who knows about the fan part, I think if you've played one game in a series and you really like it you can be a 'fan', but a true player of a game series? I think not. For example, one thing I know is players who only played Reach and Halo 4 cannot call themselves true Halo players. They cna be fans all they want but will never be a real player for the series. The same would apply to any other game series where a person only played say the newest version and never experienced the previous games where gameplay was better. Another example would be Gears Judgement. I wouldn't call someone who has only played Judgement and never played 1, 2, or 3 a true Gears player. Halo 4 and Reach morons can talk all the nonsense they want (praising themselves on the biased 343 forums with their overly protective mods who ban anyone that speaks the truth) about what they think Halo is or all their 'knowledge' / 'skills' but the fact remains they've never truly played a real Halo game with classic arena style where skill mattered and gimmicks like AA's don't get in the way. They would be utterly decimated if they tried to play the real Halo game once they find out the true meaning of core Halo gameplay. This statement can apply to any game series as I've said before. I have only played say FFXIII and FFXIII-2. While FXIII has got me interested in that game series it would be fair to say I am a 'fan' of that game. I love the character Lightning a lot, I even have a massive fabric poster of her on my wall, I truly have become a fan of at least that game (FFXIII, not so much -2). [i]However[/i], there is no way I could say I am a [b]true Final Fantasy player[/b] since I am [b]ignorant[/b] in what the other FF games are like and my opinion on the series is blinded by only what I have played. This does not necessarily mean it is wrong for me to enjoy FFXIII but I certainly cannot compete or have any valid argument against someone who has played them all and know far more in the scope fo Final Fantasy and what it's core gameplay has been like. This is why Reach/Halo 4 morons frustrate me so much. I have no problem with them enjoying those games, they can have at it all they want. But when they say crap like "This game is great and you are stupid for liking bad Halo 3" to us they have crossed the line and a truly ignorant. We then find out they played like 5 games of Halo 3, got wrecked, and come to the conclusion that Halo 3 sucked and because Reach/Halo 4 gives them crutches to do well. They say we are just a bunch of nostalgic idiots who can't 'adapt' when the reality is we know more about Halo than they ever will, can, or understand. This is like me telling a Final Fantasy player (who has played them all) to 'adapt' to FFXIII gameplay and if they don't like it they can deal with it. So in conclusion, I believe anyone can be a fan of a game series (some more than others depending on amount of time spent in that series). But to be a true player (and have an opinion on a game series I consider worth listening to) of a game series you must be one who was there from the start / experienced the game at it's peak (especially for MP games like Halo has) to truly be an inheritor of that series.

What is a fan? A miserable little pile of Loyalty!