I think I may fall into that category to some degree when it comes to MLP: FiM.

I like parodies and comics and junk made by the fans, but I can't handle the knowledge that people make and have made pron out of it. Apparently it's prevalent enough to warrant it's own titles: Clopclop or clopfic.

Those people rub me the wrong way.

To me a true fan is someone who has been with a series or character since the beginning. An example I will use is the Resident Evil franchise. I have loved Resident Evil since the first game. But when Resident Evil 4 came out there was a huge surge of new fans. Me personally, I wouldn't consider them true fans seeing as how they jumped on the bandwagon. But that is just my opinion.

I fit the description of that type of fan when it comes to the Tom Clancy games. I fucking hate what they've become trying to chase all of those COD players and sacrificing pretty much every gameplay element that made the games unique in the first place.

Change is good. Unreasonable change is fucking stupid.

Well I could fit in that category in some way because RE4 was the first RE game I was allowed to play because since I was a little bitch when I was younger I use to be scared of games like that. I enjoy the series but I'm no where near a FAN like a few users on this site even though I've gone back and played the older ones.

I disagree with this for two reasons.

First:
It says that people who were born after a series started can never be "true fans" of that series. That the younger generation are incapable of appreciating the classics. One of my favorite movies ever is Yojimbo which came out in 1961. I also like it sequel Sanjuro. But I can't be a "true fan" of these movies because I wasn't around when they were first released? Well good sir I say that's bull shit.

Secondly:
"People can not be true fans if they came into the series from a later installment." Or more to the point of RE4. "They can't true fans of the series because they came into it liking the game in that deviated from how the originals played."

I only passingly played RE2 & RE3 over at friends' houses and such when I was young. At the time I wasn't really into horror games. Fast forward some years and I see RE4. Looks to be a real fun game (and it is.) It got me interested in the characters and "mythos" of the series. First thing I did when I beat RE4 is go out and buy and played through 2 & 3 on the GameCube. Point is to say they cant be "true fans" because they first played a later installment that was different from the classics, to me, reeks of an elitist mind set.

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In my opinion the "true fan" does not exist. You either like something or you don't. If you like it enough to continue follow it where it goes (or in some cases go back to see how it got there) congrats your a fan.

I would agree that there are degrees of fandom, but that's not really the conversation here.

If you're a fan of something then you're a fan of something. This "true fan" garbage is something people say to make themselves feel like they're more important than other fans.

Imma fan of Metal Gear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD

This.

I feel I am a fan of some series and other things, but I'm not really sure that there is such thing as a "true fan". Although there are some people that really get annoying when they keep saying they are a true fan.

You can consider yourself a true fan if you take your participation here (or elsewhere for that matter) too seriously. But that would be just garbage.

True.

A Fan is an arrangement of blades that move in a spinning function via an internal motor. This spinning movement produces an air flow which is normally used to cool something off, like the parts of a computer, or a house on an extremely warm summer day.

A True fan is similar to the above, but it has a stand so it can reach higher places, and therefore feels more important about it's duty... smug prick.

^best definition yet. Fantastic work. I think you hit the nail right the head with that one.

This times 1,000. It's just a means for "true fans" to feel smug because it somehow makes them superior to "causal fans."

You're not a true fan if the only MK you have is Special Forces, there I said it. Lack of money is not an excuse for being a false fan.

A true fan subscribes this magazine .

Exactly.

I think the term is about the amount of devotion you feel for a hobby. Some people are competitive about that shit for some reason, probably because when one gets into an argument with someone who shares the same hobby, sometimes that argument can go places that make you wonder "does this guy even know what he's talking about? He doesn't sound as familiar with the subject as I am."

I don't use the term personally, it's just a buzzword that makes fights worse because the moment you say it, the whole discussion becomes about "what is a true fan?" and such. I'm just saying, I think that's how that shit starts.

Can I just say I like something? Do I have to be a fan?

Would I be a true fan if I only stuck with the RE series because I wanted to see Chris' outcome?

I don't think its relevant - "devotion" to the series could come in different shapes. For some its just an interest in the main series. For the others - collecting everything that has to do with the franchise. But I don't think that collecting mecrh, makes someone better fan than the others.
I think the right term for what you've described is "knowledgeable fan" - the one who has more knowledge about lore of the series. Neverthless it doesn't make a true fan too.


Bullshit.
By that idiotic logic everyone who started playing series from any other game, but the first, are not true fans of the series, but some sort of...fake fans...whatever. Using that statement I can say, for example, that everyone who joined the ranks of MK fans because of the MK2 and later onward, are not true fans and they just jumped on the bandwagon. Quite stupid, isn't it?
You fail to recognize that people who started playing from the fourth or even fifth game in the series, could become no less fans, than people who started playing the series from the first game. The fact that they joined later and have different taste, doesn't mean that they don't have devotion for the franchise.

If you like something, you are a fan. No matter what. Sure, levels and breeds of fans can deviate. But the idea is the same, to some degree.

I believe there are different kinds of fans. I am a life long RE fan since it came out (I even have RE tattoos) so I can see what both of you are saying. Sadly, the majority of fans who came over in the RE4 overhaul were in fact morons.

I have no problem with new fans. I have been a new fan to a few series' lore. But the thing with RE4 was, very few that came over took the time out of their day to appreciate the games that made that game even possible. Stack that on top of two amazing versions of RE4 being scrapped for a more generally open action game, there was some unrest for the direction it was taking.

I know the usual argument. "Real fans need to be open to change and development" and you are right. But that does not mean we abandon cautious judgment all together. We are allowed and justified to question something when it means the very values of memories we cherish and the future of those very possibilities, are thrown into the dark.

I love RE5 and RE4 even more. I respect them as games and works of art. But they simply betray everything including character aura, compared to what the basis was that we loved. Wesker was a perfect example. Anybody who loves RE5 Wesker immediately doesn't have my attention. Go watch "the Wesker Report" and play REbirth, Zero and CVX. The only things I like after CVX are Jill and Chris. RE Revelations was amazing, top to bottom. But the knowledge that Capcom strayed from original ideas that would have hit a home run with the diehard fans, combined with the knowledge that these decisions mean the money means more to them than the people who contributed to that chance; is stomach wrenching.

I personally know 90% of people I show the old games to and explain the lore, turn out liking RE Zero,Remake,2,3,CVX more than anything since. But when you get some fan who came along with RE4 and spit shit out like "omgz HUNK should be the merc in RE6!", forgive me for wanting to stomp their fucking face into the ground. But I am sure almost any classic fan would applaud me.

Any franchise needs development. RE is no exception. The new direction and gameplay is amazing, but it lacks atmosphere. It needs suspense, minimal ammo and the feeling of not just restarting the room if you die. I know you cant just do the outdated typewriter. But there needs to be some ranking penalty.

In a nutshell. New fans need to understand the old games and actually play them through. Once that is done, healthy debate can ensue. But its like your girlfriend having a new boyfriend other than you. Claims rights to your holy place, doing as he pleases and thinks of himself as a person of equal meaning and importance when this guy rifles through any action series and you love your precious classic memories.

Both sides are understandably honest, but I feel classic fans (I'm biased as I am one) are more admissible with opinion regardless of where their passions lay. Because they have taken in and appreciated every form of media and presentation, period.

I was new to "mass effect" and nstill have never read a book. Just played ME1 exactly two days before the release of ME2. Does that make me a new and stupid fan? I would hope not. But I do my best not to be a fanboy about it. I appreciate and take in anything I can learn about the universe of ME.