Treyarch community manager Josh Olin has said that the unpleasant tone of internet contrarians is the biggest problem facing the game industry today.
In an interview with Now Gamer, Olin said: “Personally, as a community manager who lives in the media or social media world every day, I think the social culture of videogames is moving in a more negative direction as technology and social media continues to grow. Rather than growing with it, the trend seems to be devolving. More and more gamers seem to forget what this industry is all about.
“It’s a creative industry – the most creative form of entertainment in existence,” he added. “Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian.
“The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.”
Olin’s comments come in the light of numerous complaints being levied at Treyarch over the poor performance of the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Call Of Duty: Black Ops. UK consumer group Gamers’ Voice recently reported Activision to the UK Office Of Fair Trading as it had received so many complaints.
His feelings are hardly surprising, with the relatively new industry position of community manager putting incumbents in the firing line of vocal communities. With Call Of Duty online players a famously foul-mouthed bunch it is entirely natural for Treyarch’s community manager to witness the worst of it. Olin’s Twitter feed shows he is a regular target of abuse.
At the same time Olin’s comments will only fan the flames of sentiment against him from the more enraged members of Treyarch’s player base, as well as those with legitimate concerns over the performance of the biggest game of 2010.