British gamers are "notorious non-talkers" in online games on Xbox Live and PC.
That's according to Valve's Chet Faliszek, who says that us fair Bighty-dwellers need to pipe up when playing with strangers.
"One thing I wanted to add before I go for you Brits: communicate. Don't be scared of a microphone," Faliszek said in a recent CVG interview.
"You guys are notorious non-talkers on both 360 and PC. Americans are just chattering away, working together as a team. If you want to work together as a team you've got to talk!
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"You can go into a random 360 game on US servers and it's crazy talk. It's fun. I think a lot of people knock that community but again and again I'm surprised by how fun that is. I've played expert campaigns where by the end of it we're best buddies," he said.
The Valve man hopes that Left 4 Dead's new realism mode, which turns off on-screen assistance to demand teamwork, will fire up us shy Britain-types.
"Realism mode will prod you - you have to talk. If you don't talk you're not going to make it. Instead of being harder Realism's actually more challenging as a team because you have to communicate. When a Smoker pulls you off somewhere you've got to yell because nobody can see where you are.
"The first time you see people play somebody will go in a house to get some stuff, turn around a be like 'shit, I can't see anybody'. It's a scary feeling. We'll see if that maybe stimulate the British sternness."
I do agree that we Brits do talk less in online gameplay, but from my experience that is not due to shyness. They cite Americans as being more talkative, but in my experience when I have been playing in games with Americans, some of the chatter is useful, and 80% of it is complete drivel and really just them spouting off.
When I sit round with mates in the same room and play 4-player system-link L4D, we chat and play as a team, and this is exactly how the Brits operate in online play as well (in my experience). We convey the neccessary information regarding the game we are playing, and thats the way it should be for co-op.
I'll be the first to admit, some games I don't even bother plugging the mic in. It's not that I am shy, or uncommunicative... By and large, it's because of the large amount of cretins online who hurl homophobic, racist, biggoted remarks around liberally. Unfortunately, even by the law of averages, inevitably these are mostly American. Getting told to 'shut up limey' followed by insults towards my family and/or any of the above, well, that's just not fun, sorry.
Get me in a game with friends, and I'll chat away. Put me in a game with a bunch of abusive yank pre-pubescents... Not so much.
Playing on US servers with Americans is always interesting. I do like to here people leave their mic open while they blast out all 4 minutes of some obscure dance tune again and again and again. At least they talk though on UK servers chatter is always low.
"You guys are notorious non-talkers on both 360 and PC. Americans are just chattering away, working together as a team..."
Uh, that's not really the experience I have on the likes of Modern Warfare on the 360. Americans talk, but they just talk about general crap. Usually nothing to do with the game in which they're in.
I always have my match search set to Local on Xbox 360, to increase chances of getting to play with other Brits rather than Americans. Simply because most of the times someone is singing, spouting homophobic language, insulting other players, un-necessarily swearing, or just talking rubbish, they are North Americans.
I'd much rather have a quiet game where the only talking is related to the game at hand, thankyou.
Maybe I would rather stay in a party with my mates than go in a lobby just to be told I sound like Harry Potter and live in a s**t country by some gobby 14 yr old yank
Similar to the guys above me I never bother with my mic on XBL anymore. The larger proportion of the community I've come across are tossers. Thre is a few gems but not enough to justify the problems (problems being immature 12-20 year olds)
totally agreed man, whenever i bash out a rare session on my girlfriends xbox, thats all it is abusive racial insults from american kiddies, teens even adults, why in the living hell do we wana talk to them? we have to remember that racism is still abig deal in america even now that they got a black president, race segragartion(if spelt right?) ended a very long time ago in europe, racial issues are so minor here that they hardly ever make news or anything but truthfully britian still has k**bheads who live that way i.e BNP for one, racist fu*kers! we brits are civilised and thrive from the fact that we can take the mick out of each other and ourselves, and have fun with it I.E banter, that's what british humour is, problem is, is if you try to have a laugh with americans they don't understand the humour, why? simple thy're american, they only know they're own culture
So we Brits are too quiet on Live as Valve tell us. And many folks on here say that Americans are racist, homophobic and basically shout abuse on Live.
Also, Italians are all Cassanovas, the Scots are all mean, the Irish are all drunks, the English are well the English . Do you see what I did there? I made sweeping generalisations about a whole country, pretty silly, eh?
I'll be the first to admit, some games I don't even bother plugging the mic in. It's not that I am shy, or uncommunicative... By and large, it's because of the large amount of cretins online who hurl homophobic, racist, biggoted remarks around liberally. Unfortunately, even by the law of averages, inevitably these are mostly American. Getting told to 'shut up limey' followed by insults towards my family and/or any of the above, well, that's just not fun, sorry.
Get me in a game with friends, and I'll chat away. Put me in a game with a bunch of abusive yank pre-pubescents... Not so much.
I agree. The majority of the talk that comes from the Americans is racist, homophobic or just simply offensive. I sit there sometimes listening in amazement at the level of ignorance and hatred that comes out of the mouths of who seem to be 12-14 year old American children! When someone (generally a Brit or one of the quieter level headed Americans) tells them to stop they just send across a barrage of abuse mostly aimed at said complainants mother. I just keep quiet and report them. When you do get a game made up mostly of Brits then it is more than often tame and funny jibes rather than hate filled abuse. Plus in my experience the Brits are far more interested in talking tactics than the Americans.
I'm my online gaming experience, American gamers talk too much. I'm not saying this is true for all US gamers but the ones I seem to game with, love the sound of their own voice and chat about inane non-game releated nonsence that usually results in me muting them. I especially hate the guys that talk like they're gangta rappers.
im pritty sure he did not say that in a interview with cvg first, as i was there when he said it at eurogamer expo, hell its even on the video of the dev session
Why don't they include an optional 'age filter'? Don't get me wrong, I have played with loads of Americans who have been cool, but I would have to say that 4 times out of 5, I have had to switch off my mic because of some abhorent emo racist 13yo american munchkin chatting complete crap to the point where I havn't wanted to save them when they got pounced/tounged (in l4d).
Generally I am a massive Valve fan, but I do think that Chet could perhaps investigate why we don't tend to talk as much, rather then putting it down to an inaccurate sterotype.
Maybe we'd talk more if our voices could be heard over singing yankee teenagers and abusive rednecks. I'd sooner just join one of my actual friends party's than listen to a high pitched warble.
And it ain't just Live that it plagues, don't know how many times i've had to mute people when playing Uncharted 2 to shut their singing up.
I agree with the fellow's observation that many British gamers do not seem to use the mic options all that frequently during multi-player sessions with strangers. That's my experience at least, others may differ. I don't think all Brits are less communicative by nature, and the man's certainly right when he states that communication is extremely useful in succeeding in a mission - that goes for both online games and in real life.
There are obnoxious Americans, yet I've personally experienced more grief from British players and other nationalities. Then there is also the matter of whether or not it's just bravado amongst boys/men as they size each other up, or whether someone truly is racist, homophobic, etc. In the US the word "gay" has become so common place amongst many people that unofficially it's no longer just associated with homosexuality (although it is certainly also used in that context; you can usually tell based on the context). It would not surprise me at all that we might be dealing with a number of cases where what is being said is lost in translation.
totally agreed man, whenever i bash out a rare session on my girlfriends xbox, thats all it is abusive racial insults from american kiddies, teens even adults, why in the living hell do we wana talk to them? we have to remember that racism is still abig deal in america even now that they got a black president, race segragartion(if spelt right?) ended a very long time ago in europe, racial issues are so minor here that they hardly ever make news or anything but truthfully britian still has k**bheads who live that way i.e BNP for one, racist fu*kers! we brits are civilised and thrive from the fact that we can take the mick out of each other and ourselves, and have fun with it I.E banter, that's what british humour is, problem is, is if you try to have a laugh with americans they don't understand the humour, why? simple thy're american, they only know they're own culture
And yet European societies are in many ways far behind the US in terms of having integrated minority groups. The US still has quite some ways to go, IMO, but to present Europe as a pristine paragon of racial and ethnic equality is hogwash. Personally I'm proud of my European heritage, I love my country although I also have strong criticisms of it and I can still appreciate the achievements of other nations, yet this does not mean that I have to be blind to matters within Europe.
I've had it a few times on psn too. I'll admit I guess where ever there is people there will always be idiots. But my headset is always on when I play games online with ps3 the majority is lower from what I've experienced.
I know you are a PC gamer as well as owning a 360. Would you say that your comment about Brit gamers tends to be based on the online PC community, or is this mainly your experience of Live?
I've found that Americans talk a LOT but actually say very little.
I honestly think that for the most part (there are obvious exceptions), the British people tend to be more efficient with their spoken language or feel that they have made their point fairly early on in comparison.
I'll be the first to admit, some games I don't even bother plugging the mic in. It's not that I am shy, or uncommunicative... By and large, it's because of the large amount of cretins online who hurl homophobic, racist, biggoted remarks around liberally. Unfortunately, even by the law of averages, inevitably these are mostly American. Getting told to 'shut up limey' followed by insults towards my family and/or any of the above, well, that's just not fun, sorry.
Get me in a game with friends, and I'll chat away. Put me in a game with a bunch of abusive yank pre-pubescents... Not so much.
took the words right out my mouth, me and most of the people on my friends list either open a party up as soon as we go online for friends to join or join an existing one that already has friends in it, totally cancels out the problem of listening to idiots spout rubbish, those days of having to listen to idiots if playing with more than one friend online are long gone since partychat came along, 3 cheers for party chat!!
So we Brits are too quiet on Live as Valve tell us. And many folks on here say that Americans are racist, homophobic and basically shout abuse on Live.
Also, Italians are all Cassanovas, the Scots are all mean, the Irish are all drunks, the English are well the English . Do you see what I did there? I made sweeping generalisations about a whole country, pretty silly, eh?
Yeah, you shouldn't do that.....that's what the Russians do.
I know you are a PC gamer as well as owning a 360. Would you say that your comment about Brit gamers tends to be based on the online PC community, or is this mainly your experience of Live?
My experience comes from PC online gaming. That will likely change the statistics involved; sadly it does not remove the presence of team killers, people-whom-aren't-noobs-yet-act-like-noobs (they should know better; for those that are are new beginners there's no shame, IMO. We've all got to start somewhere after all), and other riff raff...but then again, I've been known to fire off a litany or two of cobottom language during less than optimal performance as well, so I suppose what's sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander.
If people aren't sure if Brits/europeans are racist, go and have a look in the Community Forum set up for the changes they are making to CVG. It's quite amusing - not racism of course, that's awful, just the discussion is somewhat ridiculous.
Actually a few of you should go in there, it would be good to get a few decent users' voices heard who don't use the forum beyond article comments.
There's more racism/homophobia on XBL from Americans compared to brits, but still not that much. Not on L4D or Bomberman anyway, and they're generally what I play with randoms (I'm sure CoD4 and Halo 3 are worse) and without a mic, but with the voice through the speakers a bit. Until someone starts rapping, then it gets muted.
Oh yeah, how do you set it to search for a local server on the 360 version of Left 4 Dead?
pfft. Brits don't talk enough. More like Americans won't shut the hell up.
That's Exactly it isn't it?
A lot of people on Live that are talking are usually doing so only because they enjoy the sound of their own voice. Attention seekers. Putting on a mic & trying to talk to these people is only giving them what they want.
That said, as long as I'm not in a party with friends, or in a lobby where there is some 10 year old who has just found out how to use a mic for the first time, I'm more than happy to get on the mic & have a bit of banter. But more often than not there is either an abusive, American kid spouting crap, or some tool who thinks everyone wants to listen to his generic dance music down the headset.
When this sort of crap happens, I'm not the sort to lower myself to their level just to join in & I'm certainly not going to take part in some abusive argument with a 13 year old American.
When it's like that (which is quite often) you just take the headset off & who can blame you? After time, you get to expect it & then don't even bother putting the headset on, having a fairly good guess what will be on the other end.
In other words, SORT YOUR f**king COMMUNITY OUT & WE'LL TAKE PART IN IT! While it's full of c**ts, you can hardly blame people for switching off can you?
If people aren't sure if Brits/europeans are racist, go and have a look in the Community Forum set up for the changes they are making to CVG. It's quite amusing - not racism of course, that's awful, just the discussion is somewhat ridiculous.
Actually a few of you should go in there, it would be good to get a few decent users' voices heard who don't use the forum beyond article comments.
There's more racism/homophobia on XBL from Americans compared to brits, but still not that much. Not on L4D or Bomberman anyway, and they're generally what I play with randoms (I'm sure CoD4 and Halo 3 are worse) and without a mic, but with the voice through the speakers a bit. Until someone starts rapping, then it gets muted.
Oh yeah, how do you set it to search for a local server on the 360 version of Left 4 Dead?
I agree with the fellow's observation that many British gamers do not seem to use the mic options all that frequently during multi-player sessions with strangers. That's my experience at least, others may differ. I don't think all Brits are less communicative by nature, and the man's certainly right when he states that communication is extremely useful in succeeding in a mission - that goes for both online games and in real life.
There are obnoxious Americans, yet I've personally experienced more grief from British players and other nationalities. Then there is also the matter of whether or not it's just bravado amongst boys/men as they size each other up, or whether someone truly is racist, homophobic, etc. In the US the word "gay" has become so common place amongst many people that unofficially it's no longer just associated with homosexuality (although it is certainly also used in that context; you can usually tell based on the context). It would not surprise me at all that we might be dealing with a number of cases where what is being said is lost in translation.
I can assure you that in my experience it is certainly not lost in translation. It is far too blatantly offensive to mean anything but what it sounds like.
I agree with the fellow's observation that many British gamers do not seem to use the mic options all that frequently during multi-player sessions with strangers. That's my experience at least, others may differ. I don't think all Brits are less communicative by nature, and the man's certainly right when he states that communication is extremely useful in succeeding in a mission - that goes for both online games and in real life.
There are obnoxious Americans, yet I've personally experienced more grief from British players and other nationalities. Then there is also the matter of whether or not it's just bravado amongst boys/men as they size each other up, or whether someone truly is racist, homophobic, etc. In the US the word "gay" has become so common place amongst many people that unofficially it's no longer just associated with homosexuality (although it is certainly also used in that context; you can usually tell based on the context). It would not surprise me at all that we might be dealing with a number of cases where what is being said is lost in translation.
I can assure you that in my experience it is certainly not lost in translation. It is far too blatantly offensive to mean anything but what it sounds like.
I don't doubt there are homophobic and/or racist Americans; I've come across a few in my time. Nonetheless I do think that a certain amount of cultural miscommunication arises - this is evident just by looking at some of the comments in this thread. Ironically, as some other posters have already pointed out, a number of people in this thread have ended up engaging in the very same behaviour they are accusing the Americans of.
If people aren't sure if Brits/europeans are racist, go and have a look in the Community Forum set up for the changes they are making to CVG. It's quite amusing - not racism of course, that's awful, just the discussion is somewhat ridiculous.
Actually a few of you should go in there, it would be good to get a few decent users' voices heard who don't use the forum beyond article comments.
There's more racism/homophobia on XBL from Americans compared to brits, but still not that much. Not on L4D or Bomberman anyway, and they're generally what I play with randoms (I'm sure CoD4 and Halo 3 are worse) and without a mic, but with the voice through the speakers a bit. Until someone starts rapping, then it gets muted.
Oh yeah, how do you set it to search for a local server on the 360 version of Left 4 Dead?
Jeez, I just had a look at that thread....how utterly ridiculous.
I think my IQ dropped over those 6 pages of comments.
What really surprises me is that whenever this topic is raised, so many people (myself included) agree that they would happily talk to each other (be it coversationally or just a bit of banter) if it weren't for the racists, music players, brats etc.
And yet, even with this volume of people wishing for a "more civilised" online experience, it's virtually impossible to come by.
I spent my early current gen days wearing a headset and feeling consistently irritated by the smack-talkers. Then I ditched the headset for over a year and just played silently. I finally bit the bullet again a few months ago and tried the headset once again but nothing had changed.
I think it's kind of sad. My entire friends list is made up of people I actually know and yet I am certain that there are many really decent people out there that I could probably have a laugh with (several of which visit this forum) if only I could keep the headset on longer than 10 seconds into the game without feeling like throwing the entire console out of the window.
I turn the chat off now, its a complete waste of time. Its usually just people talking s**te, insulting people or forcing everyone to listen to whatever crap music they are into
This guy from Valve is talking out of his backside if he thinks that all across the world, XBL, PC and PSN users are talking tactics in their online chat
I will qualify I earlier statement about the idiots, racists and the like being on Live. Having fallen for the charms of EVE online I will say that experience in team speak is much better. But then it seems that only grown ups play EVE....
I agree with the fellow's observation that many British gamers do not seem to use the mic options all that frequently during multi-player sessions with strangers. That's my experience at least, others may differ. I don't think all Brits are less communicative by nature, and the man's certainly right when he states that communication is extremely useful in succeeding in a mission - that goes for both online games and in real life.
There are obnoxious Americans, yet I've personally experienced more grief from British players and other nationalities. Then there is also the matter of whether or not it's just bravado amongst boys/men as they size each other up, or whether someone truly is racist, homophobic, etc. In the US the word "gay" has become so common place amongst many people that unofficially it's no longer just associated with homosexuality (although it is certainly also used in that context; you can usually tell based on the context). It would not surprise me at all that we might be dealing with a number of cases where what is being said is lost in translation.
I can assure you that in my experience it is certainly not lost in translation. It is far too blatantly offensive to mean anything but what it sounds like.
I don't doubt there are homophobic and/or racist Americans; I've come across a few in my time. Nonetheless I do think that a certain amount of cultural miscommunication arises - this is evident just by looking at some of the comments in this thread. Ironically, as some other posters have already pointed out, a number of people in this thread have ended up engaging in the very same behaviour they are accusing the Americans of.
I agree. I have come across some very nice US players. However these are often the quiet ones. Live is overwhelmed by the Loud ones that love to hear themselves squeek and it is those that are more often or not abusive. I do not think many people on here think that it is all Americans that are like that but it is certainly the case that the vast majority of the Americans that like to make themselves heard are the abusive ones where as out of the "Talkative" Brits it is a much smaller proportion that are abusive. What is so shocking is that most of this truly horrible offensive language comes from the younger American gamers! (Not to mention the strange screeching they seem to love belting out over live)
"You guys are notorious non-talkers on both 360 and PC. Americans are just chattering away, working together as a team. If you want to work together as a team you've got to talk!"
F*CK YOU! I talk – not just random crap, verbal diarrea often spewed out by US teens. And you won't catch me desperately flirting with a female voice. Neither will you hear me bark orders for a game plan or strategy that'll get the team wiped quicker than you can say "Valve are a bunch of c*nts"... actually if you've ever played with me, you'd know that's my Left4Dead catchphrase!
I talk. I communicate. In fact, I have NEVER once heard an American let the team know that a room was clear. The only thing you ever hear Americans communicate are "Tank!" "Witch!"... stuff the whole team know because the game lets us know. The amount of times I have to ask "Where? Tell me where it is?"
Communicate my f*cking ass! Left4Dead has some of the worst co-op players I've ever seen in a game. People out for themselves, selfishly looking after themselves. And no, just because you help up a downed teammate doesn't mean you're a good co-op player. And just because you might have killed slightly more zombies than someone else doesn't make you the co-op king. The game really tests the strength of players to work as co-op, which has highlighted just how crap most people are at working within a team.
Perhaps the comment has come from the fact people aren't talking in the L4D2 demo. Perhaps because it's actually quite sh*t! Too many special infected at once (I only play on hardcore, so this may not be a problem on the easy settings)! The group of people I've made friends with in the game, who communicate, who are good players, who are pleasant to talk to and who know how to work as a team will still struggle with three special infected and a couple of dozen zombies at once.
Fortunately I won't have to worry about that because the demo has allowed me to save my cash and spend it elsewhere. No longer will I have to put up with that crap Ai director that decides when 2 team mates are dead and one down, with just one player standing it (or you Valve) thinks it's a great idea to throw a hoard and a special infected at the remaining player. So as I won't get to use my L4D catchphrase again in your game, here it is one last time: Valve are a bunch of c*nts!
The most foul-mouthed racist gits I've come across have been jocks and spudmunchers, you can't even understand them most of the time but then you just catch words like 'f*ggot' and 'p*ki' and other s**t. What's the need really?
Well in my recent forays into the online gaming world on the PS3 I've heard Americans come out with some of the most racist, homophobic and downright disgusting things (including the guy who was talking about his plan to "murderise" Bill Gates), meanwhile the Brits were working together as a team, killing the Americans, which just made the volume of such comments increase...
Maybe they would'nt like it too much if we came on their speakers using elaborate irony and dry humour
Yup, I'm pretty sure they'd hate that!
Get your mind out of the gutter parma!
I can think of one some people (on this very site, no less!) who will call seemingly anybody a fag for seemingly any reason. And they ain't American.
Personally, going from accents on xbl, I've found brummies and Leeds (I think) accents tend to be the most abusive out of the UK lot. Still, not racist and not really homophobes - just rude and obnoxious and still a minority.
I have 63 friends on Steam, all from various countries, only 1 of which comes from America.
1 of those friends constantly calls people 'ni**er' and 'fa**ot', plays s**te dance music cotinuously down the mic, and generally acts a t**t. So much so that even his own friends kick him from most games. I only keep him in my friends list because it's funny watching his own team get so p**sed off with him.
I don't know about the voice stuff particularly as I tend to play with friends - but I play CoD:WaW on a couple of French servers a fair bit and generally, if someone comes on and starts spouting racist and offensive comments and insulting everyone, they tend to be American. Having said that, the few times I have ventured online with OFPR, the Americans there have tended to be a bit more mature - probably because of the nature of the game.
I remember when the first integrated voice comms into Counter-Strike - nothing ruins that elite military team feeling like having a team-mate turn to you and hearing the voice of a twelve-year old Manc
A friend of mine has mates in the US and whenever they join our party I suddenly shut up and normally turn down the headphone volume. The sheer volume of obscenities and total drivel talk really put me off. I don't mind when playing on the PC as it's all written messages and very rarely voice chat (unless playing in a clan match / guild). But playing with a bunch of asshats that don't realise that 'silence is golden' and that every moment of quietness does not warrant the start of another conversation is not my idea of fun.
To give an example; currently I'm playing Borderlands. Right at the end of the game (no spoilers here!) they all decide to start talking so it was impossible to hear the voice over and understand what the hell was going on. Why talk then!? Surely that's the prime point to SHUT THE F**K UP!?
I don't bother talking to Americans 'cuz everytime I do, they can't understand a word I'm saying... I'm a brummie
But yeh I completely agree with everyone's comments, they just blast music, chat fraff or try to be as abusive as possible. We usually can't get a word in edgeways anyway 'cuz of the constant drone of American tongue.
Personally, going from accents on xbl, I've found brummies and Leeds (I think) accents tend to be the most abusive out of the UK lot. Still, not racist and not really homophobes - just rude and obnoxious and still a minority.
As a gamer from the US I can understand the general dislike of American gamers by the British gaming communtity. There are countless times that I've had to kick foul-mouthed gamers or had to leave a match all together because everyone in the group was an ass. I will say that, all trash talking aside, the Americans I play with have the edge over any Brit gamers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Many of the best l4d american gamers stick to tournament(gamebattles)and friends only games.These are the ADULT gamers that most Brits playing online will never run into. See, we hate playing with homophobic 13 year olds too.These die-hard l4d players are who valve is referring to who communicate so well. And we do. Never ran into any non-american team that could even compete against us. Send me a challenge if you think you can. dcdrews25 x-box live
I don't know about the voice stuff particularly as I tend to play with friends - but I play CoD:WaW on a couple of French servers a fair bit and generally, if someone comes on and starts spouting racist and offensive comments and insulting everyone, they tend to be American. Having said that, the few times I have ventured online with OFPR, the Americans there have tended to be a bit more mature - probably because of the nature of the game.
I remember when the first integrated voice comms into Counter-Strike - nothing ruins that elite military team feeling like having a team-mate turn to you and hearing the voice of a twelve-year old Manc
Add to that the particular sense of inadequacy one may experience when a 9 year old, that needs to go to dinner because his mother is calling, has just thrashed the entire server population several hundred kills to a handful of deaths.
I'm a female gamer in the UK and I barely ever use headphones and chat to random people when playing online because I know I'm going to get some stupid American kid spouting sexist (and racist and homophobic) nonsense at me.
Well I did try it once, playing TF2 (I love that game) and that's what I got... I thought maybe it was a one-off so I tried again on another server on another day... it was the same. So I switched it off and never went back. Everyone's far more tolerable online when you can't hear them.
I'll chat to friends though. By which I mean existing friends who I know outside of the game I'm playing.
As a gamer from the US I can understand the general dislike of American gamers by the British gaming communtity. There are countless times that I've had to kick foul-mouthed gamers or had to leave a match all together because everyone in the group was an ass. I will say that, all trash talking aside, the Americans I play with have the edge over any Brit gamers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Many of the best l4d american gamers stick to tournament(gamebattles)and friends only games.These are the ADULT gamers that most Brits playing online will never run into. See, we hate playing with homophobic 13 year olds too.These die-hard l4d players are who valve is referring to who communicate so well. And we do. Never ran into any non-american team that could even compete against us. Send me a challenge if you think you can. dcdrews25 x-box live
Surely that depends on what game you are challenged at? How about SWOS or PES?
I'm a female gamer in the UK and I barely ever use headphones and chat to random people when playing online because I know I'm going to get some stupid American kid spouting sexist (and racist and homophobic) nonsense at me.
Well I did try it once, playing TF2 (I love that game) and that's what I got... I thought maybe it was a one-off so I tried again on another server on another day... it was the same. So I switched it off and never went back. Everyone's far more tolerable online when you can't hear them.
I'll chat to friends though. By which I mean existing friends who I know outside of the game I'm playing.
That's a shame, IMO, Tenshi. Personally I think the gaming world would benefit with a more openly gender inclusive population. I have witnessed a female gamer becoming a bit of a focusing point for a lot of male gamers on a specific server where they ended up protecting her as though she were their sister once they realised she was unavailable for romantic pursuits. I found it touching in a way.
To be honest, I think talking all tactical down the mic is abit boring :S. I'd rather just joke around with my mates and casually enjoy the game.
Agreed. I enjoy chewing the fat with friends and strangers whom you can share a laugh with, then quickly switch to tactical chatter when a situation becomes "sporty".
As a gamer from the US I can understand the general dislike of American gamers by the British gaming communtity. There are countless times that I've had to kick foul-mouthed gamers or had to leave a match all together because everyone in the group was an ass. I will say that, all trash talking aside, the Americans I play with have the edge over any Brit gamers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Many of the best l4d american gamers stick to tournament(gamebattles)and friends only games.These are the ADULT gamers that most Brits playing online will never run into. See, we hate playing with homophobic 13 year olds too.These die-hard l4d players are who valve is referring to who communicate so well. And we do. Never ran into any non-american team that could even compete against us. Send me a challenge if you think you can. dcdrews25 x-box live
Surely that depends on what game you are challenged at? How about SWOS or PES?
Oooh.. A challenge!! Brings back memories of my Quake days.. and all the arguments on who were the best gaming coutries... I believe that went to Sweden back in the day
that's because 80% of the time I get shoved in with freaking people who speak spanish or german. maybe valve oh so great developer you could have region grouping or smthg; maybe you do but its seriously broken then.
tbh ive been serious during games abt 5 times ever and the rest of the time we just make fun of each other (what friends are for).
I dont bother with strangers as a few times I just pop in and say hi and the abuse comes thick and fast. man I did just say hello what is wrong with your retarded american ass and that dreadful hip hop bull$hit you actually have the guts or ignorance to call music that you're blasting in the background?
As a gamer from the US I can understand the general dislike of American gamers by the British gaming communtity. There are countless times that I've had to kick foul-mouthed gamers or had to leave a match all together because everyone in the group was an ass. I will say that, all trash talking aside, the Americans I play with have the edge over any Brit gamers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Many of the best l4d american gamers stick to tournament(gamebattles)and friends only games.These are the ADULT gamers that most Brits playing online will never run into. See, we hate playing with homophobic 13 year olds too.These die-hard l4d players are who valve is referring to who communicate so well. And we do. Never ran into any non-american team that could even compete against us. Send me a challenge if you think you can. dcdrews25 x-box live
Surely that depends on what game you are challenged at? How about SWOS or PES?
Oooh.. A challenge!! Brings back memories of my Quake days.. and all the arguments on who were the best gaming coutries... I believe that went to Sweden back in the day
Anyway... my dad can 'ave your dad
I think you will find that my dad would see your dad coming and 'ave im first!
I think you can take this observation mentioned in the article further to a society level, there's a clear difference between the two. Vocal communication is simply not relevant in most games, but it clearly is in Left for Dead. I have no interest to speak to anyone (especially Americans), it's simply not necessary, and in most times distracting from MY game... but I am a Scot.
However, I'm sure clans who communicate are better than ones who do not in a competition between each other. It would work properly in a military sim for example, but games are far too fast and dynamic for it to be necessary.
I know this might be an unpopular opinion here, but I agree with Chet.
As a British gamer myself, I always wished my fellow Brits would speak up more during online games of Left 4 Dead. There's nothing more frustrating than realising a team-mate has been seized by a Smoker for the last ten seconds and needs reviving - all because s/he wouldn't shout for help (I'd also urge people not to play unless they have a mic, but that's another debate).
I agree with many of you that Americans do talk rubbish and generally brag a lot more, but still: at least they speak. That's kind of crucial.
(Not that this really bothers me anymore, for I've since joined a group of 20 or so friendly Brits who do happily chatter away. The idea of playing with randoms makes me shudder now.)
As a gamer from the US I can understand the general dislike of American gamers by the British gaming communtity. There are countless times that I've had to kick foul-mouthed gamers or had to leave a match all together because everyone in the group was an ass. I will say that, all trash talking aside, the Americans I play with have the edge over any Brit gamers I've ever had the pleasure to play with. Many of the best l4d american gamers stick to tournament(gamebattles)and friends only games.These are the ADULT gamers that most Brits playing online will never run into. See, we hate playing with homophobic 13 year olds too.These die-hard l4d players are who valve is referring to who communicate so well. And we do. Never ran into any non-american team that could even compete against us. Send me a challenge if you think you can. dcdrews25 x-box live
Surely that depends on what game you are challenged at? How about SWOS or PES?
Oooh.. A challenge!! Brings back memories of my Quake days.. and all the arguments on who were the best gaming coutries... I believe that went to Sweden back in the day
Anyway... my dad can 'ave your dad
I think you will find that my dad would see your dad coming and 'ave im first!
Forget that, my Dad will shag your Dad! And your Dad'll enjoy it!!! Gud old Frankie Boyle. I bet they wudn't find that funny across the pond!
Seriously tho, I have played with decent Americans, and I've played with Americans who still think that Britain is run by the Monarchy! (I only know this, because he tried to insult me by saying it! It was also kinda sexist!) It's rich for him to suggest that brits don't talk and yanks talk strategy, when I've been told to "shut the f**k up" by a guy who didn't wanna know that ther was a guy making off with our flag!?!?!
Having said that, I've heard abuse from people with a wide range of accents, wether they be French, Italian, and more than a few British!!! I think people just need to chill! After all, it's only a game!
I was saddened to read the comment tenshi_a made. I agree with KFD when he said that the introduction of a larger number of female gamers would only benefit the community, as some of my best friends are girls, and whilst none of them are actually gamers now that I think of it, I'm certainly a better person for having both male and female friends!!!
The Americans on Live aren't 'chattering'. They're abusive, rude, ignorant and INCREDIBLY homophobic and racist!!!!
Exactly. Most Americans aren't welcoming to anyone on both Live and PC, but the attitude to foreigners is even worse, so why don't us Brits talk? To save ourselves the trouble of being insulted and abused.
I don't talk that much on PSN unless playing with guys I know. I just never have that much to say (other than 'bugger' when being shot). I found out one of the guys I'd been playing against on CoD4 the other day was American when the game finished, as he unleashed a tonne of abuse at me for shooting him???? Which left me somewhat puzzeled, he was on the other team...... I thought this was the object of the game?? How is it my fault he kept running into my sights? Stop the moaning and play (or turn off your machine and go to bed)
I think you can take this observation mentioned in the article further to a society level, there's a clear difference between the two. Vocal communication is simply not relevant in most games, but it clearly is in Left for Dead. I have no interest to speak to anyone (especially Americans), it's simply not necessary, and in most times distracting from MY game... but I am a Scot.
However, I'm sure clans who communicate are better than ones who do not in a competition between each other. It would work properly in a military sim for example, but games are far too fast and dynamic for it to be necessary.
As a former military man, the problem I encounter with voice chat in regards to coordination is an acute lack of discipline amongst the players and an overall lack of cohesion which is likely caused by them being unfamiliar with each other which leads to confusion and mishaps. If a group managed to establish a clear structure/chain-of-command with capable individuals/internally recognized voice commands/training sessions it would (and does,) make a world of difference. I reckon some of the most successful clans have managed to achieve that in one form or another.
KFD I agree 100% I play with a small group of friends, I only know one of these in person, the rest are friends of his. The two of us trained together, so when we play together the chat is non-stop usefull stuff....... and we take the others apart, even if its just us 2 v's the rest! Its bad when you play with the opposition! sitting back watching them trying to pick up the bomb in sabotage in CoD4, talking to each other as to just the right moment to open fire! When chat is done right its great, when its bad, its pointless.
You know, this was one of my personal reasons why I switched my 360 for a PS3. Because on the PS3 your not obliged to talk as much if at all, you don't feel like your missing the point if you never buy a mic. And due to this I don't have to listen to immature little brats with the mental age of my 3 year old niece, oh no wait, she's actually more intelligent then the majority of American gamers on Xbox Live. Every other word is f**k, Gay, Dousche etc etc etc, it really does get tiresome and very boring. You can't work as a team in a game with all that swearing and pointless comments. Then again, most other foreign players speak in their native language like French, Dutch etc so what's the point in talking to them? And I will admit the majority of American that are foul mouthed are probably 25 and younger.
ah well, just yet another reason for me to hate Valve, how the hell they ever came up with Half Life is beyond me with idiots like this at the top.
hmmmm, ventrillo teamspeak and skype, just because us brits dont use in game chat doesnt mean we dont speak
personally pc chat ingame seems to be more game orientated with friendly p**staking but xbox and ps3 the majority of what i had to listen too was abuse so why bother
Ohh great, now some dude from Valve is trying to dictate how I should play games I pay for? Listen mate, if I want to "chat" I'll pick up the phone and call a friend, kay? Just cause I'm playing a game online doesn't mean I'm obliged to be all chatty with some random strangers I don't know or particularly care about, especially since so many of them aren't even worth "chatting" to in the first place for the myriad of reasons people have already pointed out.
It's ridiculous that a developer is trying to force players to play a certain way when they clearly have little interest in doing so. Man, what a douche.
My friends keep saying that they're annoyed by american kids saying random stuff online lol
Yes, I'm British, so imagine this with a Yorkshire accent. If you know what one sounds like... Oh no, you're going to imagine me with a London accent aren't you?
I usually give up on chat as being Scottish fellow Brits like to think thats an open door for abuse. Considering the their whiney c**kney accents alot of other English accents are so annoying. No wonder alot of English are despised worldwide. I mean the north even hate the south and vice versa.
Damn I fell into the trap Im chatting, Damn you cultureless American man.
Been playing FPS for 10 years now and from my experiences I would say some reasons why we keep ourselves to ourselves are:
Seeing as Chet Faliszek didn't address the fact, we might be working as a team using Teamspeak or Ventrilo and enables us to chat within ourselves!!
In a heated discussion and you say an offensive comment just as a mod comes in! - great!
Or every five minutes a ten year old from the US calls you a hack even though you been playing the game since it came out and know the spots to shoot from.
Or maybe us Brits enjoy the secrecy of not speaking - and using a secondary name so the general players do not know who they are up against.
We don't talk enough?! well maybe if our relatives across the pond would stop hurling abuse at us becuase we're british then maybe we would relay important information to help work as a team!! see us brits work together just fine when its just us, but as soon as a yank comes in to play then the whole "team game" idea just goes to pot. I think maybe some sort of online area selection should be used. I.E if you are European then you play through the European channel and so you play with people from your region. Sure its nice to play with other people from around the world but to be honest...nobody likes playing with a cry baby yank who hurls abuse because you kill them.
As pointed out many times above voice chat seems largely to be American children calling each other "f****t". It put me off using voice chat along time ago. I wonder how many American players are also suffering in silence and keeping their mouths shut for for exactly the same reason we do.
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. Do you see what I did there? I made sweeping generalisations about a whole country, pretty silly, eh?
R, the Americans there have tended to be a bit more mature - probably because of the nature of the game.
