
 * There are several buzzwords that will start a fight on a GunZ: The Duel-driven board, but God help you if you say an automatic-fire weapon is a good weapon. If you do bring it up, not even an invulnerability to flames will save you, because the flame war that will spark will be fought with hydrochloric acid vats. At the very least, you will be called a "sprayer" and a Noob, even if you conserve ammo and hit with most of your shots.
 * One should never mention that they find knife-gimping a cheap tactic that ruins the fun of the game. Knife-gimping is when a player uses the dagger's alternate attack which knocks the opponent down, then rapidly switches to a powerful gun (usually an automatic) for easy headshots. This is pretty much a guaranteed kill even when on full health.
 * K-style: Is it glitching (and therefore cheating) or a legitimate style? And is it superior to using guns?
 * The Knights of the Old Republic fandom has evolved over the years into a partially Broken Base. Go somewhere where a lot of the fans hang out and bring up whether or not the first game or the second game is better.
 * Another fast way to start a big kaboom in that fandom is to ask what Revan or Exile's alignment or gender were. Cue massive Fanon Discontinuity on both fronts.
 * Granted, these are mostly vocal minorities as the majority of fans seem to like both just fine. But the minorities are very vocal.
 * The announced MMO by BioWare made it worse. Whether you like it or hate it, it's a guarentee a flame war will erupt if it is invoked.
 * Need a source of ignition fast? Go to the Command & Conquer forums, and say any unit is over/underpowered. For increased damage, suggest balance changes.
 * Even better. Claim you like where EA has taken the franchise. Praise C + C Generals for being an excellent addition. You can also claim EA is an evil empire that runs on the tortured souls of former Westwood employees and have the same effect.
 * It is Command & Conquer, not Command + Conquer, hence the correct abbreviation is either C&C or the phonetic abbreviation Cn C! Likewise it is Tiberi AN Sun, not Tiberi UM Sun and may Kane have mercy on your heathenly soul if you ever write NOD instead of Nod. And if you're in for some Blackhand Tortilla Party-level roasting, just mention the latest game: "Command & Conquer 4 - Tiberian Twilight"... to quote the Blackhand: "Let the flames rise."
 * It's too obvious if you walk into a forum for Prototype or In Famous and mention the other. Instead, try to suggest that both are good and deserve to be played for being good instead of how they measure up to the other. And then run like hell.
 * Some context helps with this one: both games are sandboxes where the protagonist is a man with recently inhereted superpowers in an otherwise normal world, running around a huge urban setting. The similarities end there, but their release dates being two weeks apart has sealed both games in a neverending loop of Epic Rage from fans of one who would rather talk about how much better the game they like is, instead of admitting that entire genres can have more than one decent product. Popular arguments repeated ad nausea include which protagonist is stronger, which setting is better, whether or not In Famous being a PS3 exclusive "obviously" makes it better or worse, and which storyline is more interesting. These arguments started before Prototype was released.
 * Once Valve announced a sequel to Left 4 Dead, the fan base had divided and exploded in a fury because A) the sequel is coming one year after the release of the first game and B) has content that people say should have been in the first game. Many have called Valve a sell out and the more extreme people have formed a Steam group to gather all the displeased fans and call for a boycott (so far having over 30,000 members). If you want to see the fan base get pissed off, just tell them to suck it up, don't buy the game, or say you support a sequel. Expect replies like "not a true fan" or having someone claiming you're just a console gaming Scrub.
 * To rub more salt in the wound, Valve claimed that the boycott has not worked since they gotten more pre-orders for the sequel than they did for the first game. Mentioning this to the boycotters is a surefire way to provoke angry fanboy rage.
 * With the announcent of a survivor sacrifcing their life for the team in the DLC for Left 4 Dead 1, now people are quite upset at Valve for "destryoing any continuity" the game might have had in future DLCs.
 * Go to the steam forums and state that the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2 is a console port.
 * You are bound to provoke fanboy rage if you bring up the following:
 * VS mode is balanced and doesn't need tweaking.
 * The animations for survivors/infected are fine and don't need changing.
 * Mention how there doesn't need to be a system for matchmaking/punishing rage quitters/etc.
 * Ask if Left 4 Dead 2 is better than Left 4 Dead.
 * Ask which group of survivors are the best ones.
 * Ask whether or not the daylight settings are better than the nighttime settings.
 * Ask whether or not the game could use hats like Team Fortress 2 did.
 * State that the Jockey can be useful when playing as him in VS.
 * Ask everyone if they think melee weapons make the game too easy or if the guns are too overpowered against the infected in VS.
 * Heck, mention anything on the steam forums. The base there is so broken on everything that you could mention CHEESE and get a flame war on what type of cheese is best.
 * Chrono Cross and its status as a sequel to Chrono Trigger. There are sites that will calmly discuss many of the above points and yet get into violent disagreement over the issue.
 * It's also not a good idea to ask whether or not Square Enix was right to issue a cease-and-desist order to the Fan Sequel Crimson Echoes, or whether or not the creators of the game were right to comply with the cease-and-desist order itself. You'll get passionate arguments from both sides of these debates.
 * For bonus points, try saying that the cease and desist wasn't even real and that the creators simply didn't feel like finishing it and wanted to go out in a burst of martyrdom. You'll get roasted to death within seconds.
 * If you really want to watch the fireworks, go to a Spyro Forum, and start talking about how wonderful Sierra's reboot of the series is and talk about how sexy Cynder is. In no time will you have the "classics" fans vs. "legends" fans wars going on.
 * For extra flames, say anything remotely positive about Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.
 * For even more sparks, say that Sierra has better soundtracks than the stuff of the classics by Stweart Copeland; you're bound to have a few nasty words being tossed back and forth. Of course, if you really have the nerves, ask if they actually even listened to both soundtracks.
 * Say that your favorite Ace Attorney soundtrack is not the first game's. Go on!
 * Say you liked Apollo (or his game) better.
 * Ask who the most evil villain of the series is. You might get agreement within each game - despite the " is a jerk" movement, there's not that much debate on who the main villain of AJAA is - and you might even get a plurality to say that Redd White is the worst villain who wasn't directly involved in the final case of any game (provided 1-4 and 1-5 are both considered final) - but asking who the worst villain is in the series overall can raise some disputes.
 * Who should Phoenix be shipped with? Edgeworth? Maya? ? Franzy? Someone else? Try saying that he's a better partner for Mia than Diego to get Diego/Mia shippers in on the action.
 * For that matter, merely asking about Edgeworth's orientation or whether Phoenix is bisexual can get some disputes going.
 * In relation to Trials and Tribulations: ask what  to see some backdraft.
 * For backdraft or base breaking, say that you feel sorry for any murderer (besides maybe the two sympathetic ones from Justice For All). Say that you feel sorry for  from Trials and Tribulations.
 * Is Yuri a hypocrite? Were justified? Is Estelle's desire to see the world a good thing or just selfish? Is the 360 version an Obvious Beta? Ask at your own peril.
 * Find a Tales community where a sufficient amount of people have played both the original and the remake of Tales of Destiny. Then discuss Rutee's worth as a character. For added blazing, discuss the merits of her relationship with Stahn, especially compared to Stahn's relationships with Philia and Leon. Dymlos couldn't have created hotter flames if he tried.
 * Who was the red-haired man at the end of Tales of the Abyss? If you value your life, don't ask.
 * For that matter, debating between Asch and Luke in general can generate some massive heat.
 * Go to any Tales of the Abyss forum and ask if Luke was responsible for what happened at Akzeriuth or not. A 20-page flame war is practically guaranteed to ensue.
 * Similar case with Van's plan to re-create the world to escape the Score. A good idea to free humanity from the future or the rantings of a guy who takes religion way too seriously?
 * Want to know how to send a Resident Evil board into a frenzy? Just start a debate as to whether or not the heavier focus on action in 4 and 5 is a good thing.
 * Try claiming Resident Evil 5 is racist.
 * Or try claiming that it isn't racist. Either way, you won't come out on top.
 * Want a mass of fans on the forums to dogpile you? Mention you really enjoyed the movie adaptations and liked Alice as a character.
 * Or that Survivor and Dead Aim are misunderstood entries that deserve to be undeniably canon and their characters brought back in new installments.
 * The Dragon Age fandom has Mages vs. Templars as the main source of non-shipping related neverending forum wank, especially since Dragon Age II kicked the conflict off in earnest in story, which each faction having its rabid supporters ready to flame the opposing side to ashes at the slightest provocation. Though even this fight can usually expect Ship-to-Ship Combat to turn up at some point between Fenris and Anders fans (since each character represents the extremes of each viewpoint). And if you really want an inferno, ask whether or not was justified in his actions at the end of the second game. Yikes.
 * Dragon Age II itself is quite a backdraft magnet, usually in the form of a Greek chorus decrying it as "dumbed down".
 * A great way to simulate the Conflict extrinsic in the Nethack forums is to start discussion on "Numeric pad versus HJKL" or something to that effect. Better make sure your AC is high enough and your resistances sufficient to handle the resulting uproar.
 * Go to a Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune forum and ask whether or not dress-up parts affect a car's performance. If you're being asked instead, refer to the manual's take on dress-up parts (it says they have no effect).
 * Now Dissidia Final Fantasy is trapped in the same "fighting game/not a fighting game" debate as Super Smash Bros.. above... only its case has been amplified far more than it should have been due to the American version being released concurrently with Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, a traditional PSP fighter.
 * Players in Team Fortress 2 have seen hats at random which are so rare that people want to catch them all. This has lead to some people to use idler programs (a program to emulate playing Team Fortress 2 by sending the required data to the Steam client) to catch the hats without having to play the game. Valve responded to this by taking away some items from the cheaters and gave the legit hat grabbers a halo to wear. Fridge Logic to the extreme, the cheaters are pissed off about the halo thing and have flamed the players that obtained the halos. That's right, playing fair is somehow not the way to play. Some people have even gone as far as making mods where the halos are replaced by the word FAG. A surefire Flame War will brew up if you even talk about the halo.
 * This has to be added before something worse comes up and a flamey reply could come around. From the idlers' point of view it went more like this: "What? They're taking away all our items and calling us cheaters? There was no mention that this kind of thing was against the rules, (note that it WAS in the steam TOU that programs "emulating Steam's services" were not allowed) why are we being punished instead of getting a warning? And the people who didn't use the idle program are getting hats for not knowing about the idler program? (Yes, indeed, some idle progammers did seem to think that EVERYONE would use it if given a choice) This is bull!" Of course, in the end, people on BOTH sides overreacted, and BOTH sides were seen as the overreactors (mainly because, of course, the people who overreact are the most vocal). The paragraph above describes what the average non-idler saw ("We didn't cheat, we get rewarded, you guys are mad for getting punished for cheating). What the overreacting idlers saw was "Look at these little white-knighters thinking they're morally superior (which is the wording Valve actually used)! What a bunch of brats! I'm going to make a custom model for the haloes saying "fag" teehee". Both sides had their problem people.
 * Really, though, considering that hats have no ingame value other than looking cool, some people may have been annoyed by the fact that they were being called cheaters for exploiting a system which many found broken for an item that did nothing.
 * Also, what is Pyro's gender? No one knows, but people will argue both ways.
 * Even Valve themselves.
 * Go ahead and imply that the store (and the Mann-conomy Update as a whole) was a good idea. The Flamethrower has never gotten so much use (especially after the nerfs - another hotbed).
 * Now, with the fact that the game has become Free to Play, the community has erupted in a fireball large enough to see from space! It could be divided into many parts, but the biggest is this: People who think they deserve a refund for a game they payed for years ago, and those who answer with "the movie you payed to watch years ago is now free on TV, are you going to throw a hissy fit?"
 * Go to anywhere competitive-based and bring up the Quick-Fix, Black Box, or that you think Heavies require skill. And, of course, game balance.
 * Anything to do with the Phlogistinator.
 * In fact, come to think of it, mention anything having to do with anything and there will be a flamewar.
 * Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - was the Gainax Ending supposed to be the definitive end of the series that was trampled over by callous cold-hearted corporate overlords? This causes a lot of people to come to serious blows, and this pretty much flares up every time someone revives the series for any reason.
 * The use of the Hint Board on the Telltale Games site draws ire from the "Stop Having Fun!" Guys who had actually demanded for the Hint Board to be shut down. Let's not even get into the Merfolks being "Too fantastic" for the voodoo-pirate and magical soft drinks pirate game.
 * So Dance Dance Revolution players, how about that safety bar?
 * On that note, don't mention you think the home version is better then the arcade.
 * Modern Warfare 2: Fans are split on on the level "No Russian", where the player . Supporters of the scenes herald them as artistic, while others are offended at the scenes, considering them "worse than GTA" and pleading for the scenes to be cut (they only got a compromise: The game asks you if you want to skip the level before starting it). It amped up when the Moral Guardians jumped on this specific backdraft, starting with Fox News.
 * The lack of mod support, Activision raising the retail price from $50 to $60, when PC games usually retail around the former price, deathstreak rewards, or the killstreak reward of a tactical nuke (which is essentially an "I win" button). You know what? It's easier to say the game itself is just Internet Backdraft material.
 * Go to any Space Channel 5 fansite and say that you like Chief Blank.
 * Go to a discussion about Metal Slug and say that you like Metal Slug 4. For bonus points, say that you like it better than at least one other game in the series.
 * For even more bonus points, say it's better than Metal Slug 3.
 * Bring up a video of someone demonstrating Tetris: The Grand Master mastery. While you'll get some comments about how it looks very nice, you'll also draw purist trolls who claim that it's fake, on the basis that it's impossible to do on the Game Boy or NES versions. (Never mind that every version of Tetris plays differently to some extent, depending on who developed it.)
 * Do not talk about the Balkans on the Paradox Interactive forums. There are as many views on how the Balkan cultures should be represented in Crusader Kings and the Europa Universalis games as there are posters from the Balkans, which is quite a few.
 * Go onto a Starcraft forum and ask for help deciding on what game to get, Starcraft 2 or the latest Command and Conquer. Mention better graphics and more units as merits for C&C.
 * Not that Starcraft II by itself isn't enough reason to complain. Hot topics include, but aren't limited to:
 * Daring to compare Dragon Age: Origins to any RPG that doesn't start with "Baldur's" and end with "Gate" -- even games BioWare themselves have developed -- is considered grounds to be called a n00b that wouldn't know a good game if it bit him. Bonus points if you admit that you prefer some aspects of Dragon Age.
 * Also, just go to any fan-forum and argue that the DLC was cut from the game to make extra money and should be free.
 * Also better to reserve your comments on how you feel about the word on the changes that were apparently made to Dragon Age II (welcome as an interesting change or polishing, or turning the series into "Mass Effect with swords"?). Trying to mention it in any positive manner will have the flamethrowers hitting full force against you courtesy of /v/ and RPG Codex
 * Yet another GameFAQs gem: go to the Punch-Out!! boards, and offer an opinion on whether the boxer in the SNES Super Punch-Out!! is Little Mac, or not Mac. Or even that who he is doesn't matter. Flame on!
 * Say that you think that Mega Man Battle Network 4 was the best of the BN games. Hell, saying that you like any of the BN games around fans of the other series will get you killed.
 * Go to the America's Army forum and ask for an MP5. Or a knife. You will be slain. (Along with a kitten. Think of the kittens!) The reason for this is that although MP5's are used in the military, they aren't assigned as standard weapons for the units in the game. Most people who still ask for an MP5 didn't bother to read the other fifty-billion threads where this was explicated.
 * Asking about Desert Eagles merely warrants pity for the poor CS child.
 * Same for any other tacticool gun (OICW, G36, XM8, Intervention, TDI Vector, etc.), but this will escalate to slay + kitten if you try to argue it further. Especially if you mention your buddy in the ultra-mega-secret-Special Forces who can totally get Uncle Sam to buy him whatever weapons he wants.
 * Go anywhere and say that while everyone agrees that The Legend of Zelda CDI Games are horrible, they should still be considered part of Zelda canon.
 * If you're really brave, tell everyone that you liked those games more than any other Zelda games, and be prepared to take cover.
 * Do not go to a Warhammer Online forum and mention that with the hinting that Skaven will be added as a playable race in the future and that Lizardmen would be the sensible "Order" choice to oppose them in the game's "paired races" RvR system, unless you want to thread to devolve into a giant trainwreck of arguing back and forth on whether or not the Tabletop Canon supports this possibility, or absolutely any and everything else in the game.
 * On the Elemental War of Magic forums, there have been 3-4 threads or so on whether magic damage should be split into multiple types (Earth, cold, lightning, etc.), or combined into a single type, including arguments as to whether the game would be completely broken if one of the choices was made (This is a game that also includes an economic system, lots of other combat options, unusual diplomacy, etc.). Starting the same argument again may not have the same result, but it may be a possibility.
 * There is no game named "Nine Breaker." There isn't. Shut up.
 * So Visual Novel players, what do ya feel about developper Minori's supposed xenophobia and crusade against fan translations and Digital Piracy Is Evil since April 2010?
 * If Spore's SecuROM isn't enough fire for you, you can try...
 * Mention how cute and funny the overall look of the game is and how the cartoony nature doesn't really need a whole lot of science in order to be enjoyed on the casual level. Wait 5 minutes and PROFIT!
 * Clark & Stanley adventures, full stop. May God Spode have mercy on your soul.
 * Point out that the Most Popular New Creations are not a bad thing and the Sporepedia isn't flawed and only subject to Sturgeon's Law like everything else.
 * The Western localization of CAVE ports. Discussing them tends to illicit harassment from people who will tell you to shut the fuck up and get a Japanese Xbox360 instead.
 * Mention the US localization of Death Smiles around any group of CAVE fans and the resulting vitrol will be enough to destroy all of Japan.
 * Mentioning on certain forums that you think more shmups should be region free or have Western releases is going to piss off some people, who will tell you to put up with the prices of Japanese-region consoles and arcade hardware because "this is an expensive hobby."
 * The X-COM FPS has sparked quite a bit of this, mainly due to They Changed It, Now It Sucks.
 * The arguments about which faction was best in Geneforge were quite fun to watch, because they generally weren't about things like "coolness," instead revolving around deeply held beliefs. The series was absolutely dripping with Gray and Grey Morality, and quite a few people were offended by the very concept that a particular side might be considered morally acceptable. There were all sorts of comparisons to the Nazis (justified in one case, though there were still people who supported that faction, because they thought the rest were even worse!)
 * Nintendo's announcement that they had no plans to localize Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story OR Pandora's Tower to America did not sit well with the gaming community in the slightest. It doesn't help when they actually say "Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!", which struck one hell of a nerve with Nintendo fans and only made them angrier.
 * To the point where an existing movement, Operation Rainfall, wants to actually flood NoA's mailbox with letters convincing them to localize these games. So, it's actually evolved into Real-life Backdraft too.
 * Their efforts are seemingly working, as the game is set for a limited April release in the United States.
 * This didn't stop fans for chastising Nintendo about playing it safe with a limited release, as the European version had no problem selling in a wide release(albeit a part of Operation Rainfall's campaign). Europe being a much bigger continent didn't help.
 * The Last Story has been announced for a wide US release. With Op. Rainfall's efforts succeeding, the backdraft is starting to subside...
 * "Is Ni GHTS a boy or a girl?" Type that question into a Ni GHTS forum and watch the amusement. It doesn't help that Ni GHTS is officially genderless, yet has a female voice actor who doesn't even try to act androgynous.
 * Go pretty much anywhere online. Find a Portal related thread. Now, mention you dislike/hate Wheatley. Smell that? Those are the flames starting.
 * Likewise, it's a bad idea to mention you don't like G La DOS.
 * Is Chell ? No two people will fully agree on the answer.
 * Try saying that you did not think The Cake Is a Lie was funny at all. Just try it.
 * If the topic of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty arises, don't mention that you liked Raiden. It generally ends pretty badly.
 * Similarly, The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater. Admirable example of devotion and selflessness who gives the series a more thoughtful meaning, or unnecessary character who's too obsessed with patriotism to like? Additionally, fans of The Boss don't tend to get on with Raiden fans.
 * FIFA vs Pro Evolution Soccer. Just put that as a topic title, and enjoy the nuclear fallout.
 * Go on the forums of either League of Legends or Heroes of Newerth and express your opinion about the other being superior, or even them both being quality games. Either way the flames will start. Especially effective if things like graphics, originality and skill cap are mentioned.
 * On Gaia Online, smoking related items in the gold shops were removed with no warning, the explanation being that Gaia didn't want to set a bad example. To says users were pissed would be the Understatement of the century. Nearly every thread in Site Feedback and Community Discussion was complaining about the smoking ban. Many users were boycotting Gaia Cash until the items came back. Many more users created overly sexual or violent avatars (and a few drunken ones to boot) to express their hate for the ban. Needless to say, the ban was lifted in two days. The users of Gaia do NOT like to have items taken away because they "represent immoral activities". Just go into the SF and suggest that Gaia tone down the raunchiness of items, or take away certain items all together. Your thread WILL be flooded with opposition.
 * That was the work of one person, not to the developers of Gaia as a whole. He started the ban without the approval of his boss, or any in put from the rest of the developers. He quit for obvious reasons.
 * If you ever mention that you like Saber/Shirou on a Fate/stay night topic, be prepared for Rin/Shirou fans to rip into you for 'daring' to prefer the 'whimpy, childish route'. Also, if you say you prefer Rin, Saber fans will point to the Updated Rerelease and Revised Ending and yell that Saber/Shirou is the most 'canonical' ending. However, both Saber and Rin fans tend to ally against Sakura fans, who, while being the smallest group, can certainly be extremely...shall we say dedicated? All in all, just keep your preferences to yourself and replay which ever route you prefer. Better for everyone that way, really.
 * The Minecon Yogscast fiasco.
 * Speaking of Minecraft, go on and say the new changes to the game are a welcome addition (enderdragons, hunger/EXP system, etc.) and see how many people you can get to say how Minecraft was tons better without all the added trinkets and changes.
 * With Notch stepping down as head developer of Minecraft and handing the controls over to Jeb, try to say Jeb will do a good job like Notch or surpass Notch. The flames will be enough to smelt all your iron ores without the need for coal!
 * Mentioning that you like Harvest Moon: Back to Nature over Harvest Moon 64 isn't a good idea, as is mentioning you prefer the newer titles over the older ones.
 * Krystalak and Obsidious in the game Godzilla: Unleashed are a surefire way to start a flame war just by the mere mentioning of their names. Are they two unique and original monsters added to the game? Or, would Atari have been better off using more monsters from the films? No two fans can ever agree.
 * Obsidious also gets the dubious "honor" of being voted by the fandom to be featured in the game. Was he worthy of being featured in the games? Or, were the other potential new monsters (IE: Fire Lion, The Visitor, and Lightning Bug) better choices in the long run?
 * Mention you think the PlayStation 2 version of the game is superior to the Wii version or vice versa. Enjoy the flames.
 * A efficient way to start a Flame War is to compare Skyward Sword with Skyrim, and side with either game, but not both. Cue Zelda and Elder Scrolls fans crawling out of the woodwork and throwing profane insults at each other. Curiously enough, liking both won't get you flamed.
 * Skyward Sword, Skyrim, and Final Fantasy XIII-2: All three games received perfect scores in Weekly Famitsu. Did they deserve it?
 * Which is the best path/who is the best girl in Katawa Shoujo?
 * Or alternatively: Was it worth the wait? Is it even worth playing? Is it a respecful portrayal of disabled people, or badly-disguised "cripple porn"?
 * On a cold night simply just mention the name "Shizune", watch as the militant Shizu-haters declare her to be Worse than Hilter while the equally militant Shizubros declare anyone who didn't like her route to be dull witted simpletons who are too stupid to understand it, and enjoy the s'mores.
 * "So I had a theory on/problem with Hanako's path--OH DEAR LORD!"
 * Bonus flame points if you dare to broach the subject of whether or not
 * cpl_crud posted a short story on a possible Distant Finale for Hanako's path, called "A Runner's Afternoon", in which the end of the first part implies that Hanako is cheating on her husband. (The truth is that ). There were more flames than Hanako's house fire when her fans accused cpl_crud of derailing her into an adulterer.
 * Come on, call Lilly a Mary Sue. I dare you, I double dare you.
 * Go onto any forum and say that Asura's Wrath's amount of QTE's are a good part of the game. Hell say that Asura's Wrath was an actual game unlike what people were saying it was no more than an interactive movie, or vice versa. The flames of wrath possibly start to outrival the title character himself.
 * Go to the MAG forums. You don't even have to do anything. It's an eternal flame.
 * If you want to spare your life, never, ever, tell a hardcore retro Rayman fan that you enjoyed Rayman Origins. Regardless of whether you've played the older games or not, they'll say something along the lines of "ORIGINS SUX! U ONLY LIEK IT CUZ U NVR PLAIED TH OLD GAEMS!!!!111"

Other

 * Go ahead, bring up whether or not Video Games are a viable form of artistic expression. See what happens, and be sure to mesure how far the crater goes. This works pretty much anywhere, online and off.
 * Character Tiers.
 * TIRES DON EXITS!!
 * Go to any gaming forum with a lot of Zero Punctuation fans and say anything good about Nintendo. Wrath like you've never known.
 * For that matter, go to The Escapist Magazine (ZP's current home site), head over to their forums and say anything good about anything Yahtzee's ever bashed, be it a game or an entire genre. Expect a lot of quotes from his videos during the posts that start flaming you.
 * Go to any gaming forum and mention Emulation, then break out the sticks and marshmallows as people scream about when -- if ever -- they should be used.
 * Similarly, whether the original translation (if any), various fanlations, or updated retranslations of a given game are better.
 * And in some places, "I don't emulate. I buy real copies" translates to "Hi, I'm an idiot for not pirating, please murder me as brutally as possible."
 * In some places, saying you buy games at all translates to that. Especially PC games, which translates to "free game" for most people assholes  netizens people.
 * Related to the above, if you want to see the true IQ level of people on a forum, talk about how good it is to have old games up for sale on current gen consoles (Example: Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console) or that remaking/porting over an old game is a good idea. Expect to see nostalgic fans demand you to go buy the original game and console, while others tell you that you are stupid to pay for "overpriced" ROMs and if you were smart like them, you'd go and download free ROMs from the internet.
 * And while we're on the subject of ROMs, bring up the topic of whether or not pirating them is against the law or totally justified.
 * Some people also think you are stupid to pay for games in general when you can go download them for free from the internet.
 * One can easily start a flame war on virtually any gaming forum by voicing any opinion on whether or not graphics and eye candy are crucial to the enjoyment of a game.
 * Don't mention the words "Improved Anvil" within the Infinity Engine modding community, unless you've brought enough marshmallows for everyone to roast once the flame war gets going. Also, the words "Black Wyrm's Lair" are a very handy attractant for both the admin of that message board and his troll nemesis, who will also start a flame war.
 * Mention the "Lawn Gnome Incident" on Maidens of the Kaleidoscope. You have been warned.
 * Copy Protection, especially DRM vs. Piracy.
 * Go to a PC gaming website, and suggest that a given First-Person Shooter is as good on consoles as its PC counterpart. Then run.
 * Want to annoy fans when it comes to video game difficulty? Either proudly state that all games should be very punishing and difficult for the sake of having a good challenge, or that all games should be easier to reel in more new players to the series.
 * For added fun, go to SMWCentral and mention that you like Kaizo Mario World anywhere but its designated Kaizo board. Or even better, make a Kaizo-esque hack of Super Mario World and then complain on the boards when it doesn't get accepted. To cause aneurysms, mention the phrase "Stacked Munchers" and how you don't mind seeing them.
 * Go to a forum dedicated to competitive arcade gaming. Go to a thread for an arcade you don't go to, make a post for any reason whatsoever, and admit that you don't go to that arcade. Now, hope that you don't get verbally gangbanged.
 * Go make a message board thread complaining about a feature. Say the word "skill" in any part of your post. It's like pressing X to die.
 * No one is arguing that Media Watchdogs and Moral Guardians aren't absolutely right about Poop Socking being unhealthy. But whenever a law is proposed to require Anti-Poopsocking measures in games or find ways to legally ban Poop Socking, watch the vigorous debates between people who think such laws are necessary to protect gamers and their possible dependents and people who think such measures are nanny-statist attempts to impinge on personal responsibility.
 * Make a forum post asking why they censored the game for the Germans (No holocaust, swastikas), but decided not to bother appeasing the Chinese.
 * Wanna get a bunch of people to go completely berserk on you? Make a forum post at Facepunch Studios saying that you pirated Garry's Mod, or imply it otherwise. Hoo boy. For example, try this: http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=769327
 * Even better: go to any of the release threads where the author uploaded his/her stuff onto garrysmod.org and nowhere else. Make a post requesting the upload of the stuff elsewhere. There you go. The logic behind this is that a few months ago, garrysmod.org changed its login system so that during registration, the site requests Steam login information to check if you really bought the game. Not logging in means no downloading stuff; Genre Savvy authors tell everyone in advance not to ask for this.
 * Some time before that, the site experimentally changed its downloading system to Bittorrent to reduce server load. After a week or so, the admins changed it back to FTP due to the massive amount of negative feedback they got. Also, make a diminuitive post about SVN (version control software used by high-profile addons to ease updating), just try it.
 * When it comes to MMORPGs that are pay to play or have a cash shop, expect swift retribution to fall upon you if you so much as bring up lowering the prices. You'll get a few people backing you up and several hundred screaming at you about your selfishness.
 * F 2 P, or Free To Play MMMORPG's have somewhat of a different reaction, sometime you'll get the above reaction, where other times... not as much.
 * This is played straight and horribly averted when it comes to Nexon, particularly with Maple Story. Those who love Nexon and declare that they can do wrong will lash out at you, and possibly some who bought items at full price. The other portion, the arguable majority, will rally in support of you, declaring that Nexon is evil and will insist that they drop or lower prices of cash items. Expect several hundred debates to pop up. And heaven forbid you attempt to Take a Third Option.
 * JRPGs versus WRPGs, especially when you add in the debate over what a real RPG is and whether a certain game or even an entire genre actually counts as a "real" RPG. Doesn't help when even some of the pros throw down some kindling.
 * For added points, question the need for a separate "JRPG" category in the first place because "an RPG is an RPG, right?" You'll get the same violent response you get if you dare to refer to Anime as "just another form of cartoon".
 * Mass Effect 2 is one of the greatest examples of this. Go to an appropriate forum and talk about it being either an WRPG or a TPS, and prepare to see your thread's page count grow.
 * Violence in games: genuine fuel for real-world aggression or harmless victim of media targeting? Just don't.
 * Gaming controversy works in a paper-scissors-stone cycle. Don't suggest that parents should actively police what their children play, as you'll be attacked by people who think that's an infringement of their freedom. Don't suggest that either, because you'll be attacked by people who think the companies should take responsibility to prevent certain players getting their hands on some games. Suggest that and you'll be attacked by people blaming lazy parents for not being responsible.
 * Discussions of devices like Game Shark and Action Replay can turn into this, they're either good ways to get more milage out of your game or they take out all the fun and will kill the game. (To be truthful, they can hurt the game, it depends on how careful the user is to avoid problem codes and how much moderation they exercise in using the devices.)
 * Continues in arcade games, particularly their arcade ports. If you think games need unlimited continues, you're a Scrub who can't play the game right. If you're fine with limited continues, you're a Stop Having Fun Guy. This issue carries over to professional reviewers, who are more or less unpleasable about this: give a game limited continues, and it's "this game is impossible, no game should have limited continues EVAR", go with unlimited continues and it's "this game is easy, you never die."