World of Warcraft - TBC
VooDoo & Friends VS Archimond

Fuck yea This is Hard Core PRO!!!

Ya'll gamers may laugh at me, but this is my game
It combines shiny stuff and explosions, cookies and cats and meowed out jazz!
And last night I won second place in a bronze tournament! Ha!

Nobody should laugh at you, one must respect the cat!

I'm also a sucker for these kind of games, give me the simplest connect three game or sidescroller or whatever, stuff it chock full of shiny, colorful, cute things and I'm sold
Congratulations on placing second in the tournament btw

Personally, I despise those kinds of games, especially if they have micro transactions in them, but I don't hold it against anyone if they find them fun and enjoyable... as long as you are not dumping money into that game
If you are, I just wanna do this to you until you come to your senses

Raise you hand if you gave into the craze and are frantically walking the streets hunting for pokemons!

...raises hand

Really?
Nobody else? I can't be the only one!

I don't know about everybody else but I sure as shit wont be raising my hand to that. I will never play that stupid fucking game!
I should mention that even though I'm a huge anime freak and an avid gamer I've never really liked Pokemon. I've never watched the show past a couple of episodes and I've only played one Pokemon game (and even that only casually for a short time). With that in mind you might think that my opinion is biased (and you wouldn't be wrong) but most of what I'm about to write is not me spewing unsubstantiated hate but me quoting a friend of mine who IS a big Pokemon fan but still hates the game.
First of all, the whole hype train concerning Pokemon Go seems so forced and not genuine. It's as if one person made the case for the game, stating a few marginally sensible arguments, and everybody just followed suit... like so many lemmings chasing a Pikachu right off a fucking cliff. I've had friends come up to me and start robotically reciting the same arguments everybody is making (how it gets people off their asses etc.) because apparently that is the consensus on the internet these days so it stands to reason that they must share those opinions. Keep in mind that these are not people who are casual gamers or are all into physical activity and health trends and all that shit, no, these are friends that up until yesterday were perfectly content with spending their whole lives in their natural environment, namely with their asses fused to their computer chairs. But now, since the whole world has gone apeshit and sees Pokemon Go as the fucking second coming of Jesus, these hard core couch potato gamers are suddenly becoming passionate advocates for gameplay that involves physical activity and getting fresh air and all that crap... Gimme a fucking break! I'm not saying going outside to play is a bad thing, objectively it isn't. It's just that seeing so many people who are sooo not into that stuff jump on the same bandwagon looks like peer pressure at best and stupid idiots being sheeple at worst.
Secondly, the game is not that good really. It's not an actual Pokemon game. Yeah, you can technically say it is because it features a bunch of cutsey monsters with retarded sounding names but everything else that makes a Pokemon game a Pokemon fucking game is either missing or deeply distorted. Pokemon games are all about advancing your Pokemon and not your trainer. You level them up, teach them new moves and have them evolve so you can, in theory, chose the Pokemon you like best and then advance them to high heaven as your "main" pocket monster. In Pokemon Go it's all backwards. You level up your trainer and your Pokemon just stay the same. So if you really like that batlike Pokemon that you got when you were just starting out and want to use him as your main Pokemon for battles, tough shit, your precious Zubat is destined for the garbage pile because he will become obsolete the second you find a stronger (completely different) Pokemon. The battles themselves are also total shit. Traditionally Pokemon battles were turn based affairs (a la Final Fantasy) wherein you could use special moves that are distinct for each Pokemon. They included at least the most basic form of strategy and involved putting at least a minimum amount of thought into those battles. In Pokemon Go, battles are boiled down to taping your screen like a maniac and... that's it. Just taping your screen like a maniac! Zero strategy, zero thought and zero fun if you ask me.
And that's not even mentioning the truly dangerous aspects of the game. People are losing their lives over this fucking shit! They are falling into pits and getting into traffic accidents. They are breaking the law by trespassing where they shouldn't and even breaking and entering into peoples houses. God knows how many more examples of profoundly annoying if not outright illegal and dangerous activities there are out there... Auschwitz as a Pokemon hotspot comes to mind
Then there is the fact that there is a game (or games) out there that is just like Pokemon Go only WAY better and it didn't get a fraction of the hype and attention that Pokemon got. The example I'm thinking of is Ingress, a game developed by the very same people who made Pokemon Go that is practically identical only it involves actual gameplay with strategic thinking and shit.

In conclusion. Pokemon Go annoys the hell out of me and is a perfect example of heard mentality but there is a silver lining in the fact that it's getting so much attention. Because of it people will probably get more hyped about AR games in general and then somebody will make a better game that is actually fun to play

Dude, relax. Nobody should feel this strongly about a freaking video game. Especially one they aren't even playing.
As for the argument of the hype not being genuine... what does that even mean? How can hype not be genuine? Are people objectively enthusiastic about Pokemon Go? Yes, yes they are. So then the hype/enthusiasm is real. What does it matter how people got to be hyped? Whether you discovered a game by yourself, whether a close friend told you about it or whether you caught the Pokemon bug by listening to the deafening rumble of the internet community, if the end result is the same (you being excited about a game) what does it matter how you got there? The idea that people are being pressured to like the game would be bad indeed... if it were true. I have a hard time believing that people are being forced into it and that there are people who hate it but are pretending to like it because everybody else does. This is the internet we are talking about, a place of so many differing opinions (popular or unpopular) and so many mouths that are willing to voice those opinions (often in barely legible caps filled tirades ) that the thought of people not wanting to "rock the boat", as it were, by voicing those opinions because the majority thinks otherwise is just silly. If there are people like that then the problems is with them and not the game itself.
The game play issues you mentioned are something I would have to agree with at least partially. I have played multiple Pokemon games and the fact that you can't battle with other people or that you can't properly advance your Pokemon was a bit disappointing but first off, this is just the beginning. Who knows if there will be a sequel or even an update or patch that will resolve the issues you mentioned. And secondly, just because you didn't get a perfect game and there is room for improvement doesn't mean that all the aspects of the game that are awesome are somehow now null and void.
I've never heard of this Ingress game you speak of, but bitching about one game getting popular while another similar game doesn't is just stupid. This is something that happens in the gaming industry all the time. Sometimes one game will win over the other because of specific differences in game play or visual style or whatever, but sometimes it will be none of those things and a certain game will prevail because, for some unknowable reason, it simply clicked more with people. That's just the way things are... always susceptible to the whims of the consumers.
As for the idiots getting into traffic accidents and getting killed, that's just human stupidity. Blaming Pokemon Go for that is the same as blaming Marilyn Manson for the Columbine shooting or the Batman movie for that Joker psycho who shot up a cinema. It's not the game/movie/musician's fault, it's the fault of deranged people using them as an excuse. If you think hunting for Pokemon while driving or breaking into a place is a good idea, it's not because the game made you think that way, it's because you are a moron... period... end of story!
I happen to believe that Pokemon Go is an awesome game. It's the healthiest and most proactive type of gaming we have ever seen in our lifetime. The only thing we are in agreement with is that this craze will only lead to more amazing AR games and that is a beautiful thing

I disagree on so many things, but let me start with what I agree with...
You have a point when you say that people getting killed over Pokemon is not the game's fault but people being idiots. I could make an argument about how the game contributes to this by encouraging people to do stupid shit with it's very existence but by that logic you could blame practically anything for something a stupid person did... points to you.
I can also agree that the problem with people blindly following a trend that the majority has deemed popular and conforming to the will of the masses is a problem with, well, the people, but you can't pass all the blame to them. The world we live in now is so geared toward consumerism and making a profit that businesses (including the video game industry) and society itself encourages and reinforces that herd mentality, shoving shit down your throat while cheerfully telling you "Hey. everybody else is doing it, why don't you?". So you can't really chalk it all of to people being sheeple. Society does it's best to make us that way.
As for not believing that people are not willing to "rock the boat" and just blindly follow what is trending, that's conformism 101! Granted, there has never before been such an amount of dissenting voices and differing opinions as there is now in the age of the internet, but the vast majority of people are still just going wit the flow and not thinking for themselves. Like I already said, I've had several friends, who I know in their heart of hearts don't really like Pokemon, suddenly start talking about Pokemon Go as the best thing to happen to this world since McDonalds brought back the McRib.
As for bitching about gameplay issues and undeserved popularity. Here's the thing, I'm not angry that a game is not absolutely perfect on it's first go (Like you said, that's what sequels and patches are for), but when a game like that, with so much obvious room for improvement, is advertised as the greatest thing ever I do get angry... as I believe I should. Especially when there are better versions of that same game out there. You say this happens all the time in the industry but if you ask me it is a sad day indeed when marketing and not quality is the primary reason for the overwhelming success of some product... any product, be it game, movie, book or music.

Meh. Agree to disagree then
I guess I just don't care about sheeple as you call them