Update: Michael Pachter was misquoted by Daily Star, which claimed he made the following statements in the original article below. Pachter has since issued a statement to Gamertics stating that he said no such things, nor does he hold any of the views in the quotes attributed to him about PC gamers.
He wrote:
I had never heard of the Daily Star, and if the interview is the one I recall (live at the PlayStation event in New York a couple of weeks ago), I didn’t catch the name of the “reporter” or of his outlet.
I most certainly said that PS4 Pro would not likely appeal to PC Gamers, as the GPU was probably not up to the typical PC Gamer spec, and I am certain I said PC gamers were “insular”.
When pressed to explain “insular”, I believe that I elaborated by saying “like religion, race or politics, PC gamers tend to stick with people who are like minded”. I very likely said “like racists” when asked to elaborate further, but clearly was joking, however inappropriate.
Of one thing, I am certain: I have never used the word “twit” in my life. The reporter I am thinking of was British, and likely misunderstood something I said. I am sure I said PC gamers are arrogant, as are PS Fanboys and Xbots, for that matter.
Appreciate your reaching out. I’ve done thousands of interviews and hundreds of video blogs without revealing my true nature (kidding), and I don’t consider PC gamers to be “deplorable” as the article suggested.
Original post follows:
Michael Pachter, the video games industry analyst best known for his previously hosted show on GameTrailers has compared PC gamers to racists. Speaking in an interview with Daily Star, the Wedbush Securities analyst weighed in on whether the recently announced PS4 Pro would manage to claim a slice of the PC gamer pie.
“I think PC gamers are like racists,” he said. “They only like their own kind and they have no interest in venturing out and mixing with other races.”
The analyst continued to slam PC gamers, stating that they are “arrogant twits who are convinced what they do is better than what anybody else can possibly do.”
Given that PC games have mods and support for all manner of hardware with few, if any limitations, it would actually be correct to assert that PC gamers are far better off than their console counterparts when it comes to certain gaming experiences, such as Fallout 4 and GTA V.
Pachter had a much kinder view of console gamers, stating that Xbox owners would be more likely to be swayed by Sony’s new console.
As a gamer who spends equal time on the PC as well as the PlayStation 4, Pachter’s comments are irrational, unfair, and betray a bias against PC-oriented gamers.
