My name is Todd, and I am a recovering fanboy.

Support Group: "Hi Todd!"

Maybe I should be a bit more specific. I am a recovering Sega fanboy. After the events that have occurred over the past year and more, both bad (the backstabbing of the Dreamcast, NFL 2K2 being overshadowed for once by Madden, taking away the Dreamcast's swan song Shenmue 2) and good (Jet Grind Future on the Xbox, and VF's return to glory with VF4) I realized that it would be best for me to treat Sega like any other company that we receive products from for review.

I only wish I could say the same thing for everyone else who plagues the Internet. Sad, pathetic losers who have no chance to score with a woman that they are, have to vent out their anger anonymously via the Web. Behind their curtain of immunity, these net nerds conjure up "chick magnet" names and bitch about anyone or anything they can think about.

Support Group: "But Todd, whatever do you mean?"

Consider this. How many times have you logged onto a message board and the topic was "Sony Sucks" or "Xbox blows" or "Nintendo will rule the day" while these people take absolutely no account on what the flamed systems have to offer? I know it's understandable for a person to protect the system that they own, but from what I read in these losers' comments, they have no clue what they are talking about. I would understand if they provide adequate information to back up their complaints, rather than just jumping to conclusions.

Case in point, when I wrote my last Battle Plans against the GameCube, I didn't just come out and say "Nintendo Sucks!" or "The GameCube will Die!" I simply stated that the ‘Cube is suffering from a lack of quality exclusive titles and if it keeps up then it would not have a chance to survive against a powerful PlayStation 2 and a surging Xbox market. Fortunately since printing, some new exclusive ‘Cube titles were released (Soccer Slam, Home Run King, and Bloody Roar: Primal Fury) but they still have a long way to go.

Sadly, there are still factions of radical fanboys out there who would do anything to make sure their opinion is heard. But it's not only in the gaming industry. I've seen it on sports websites, movie websites, news websites. You name it, there's always someone who has a radical opinion of something. It became clearer to me last week when I was at home watching the DVD "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." I can imagine the different game developers being like a vastly more intelligent equivalent of these two potheads, and I'm sure their reaction to all the fanboy and anti-fanboy criticism would be similar.

I understand it myself when I received complaints by Nintendo fanboys, as well as the anti-Microsoft crowd, who claim that I am anti-GameCube and pro-Gates. As we know, nothing can be further from the truth. I treat all three systems equally, and enjoy them a lot.

But still there was a time when I was in a different situation. It didn't occur as much during the 16-bit days. I may have owned a Genesis, but I always admitted that the Super Nintendo was an impressive system. I just was never able to pick one up. However, my conversion as a fanboy took place when I picked up a Saturn, and was frustrated when every magazine decided to kiss the PlayStation 1's butt on a daily basis, especially when they trashed a title that I found decent.

Hey Frank O'Connor, I will still never forget your comments about Saturn WipeOut. It was at that moment I became a Sega fanboy, and it lasted until the Dreamcast's early demise.

But after that death, I realized that the whole fanboy situation is just stupid. I learned that each system is special in unique ways, and I have come to accept it, primarily setting criticism whenever it is necessary, and not just because of the company name.

If only all fanboys would follow in my footsteps, the world would be a better place. But I know that will never happen.

Then again, maybe I should do the same thing Jay and Silent Bob did at the end of their movie. Basically they went to each and every flamer's house, and beat the tar out of them. Doesn't sound like a bad payback to me.