According to a recent IGN user poll, 1 in 3 gamers are turned away from online-compettive gaming due to abuse. While online abuse isn't an entirely new concept, it's evolved over the years, and is now troublesome to series' like Call of Duty. Despite Microsoft and Sony's best efforts, online abuse has skyrocketed the past half-decade, and seems to be continuing into the next generation of consoles.
43,000 readers chimed in on IGN's poll, which asked the question "What's the primary reason you're not interested in playing shooters online?" According to 33.78% of voters, they shy away from online shooters due to the harassment and behavior of other players. IGN reader Maxbelmont stated his opinion on online abuse:
Personally, I'm not too big into the online multi-player experience unless I'm playing with my friends because they do not judge my lack of experience in this medium and will encourage me to the point where I'm not getting too frustrated. Another reason that I choose to play with friends and not random people will behave when playing online. I've found kids around 12 behaving the worst. The first time I played online was the zombie mode on Black Ops and I was not necessarily shocked at hearing the type of language they were using, but it still threw me for a loop. Nothing like hearing a kid throwing a temper tantrum playing a game.
In addition, 43.89% of respondents feel online multiplayer shooters are "repetitive and mindless and they prefer rich and engaging single player experiences," while 22.33% claimed they play video games for "fun, not for sport, and that they do not feel compelled to compete."
As my gaming habits have matured over the years, I've noticed how much more often I am muting people while playing these shooters. It's quite noticeable that the online community, for the most part, does not respect one another, and it's leading to more and more gamers away from a fun, exciting online experience. What are your opinions on online abuse? Is it bothersome to you as well, or do you simply just shrug it off? Let us know by commenting below.
Source: [IGN]
