Chad Warden is widely recognized as one of YouTube's most infamous trolls. The online persona, created by Anthony Pinto (born April 20, 1984), gained notoriety for his controversial opinions regarding video game consoles.
Chad Warden in his second YouTube video, driving a Cadillac Escalade.
The Rise of Chad Warden
The "console wars" have been around since the 1990s, after the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis, when Sega began their "Genesis does what Nintendon't" marketing campaign. These debates would become very heated and would eventually be known as the "console wars". These console wars would continue to occur every time another major video game console was either announced or released and they arguably became more heated with the spread of the Internet into mainstream culture during the 1990's and 2000's.
Around the time of the release of the seventh generation of video game consoles (the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii) in 2005, many Internet users began debating which console of the three was the best. Many found these "wars" and the vitriol they produced inane, so some began making fun of it and satirizing it.
On March 13, 2007, Anthony Pinto created a YouTube account under the username "chadwardenn" and uploaded a video titled "Why PS3 is better than the Wii and 360".
Read also: The Life of Chad Everett Harris
The Infamous Video
On March 13, 2007, under the username of chadwardenn, Tony uploaded his first video on to YouTube entitled: "Why the PS3 is better than the Wii and 360". This video states reasons that would be reflected by any other fanboy, but the reason why this video is so famous is because he portrays a fanboy that is severely misinformed. Three of these points were direct refutations of common criticisms of the PlayStation 3. In accordance with the standards of early YouTube videos about video games, Warden's video was of him holding a camera up to his face and talking into it. It had several cuts; these have never been explained.
In Chad’s videos, he made a number of statements to portray the opinion that the Playstation 3 is better than the Wii and the Xbox 360; giving erroneous reasons as to why this is. Although the majority of viewers initially took his statements and face value, causing people to react with anger, Chad did not stand behind what he was saying. To a seasoned viewer, Chad was trolling.
Reaction to the video was largely negative, as many people were quick to take the statements in the video at face value, not realizing that Warden was most likely a troll. Warden was criticized not only for the arguments that he made, but also for his production choices (use of Jim Jones' "We Fly High" as intro and outro music, swiveling in his chair) and his choice of words (frequent use of swears and racial epithets, referring to the PlayStation 3 as the "P.S. Triple"). Some believed that the video was merely an attempt at viral marketing by Sony. As of October 11, 2007, it had a rating of 2/5 stars after 15,843 votes on its YouTube page.
Along with writing negative and critical comments on the original video, many people were quick to create video responses to harshly criticize and insult Chad and his views. One of these people was a YouTube user named "ThatFunkyHippo", who uploaded a video response. In this video, a man wearing a hoodie expressed doubt that Warden had a job or could afford a PlayStation 3 and then demanded that he "get off the internet" and YouTube.
"Chad nigga be ballin"
Soon after receiving many video responses claiming that he couldn't afford the PS3 or the Cadillac himself, he uploaded a second video entitled: "Chad nigga be ballin" In this short video, he drives around in his Cadillac, and shows that he does indeed have money. On March 19, 2007, Chad Warden uploaded a video titled "Chad n**** be ballin", which was primarily a response to ThatFunkyHippo's video response. In this video, Warden disproved the allegations first by driving around for a bit in his Cadillac Escalade, an expensive vehicle. He then cut away from his computer screen to show two piles of $100 bills spread out on his desk. This video also received many negative video responses that claim that it was his mother's Cadillac and that he used Monopoly money.
Read also: "Married to Evil": Chad Graves
"Why the PS3 is better than the 360/Wii PART 2 NIGGAZ"
One month later, he uploaded another video entitled: "Why the PS3 is better than the 360/Wii PART 2 NIGGAZ" In this video, he explains why Nintendo isn't aware of what a legitimate party is, and that the PS3 is "As Balla As Possible" (ABAP). Chad Warden uploaded his third video, which was titled "Why the PS3 is better than the Wii/360 PART 2 N****Z", on April 16, 2007. He shifted his focus from the PlayStation 3's and its competitors' overall qualities to each console's games. The Mario Party series, which he dismissed for the absence of, among other things, hydroponically grown marijuana, 40-oz. alcoholic beverages, and the sipping of "syrup", also known as "purple drank". Super Smash Bros. Instead of talking about the PlayStation 3's games, Warden offered hypothetical PS3 alternatives to the games that he criticized - namely, Devil May Run Up On A n**** , Pussy-Ass Party, and Def Jam Bros.
Warden in his third and last YouTube video.
He also explained the secret to Sony's success in ensuring that the PlayStation 3 had the best selection of games: a policy and acronym known as A.B.A.P. Warden's third video had even more frequent and more obvious cuts in it than his first one. Some came in the middle of sentences, and others jumped to Warden in a different place from the one he had previously been in.
"Why the PS3 is better than the Wii/360 PART 2 N****Z" was received mostly negatively. As of October 29, 2007, it had a rating of 2/5 stars on YouTube. It was the second-most-viewed of Warden's three videos; despite coming out almost a month after "Chad n**** be ballin," it had been viewed over 20,000 more times than that video as of October 2007. Neither of them could match the success of Warden's first video, which, as of October 2007, had more than three times as many views as either of the other two.
This was the last video that showed his face as Chad Warden rather than Tony Pinto.
Read also: Vallow-Daybell Trial: Key Evidence
The Unmasking and Aftermath
On December 4, 2007, a YouTube user by the username "knguyen05" uploaded a video titled "PINTOBEANZY", which showed Anthony Pinto with his friends eating sushi at a restaurant. This was the first video on YouTube of Pinto not playing the Chad Warden character.
Pinto out of character as he appears in "PINTOBEANZY".
On May 2, 2008, the chadwardenn YouTube channel was deleted along with all of the original videos. Re-uploads of all his videos still exist on YouTube, but the reasons for this decision still remain unknown. One theory is that Pinto shut down the channel after knguyen05's videos were uploaded because they revealed that "Chad Warden" was a pseudonym and revealed Pinto's true identity.
The Return and Legacy
But most recently, on February 21, 2013, Tony uploaded a photo of his alter ego, Chad holding a slip of paper that reads: "Still Ballin", on neogaf. On February 21, 2013, a photograph of Chad Warden was taken and posted online. The image showed Chad holding a piece of paper that read "2/21/13 STILL BALLIN".
Chad Warden's 2013 photo.
After the first video was uploaded, Chad Warden gained fame in the YTMND and YouTube Poop communities, generating numerous amounts of memetic responses to his popular videos. One form of video in particular was to take the Chad Warden videos and "sentence-mix" them to make it sound like Chad Warden is saying different things. This fame would continue as more videos were uploaded to the chadwardenn channel.
The first well-known use of Chad Warden's videos was "Megalovania (OST Version) - Undertale", in which Chad, throught the usage of sentence mixing, expressed his approval of rips using "Snow halation" and his disapproval of people who frequently dislike these rips "just because [the rips are] Asian". The next notable video featuring Chad was "Megalovania (Beta Mix) - EarthBound Halloween Hack". In this video, Chad expressed sentiments that were similar to the ones in his last video, but this time, he explained how he didn't care if people didn't like "Snow halation", but he did care about people dislike-bombing in general, as this would ruin the surprise for others.
During SilvaGunner: Rebooted, Chad Warden was approached by The Voice Inside Your Head to decide the fate of the SiIvaGunner channel. The Voice accused Chad of causing the "civil" war in the fan base over "Snow halation", and so moved the channel to an alternate reality where several memes were replaced (such as "Snow halation" with "GO MY WAY!!"). Chad accepts the deal, merging the two universes and causing "Snow halation" to disappear. However, it is revealed that "Snow halation" was not destroyed, and Chad makes a speech praising "Snow halation" and stressing that SiIvaGunner would not be the same without it. Chad sacrifices himself to kill the Voice, but later The Voice returns... In an alternate ending / universe, Chad betrays The Voice and kills "Snow halation".
Console Wars - PS3 vs Xbox 360 (Starring Chad Warden)
Chadwardenn is one of the least understood trolls in the history of the internets. Only about 5% of people see the satirical humor in his classic YouTube videos, the other 95% are idiots and have taken everything he said at face value. These are the kind of mindless fucks who still think the expired, overrated old meme rickrolling is still funny.
Chad Warden was an online persona created by Anthony Pinto (born April 20, 1984) that is often regarded as one of YouTube’s most infamous trolls.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Anthony Pinto (Chad Warden) |
| Born | April 20, 1984, in Houston, Texas |
| Known For | YouTube videos portraying a misinformed PS3 fanboy |
| YouTube Account | chadwardenn (deleted on May 2, 2008) |
| First Video | "Why the PS3 is better than the Wii and 360" (March 13, 2007) |
Popular articles:
tags: #Chad
