10 Video Game Rivalries Fiercer Than Trump and Clinton
By Dalton Cooper 29 September 2016
People all over the world are following the fierce political rivalry between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but these 10 video game rivalries are even fiercer.
Every four years in the United States of America, its citizens are bombarded with negative political ads as the candidates from the country’s two major political parties attempt to steal votes from each other. This year’s political season seems to be even more vicious than usual, with Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton trading scathing personal digs and political jabs at every opportunity.
With endless mudslinging between the two parties, the political and personal rivalry between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is becoming one for the ages. However, there are numerous rivalries in video games that may just outdo the bad blood between the billionaire real estate mogul and the former Secretary of State, and we have narrowed it down to 10 of the biggest feuds in gaming history.
Alliance vs. Horde (World of Warcraft)
In World of Warcraft, players have to choose whether they want to join the Alliance or the Horde, two factions that are in a state of endless war. This conflict has resulted in plenty of contention for World of Warcraft fans, beyond the two factions battling one another in-game, however. In the past, Blizzard has been accused of favoring the Horde over the Alliance in terms of content, with the developers outright admitting that it shortchanged Alliance players in the game’s Cataclysm expansion. Issues like this have helped stir the pot between Alliance and Horde players over the years, and while the two factions sometimes come together to fight off the game’s biggest threats, we don’t see this rivalry subsiding any time soon.
Call of Duty vs. Battlefield
After Call of Duty became the worldwide phenomenon that has helped it become the top selling game of the year for what seems like most of the last decade, EA decided it wanted in on the action as well. And so, it followed Activision’s example, making Battlefield a semi-regularly released franchise and switching to a modern warfare setting. Battlefield games have openly mocked Call of Duty on more than one occasion, but the games have failed to catch up to Activision’s juggernaut franchise in terms of sales or critical reception so far. But with the backlash surrounding Infinite Warfare‘s futuristic setting, there are those that believe 2016 could be Battlefield‘s year to make a comeback by taking the fight back to World War I.
Console vs. PC
Platform wars are nothing new for gaming, but there hasn’t been one quite as intense as the console versus PC debate of recent years. PC users are often referred to as the “PC master race” because of their need to flaunt their superior graphics and write off console owners as “peasants,” whereas console players like to brag about their exclusive games. Ultimately, this is a feud that primarily exists between console fans and PC fans, as the PC platform has genuinely been neutral ground in the video game sales race, with efforts like Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program and PlayStation Now proving that the console manufacturers don’t necessarily view PC as direct competition.
Forza vs. Gran Turismo
In the days of the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Gran Turismo was the premiere racing game, and one of Sony’s strongest exclusive franchises. Since then, games in the series take much longer to develop, with diminishing returns, as reviews and fan reception have been less positive. Microsoft may be partly responsible for the waning interest in Gran Turismo, as it decided to take GT head-on with its Forza franchise, releasing a new game every year with consistently stellar reviews and sales. It’s possible that Gran Turismo can bounce back, but with the recent Forza Horizon 3 blowing away expectations, it has some seriously stiff competition.
Mario vs. Sonic
As the mascots for Nintendo and Sega respectively, Mario and Sonic have been at each other’s throats since the 90s. After Sega dropped out of the console business, the rivalry between gaming’s iconic plumber and the lightning fast hedgehog took on a new form, as the two characters began battling it out in actual games. Sonic and Mario have pummeled each other in Super Smash Bros., faced off in a variety of sports, and have even taken each other on in numerous Olympic events. Moving forward, fans can expect the rivalry between Mario and Sonic to continue across various games and genres.
Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter
The fighting game genre was at the height of its popularity in the 1990s, and the two franchises at the middle of the excitement were Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Both games competed aggressively in arcades and on home consoles, attacking each other in advertisements at every turn. Perhaps the most notable example of this is a magazine ad for Street Fighter II that featured Mortal Kombat arcade cabinets renamed to “Dumb II” and “Mortal Komedy.”
Nintendo vs. Sega
Any gamer in the 1990s should be very familiar with the intense rivalry that existed between Nintendo and Sega. During the fourth generation of gaming, Nintendo and Sega competed with the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, with Sega often on the offensive with an advertising campaign that constantly attacked Nintendo. Sega even came up with a clever marketing phrase, “Sega does what Nintendon’t.”
Sega lived up to its catchphrase by securing superior versions of third-party games for Sega Genesis, and by allowing titles like Mortal Kombat to come to the system with most of its blood and gore intact. The company’s efforts were mostly in vain, though, as the Genesis failed to catch up to the SNES, and Sega eventually quit being a console manufacturer altogether.
Player vs. Rival (Pokemon)
Ever since Gary Oak (or “Blue”) sarcastically told players, “Smell ya later!” fans have had a love/hate relationship with their rivals in Pokemon games. Sometimes these rivals turn out to be rather obnoxious foes, other times they’re more helpful than antagonistic, but they always put up a challenge and are a great way to test the capabilities of one’s Pokemon team.
Team Valor vs. Team Mystic vs. Team Instinct
At the height of Pokemon GO‘s popularity, the Internet was bombarded with memes, T-shirts, and merchandise that allowed players to prove their allegiance to one of the three factions in the game. At last count, Team Mystic is the most popular team, but there are plenty of Team Valor and Team Instinct players out there as well, creating an interesting dynamic where players are constantly trying to have their team in control of the local Pokemon gyms.
Xbox vs. PlayStation
In the current gaming landscape, there may not be a rivalry more heated than the one between Xbox and PlayStation. Not only are the fans of each platform often poking fun of each other on gaming forums all over the web, but Microsoft and Sony have also gone out of their way to diss the competition. Whether it’s Sony mocking the original plan to make it impossible for Xbox One to play used games, or Microsoft making fun of PlayStation Pro’s inability to natively play discs at 4K resolution, it seems like the two companies are always looking for opportunities to one up each other in the eyes of consumers.
Just as there’s many more debates and conflict to come for the 2016 presidential election, so too will many of the video game rivalries on this list continue to heat up, and new ones will form as well. While this constant competition may be tiring for some, hopefully these rivalries translate to quality products and memorable moments for gamers.
Which video game rivalry do you think is the fiercest? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
