COMMENTARY - Great Review Scores Bring Out The Worst Examples Of Toxic Fandom

Forza. This is about Forza.

By Jay Tee
09/10/21

Something happens to basement dwelling online maniacs whenever a game gets widespread acclaim. This irrefutable reality is not platform specific; you’ll find just as many people moaning about Sony apparently only making third person action games as you will folks complaining that Nintendo just churns out side scrollers.

Case in point: Forza Horizon 5’s stellar critical and public reception has created the entirely expected panic from woefully inept fanboys incapable of accepting that a Microsoft published title could possibly achieve so much love. However, the “criticism” (a term I use very loosely here) goes beyond the usual drivel of “they only make sequels to established franchises” or “how can a racing game score 10/10?!”

Now, with little else to deride, even the delivery method is taking heat! The fact that Forza Horizon 5 is releasing day and date on Game Pass is enough to send these… individuals into a tailspin. You mean you can purchase it out right, OR get it included with a monthly subscription? Multiple options?! Heavens no!

Blatant and somewhat unsophisticated sarcasm aside, this line of thinking goes beyond parody at this point. The suggestion that including such a highly rated game in a subscription service somehow diminishes the value of said product, or even worse, is some “reading between the lines” admission from Microsoft that they don’t believe it will sell on its own, is ludicrous on every level.

When almost a million people paid £45 for the Special Edition version that included early access, knowing that the game was about to drop into Game Pass a few days later, these aforementioned absurd notions of devaluing products can be immediately dismissed. The interest is there, and the business model widens the net. It’s a win, win scenario, and it’s long past time for people to acknowledge that reality, irrespective of what platform[s] you own.