Forgive me if this topic sounds stupid but i have some thoughts that are conflicting and i just want some opinions on this, what do you all consider a sonic fan? do they have to be a fanatic or can you be called a sonic fan if you have a slight interest in it? i always thought i was quite a good sonic fan but i just got wondering.
Are you not much of a sonic fan even if you have been into sonic most your life? and played the sonic games most of your life?.
Are you a lousy fan if your aware that the newer games may have their problems, though you dont think there CRAP but some dont quite interest you so you dont buy them? (of course, you may not have the money to buy the games nor a next gen console).
And what about all those lessons in school, college and university you spent doodling sonic and his friends and fancharacters?. Even spending art lessons drawing sonic pictures when you should have been drawing still life or other stuff like that? does that not count as being a sonic fan?
Then there's the merchandise, though you may or may not buy the games you enjoy the comics if not all just a select amount, enjoy the cartoons even when some dont like particular ones (Sonic underground for example) i enjoy that but i know people out there dont like it.
But merchandise like toys, plushies, hats etc, are you not much of a fan of you dont buy every single bit of merch but just the ones you really REALLY want?.
i just want to hear what others think, i always thought interest strength varys but it still makes a person a fan since they are associating themselves with sonic : /
A better question is, who is judging the strength of a person's fandom? The answer to that question is no one that matters. The only one whose opinion that matters is yours.
If you've only played the games since...say...Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the Gamecube, and you're comfortable and okay with that, that's all that matters. Someone else may disagree with you and say that you missed out on series' golden age, but that opinion only matters for as much as you give it weight. If you only read the Archie comics, and don't play the games at all, if that's fine with you, then it's fine. If you just play the games and nothing else, that's fine too. If you've played and owned every game, bought every piece of Sonic merchandise ever and cosplay at conventions, that's fine too.
Don't put too much weight in the opinions of others, and when you're formulating your own opinion of yourself, make sure you put it in the context of what you really want. There is no contest for best fan ever. Be the fan you're comfortable being.
For example, I've been watching anime since about 1998, but I've never gone to an anime convention. It just doesn't feel like my sort of thing. Does that make me a bad anime fan? No, because A) No one is out there judging my anime fan-ness (and if they are I don't care about their opinion anyway) and b) I don't define myself by how good an anime fan I am, so the whole conversation is moot anyway.
So yeah, don't get too hung up on this.
thanks alot for the reply : ) it gave me just what i wanted, someone elses opinion and puts my mind at rest, cheers!
Anyone who says "You're not a Sonic fan if..." is what we on the internet call an "ELITIST" these people just say this kind of thing, 8 times out of 10, to hype up their l337ness and how much trivia they know, how much stuff they have etc etc.
The other like, 2 times in 10 are when someone is being a bit of a fool, for instance going around saying they are the #1 Sonic fan of all time and that they watched SatAM since it started and hate the games because he has green eyes and not Urkel voice. But generally those people are lamers, and lamers and l337 are just drawn together like a twisted abusive couple.
So, really, what defines a fan is what a fan is. A fan is someone who likes something. The only arguement that can be made is "is a Sonic fan still a Sonic fan if they are no longer a fan of modern day Sonic"
Which is to say "Is a Queen fan still a Queen fan if they haven't listened to the albums released after Freddie Mercury's death" or "Is a Terminator Fan still a Terminator Fan if they paid money to see Rise of the Machines".
In other words. You like Sonic, in any shape or size, you're a fan. What TYPE of fan, is always up for debate, but at least a fan.
thanks for the reply craig, that really broadens my understanding 
What's Sonic?
Craig, Srol, you two have just typed the most beautiful things I have ever read.
But back on topic, it's true that there are several people out there who will try to tell you that you're not a fan because: "You didn't do this", "You don't have that issue", "You're not wearing these", or "You don't know all of that". Truthfully, all of this goes back to the bullying factor. As every school has a bully, so does every fan base. They're just trying to make themselves feel better by making fun of you for this or that, but ultimatly they end up showing just how pathetic they really are.
i agree it does seem rather reminiscent of the old school yard bully, though its rather sad that fellow fans of the same fandoms would do that : /.
Hey, it's a cruel world.
wear that sonic hat more often, moreta. *fandom peer pressure* :p
I wholeheartedly agree with Craig and Srol. I have nothing further to add.
yeah same here i started out quite the sonic freak but that was because i had no internet so anything i could find to do with sonic made me all "OMFG!" happy, i have grown up playing sonic, drawing sonic and dismissing everything else, well maye not Farscape but now im much older and i have developed an awful lot of interests, so i dont want to dedicate all my time to sonic : ). its when people turn around and say stuff to me aout their interest like "oh MY interest in sonic is serious, its not casual" but you know what they say, internet is a serious buisness : p
If you actually enjoy something(and not going along with what others like), you are indeed a fan of it. It's that simple.
Sonic FANATICS, as in, the people who are literally OBSESSED with it in every single regard, are creepy.
Fans are cool. I'm a fan. Of the old games anyway.
