"Entitled" gamer Or Empowered Consumer?

By Lindsay Comeau

I recently heard the term "entitled" gamer from my boyfriend. When researching this term on google the first item that popped up was a Forbes article on the ending of Mass Effect 3. Having never played Mass Effect 3 and only briefly playing 1 and 2 I didn't know what the big deal was. I found out that all these "entitled" gamers were pissed off because they didn't get what they were expecting. Having played all the Mass Effects and having not had a problem with Mass Effect 3's ending, my boyfriend suggested that the problem was that Bioware was trying to tell a story, and what everyone wanted was more gameplay.
Erik Kain's article Upset Mass Effect Fans: Entitle Gamers Or Responsible Consumers? explains that there's much more to it then storytelling.
The fact is that Mass Effect promised a universe of player choices that effected the final outcome of the game. What they got was a universe full of player choices that didn't matter at all in regards to the final outcome of the game. As Kain wrote "The ending was supposed to reflect consequences that were the result of three games worth of choices", but obviously it didn't. That sounds like logical grounds to be upset to me, maybe not over the top upset like some fans, but I would be fairly annoyed.
This sort of thing happens all the time in movies, TV shows and books. Fans are presented with a story that was no where near what they were expecting, it causes anger and frustration which turns to the boycotting of anything else related to that story or it's creator. This is usually when the series dies. Bioware should be lucky that they can launch DLC's to bring their fans back, or they too might have died, considering how pissed off their fans were.
Another more recent game that attracted the attention of "entitled" gamers was the newest installment of Devil May Cry. I did play Devil May Cry when I was younger but I didn't get too involved in it. I do remember Dante's (the main character from the game) hair being white. For the new game Dante has a new, "modern" look and is hair is now black. I haven't played the new game so I don't know what else was different (except that he's now half demon and angel, not half human) but apparently hair colour was enough to enrage fans of the series. In Erik Kain's other article Upset 'DmC' Fans Are Entitled Because That's What We Call People Who Complain About Video Games, he gives the impression that the game itself was also not true to the series. It's totally understandable then that fans were outraged. The thing is, the new DMC was intended to be a sleeker, more realistic (as realistic as this sort of story can get) retelling of Dante's story. Also, from what I've read in reviews on the game, the game itself (including story) just happens to be great.
These two games seem to be at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the legitimacy of "entitled" gamers. I would agree that Mass Effect 3 was poorly done in regards to the finale of the series but I don't believe DMC did anything wrong. If the installment of a series is solid then I don't mind some ascetic revamping, change can sometimes be a very necessary good. What I do mind is when I'm promised one thing and I get a pathetic, watered down version of what the movie/ game/ book or TV show was suppose to be, *cough* fable II and III *cough*.
Damn you Peter Molyneux...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/15/upset-mass-effect-fans-entitled-gamers-or-responsible-consumers/

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/01/14/dmc-devil-may-cry-review-ps3