So I was listening to Pat the nes punks completely unnecessary podcast and in last week's he mentioned Nintendo Age and said we had an elitist attitude toward collecting. I was taken back. I come here a lot and don't get that vibe at all. Was there a time here when it was like that or is he just wrong?
****EDIT****
podcast can be found here http://thepunkeffect.com/?cat=480... the top one and it happens 1:03 in
heres the quote "i see elitist in the hobby. i see them on certain websites like nintendo age, where they act like if you dont have what i have your absolute shit"

In the time that I've spent both as a casual observer and active member I've never gotten that vibe at all. Quite the opposite. It feels like a really helpful community, more of a brotherhood of sorts. Perhaps he had an isolated incident that I've yet to replicate on here ... Nothing but good things to say.

Some of the other collecting forums i've been to think going for full sets, or paying big bucks on garbage games, is just ludicrous. Some of these other forums are more gamer centric. I'd say NA is very collector focused (but not exclusively). Alot of people acknowledge the buying, selling and collecting of video games as a business and not just some fun thing to do. With many of this forums members there is an area of professionalism. If that makes sense. There are also a ton of incredibly knowledgeable and impressive collectors on this forum.

I could see how someone might mistake that for elitist. It's their mistake and loss.

He's probably just jealous of all our amazing full sealed NES sets. That happens sometimes to people who realize they'll never be as awesome as we are.

I think everyone here is amazingly informative and most are super helpful. I also think, myself included, can be a bit sensitive at times and maybe a bit dramatic, but it's the internet. I have read threads Pat's been in and can see why he can think that. Overall I think NA is awesome, I wouldn't visit everyday and post when I thought it appropriate if I didn't! Thanks NA!

Honestly on other forums I've been on people think this way too. However I've always found that the community here is MUCH nicer and more welcoming than the other sites I've joined. What I did notice is that the members on NA generally know more about video game history and obscure stuff like protos, so that might contribute to them seeing us as "elitists".

Yeah I can see that, but then again when you have some guys that have collected since the 80's or 90's (maybe even a few longer than that) and they have full sets or damn near full sets, and every day there's a new thread with "lol whats your fav NES games!!!1" you'd get a bit tired of it and wanting to talk to more serious collectors.

Happens with everything. I'm active on a metal blog and frequently get called elitist because I don't want to talk about some shitty metalcore band with teenagers.

Now that being said, it would be cool if Pat was more active here, because aside from being a bit of a goofball, he's quite knowledgeable about the NES, and his game reviews are actually very good...and of course, Frank!

Listening to commentary on The Game Chasers DVD this past winter, I heard Jay say something along the lines of "Man, f**k Nintendo Age." I think when people like that who are very much in the social networking part of the community are somewhat put in the limelight and when they are able to get a good deal (F2 for $5 of LS for $10) they tend to see the part of places like this where people call them liars and are legitimately upset at them for getting a good deal.

Even though there are people here who do have "an elitist attitude" I would say that is a very small minority. The majority of folks on this site have great attitudes and are very helpful. Sadly, the smaller majority can come to the forefront on occasion.

Just lost a lot of respect for Pat the NES punk. I have not been on NA for very long, but the members and moderators are nothing but friendly, gracious, and knowledgable. People come on here with a game that is worth 20 and offer it to NA members for 15 just so it will go to a collector. Ask a question, you will get knowledgable answers from many. Get excited about a game you picked up, you will get sincere congratulations from many members. If this is a place to complain about, I can't wait to get to hell. 

No one is forcing them to come here. Why be butthurt about NA? Its stupid.

Naaaa I disagree. This community is so helpful and the people I have dealt with are outstanding.

It's not elitist if you're actually better than someone else.

j/k...couldn't resist.

Yes, I have seen some of this talk (like in the Tanooki ban thread on DP), and a lot of times it just seems like people who didn't fit in here for whatever reason being bitter and assigning blame to NA for not being a better fit for them. Of course there are people here who probably do act elitist sometimes or have other undesirable qualities, but that's probably true of any place. Groups are made up of members. No sense in reducing a group to being only worth its lowest caliber member.

ive loved this community since day one of joing! plenty of helpful knowledgable people always ready to help out! made me a few friends here too!!
Theres doefinately no reason NOT to join NA if your into gaming and collecting! IMO of course.

I'm here to learn, and I've learned a ton. I still continue to learn, so I stick around. If I get to chat about fun games too, that's a bonus.

I seek knowledge about games. Games interest me, so I play as many as possible to gain a wide spectrum of information. For things I can't learn just by playing, I join sites like Speeddemosarchive to learn about how games are programmed, and sites like NintendoAge to learn about the physical aspects of games.

I'd say NintendoAge is a great site so long as you aren't joining to brag. There will always be someone a step ahead of you.

Is that elitist? Only if you're jealous.

All Pat used to do is log in here to promote his stuff. If I remember, he even got front page coverage once. Talk about a back stabber....

As for the Game Chasers, I remember that situation and a member who I think is banned was talking smack about them and how they are set up. Of course that is not true but Jay signed up and cursed them out.

Yes, that was mainly what Pat did and his reasons where usually under the line of, "loving and being passionate towards the hobby he loves and admires". Look I understand you like collecting but when you try to make it sound more than what it really, it just feels awkward to listen too.


Also yes this place is great, knowledgeable and the mods do an amazing job in keep the members safe from scammers.

I approached Pat at the Sgc to try to talk to him about something that was mostly going to benefit him. He treated me with the worst "i'm the shit and A super famous celebrity" attitude I've seen in my life. He even made faces when I approached him and asked him for a quick chat (first time ever talking to the guy). I think people get hot headed because they can make a paycheck out of youtube.

Same goes with the GC, they have an attitude of " I am a Celebrity and I dont give a fak".

They all are buddiess I guess they learn from each other.

Pat is a tool. Im curious to see what Dain thinks about it since he pimped some of his projects on the front page last year.

This is the most friendly and informative forum that I have ever been on. I wasn't treated like I was new and disregarded even though I've only been here for a few months. I love buying and selling on here. I make sure to always post my stuff, especially finds, with at least a 10-30% discount before taking it to Amazon or eBay.

Hmm I don't know. At sgc I went up and talked to Pat for the first time and never got that vibe from him. He just seemed like a cool guy who enjoyed talking to fans of the hobby. As for the Game Chasers, Jay actually came up to me and shook my hand because he remembered me from a previous event. Same with Billy. If they didn't give a fak because they are "celebs", I doubt they would have given me a second glance. I'm probably in the minority of people who enjoy watching the Game Chasers (and I'll probably take some flak for it) but they aren't bad as some make them out to be. Maybe you caught Pat at a bad time? Idk
Btw, your booth at sgc was really cool Piko.

It's not an elitist forum for the most part, but I can see where Pat's coming from. There's been threads here that directly attacked him, so I'd be pissed too if it were me. I like Pat and his videos, and from listening to his podcasts since he started them, I think he's a pretty good guy.

Man I love this community, full of awesome people and knowledge, every time I need hand you always help ME.

Long Live to NA <3

I don't think it's as bad as what I'd heard when I first came here, but there are some pretty elitist sorts I've seen so far. For the most part, people seem friendly and willing to help. I'd never divulge a good auction I'm watching or a good spot to buy games, though.

Bascially, I've never heard anyone talk good about this forum. I figured I'd give it a try since I was desperate for a moderately active forum that had a focus on retro collecting. So far, I've mostly been pleasantly surprised, though cautious.

I know this all too well... "Ermergerd listen to the burkdown in this song it's so BROOTAL"  Excuse me while I listen to something that has structure, and isn't open string trem-picking with the odd pinch-harmonic or basic 5-note sweep.


On topic though: I was a bit undecided about joining NA after lurking for 2 years, but I'm glad I joined, now almost two years ago. I've met some great people, learned an absolute crap-ton of knowledge to help me when I'm out and about. I've made a few friends here, met quite a few NA'ers in my area in person, either at the VRGE or just at random game stores around, we all may be different in many ways, but we all have one thing in common, and that's the love of video games, (mainly Nintendo) and video game related things! 

There's actually a good way to test if this is true. Start a new thread criticizing VGA and graded games, and see what happens to your thread.