Nintendo Switch Karma Whoring Parodies

Submission 22,977

About

Nintendo Switch Karma Whoring Parodies refers to posts on numerous subreddits made in parody of a common type of post on the subreddit /r/gaming in which a person tells a sad story then provides a picture of a gaming-related image or a console, often the Nintendo Switch. These sorts of posts are unpopular with certain users who see them as a means of getting easy upvotes and not always truthful. In the parodies, posters create elaborate sob stories and which have nothing to do with gaming, then post a picture featuring a Nintendo Switch. Some edits have been created in a minimalist style a la Loss.

Origin

A common trope on Reddit and particularly on /r/gaming sees people sharing sad stories and featuring gaming moments that made them feel better. For example, a March 31st, 2015 post on /r/childfree^[1] titled "I had a vasectomy yesterday and when I woke up this morning my wife surprised me with this" showed an image of an Xbox One and xbox games, gaining over 790 points (shown below, left). On December 14th, 2018, a post on /r/gaming showed friends who'd purchased their friends a Nintendo Switch after his house burned down, gaining over 9,300 points (shown below, right).

Spread

Parodies of these posts had appeared as early as June of 2018. On June 18th, 2018, Redditor SilverMars posted a Toddposting parody that resembled a typical sad-story, gaining 118 points (shown below, left). The format became much more popular in February of 2019, when it grew popular on subreddits including /r/gamingcirclejerk, /r/coaxedintoasnafu, and /r/circlejerk. For example, a post by appamaniac to /r/circlejerk on February 12th gained over 3,200 points (shown below, right).

Other edits took a more minimalist approach, using artistic representations of the Switch via its red and blue color scheme. For example, Redditor FranceSurrenderLOL posted "I'm on antidepressants" with red, white, and blue pills, gaining over 780 points (shown below, left). User Wubz_Jackson posted an example in which two Fruit Loops represented the Switch, gaining over 530 points (shown below, right). An inquiry about the posts was posted to /r/OutOfTheLoop^[2] on February 13th.

20 Minute Wait

On April 26th, 2019, Redditor CharlesTCheeseman posted a picture of him playing his Switch on line at a Target with the caption, "The cashier at Target said that it would be a 20-minute wait. Awesome"^[3] (shown below).

The post was then crossposted to /r/gamingcirclejerk^[4] with the title, "I took a picture of a switch while queuing up in target, give me karma," gaining over 800 points. The post became a meme on the subreddit, as people photoshopped the picture of the man holding the Switch into various scenarios and adjusted the caption to fit the image. For example, Redditor Tier161 posted a holocaust joke, gaining over 1,100 points (shown below, left). User senll^[5] made one of the most popular jokes on the subreddit, gaining over 12,000 points (shown below, right).