Japanese for Gamers 101: Attack of the Fanboys

Some gamers are followers of the Way of Nintendo. Still others were saved through the Faith of Sega. There are also those who have seen the Holy Light of PlayStation. The Japanese have an appropriately religious term for these people.

Word: 信者
Romanization/phonetic: shinja/ pronounced “shinja” to rhyme with “ninja”.
Etymology: Japanese word for a religious follower/believer.
Definition: Japanese equivalent of fanboy.
Origin: Common Japanese word.

Notes:
It’s funny. I’ve always thought the devotees of the various consoles were a lot like religious fanatics. It seems the Japanese feel the same way about their fanboys. Just like the English word fanboy, shinja is simply added to whatever brand has made the person in question its bitch. Thus, a Nintendo fanboy is called a “Nintendo shinja”, a Sega fanboy is a “Sega shinja”, a Sony fanboy is a “Sony shinja” and an Xbox fanboy… doesn’t exist in Japan. The word can also be used in non-gaming contexts. C.f. “Beatles shinja”, “Unix shinja”, “anaru sekkusu shinja” etc.

I’ll let you work that last one out for yourself.