The term 'Gamer'

Let me start this post by saying that I don't mean to sound elitist in any way. I am a big gamer and play almost every day (thankfully the other half is quite the gamer as well :D ), but I don't expect all gamers to have the time/interest to do so.

I am becoming a bit confused by what actually classes as a Gamer nowadays. It feels as though the term just gets slapped on anyone who owns a games console. Reading a recent gamespot article titled '84% of children are now gamers' made me wonder how we decide what a 'gamer' is now. I dunno, I guess I get irritated by someone who plays Brain Training on the bus being lumped into the same catagory as those of us who have bested MW2 on Veteran the same way as Picasso would get a bit p**sed by someone doodling stickmen on lined paper being called an artist.

We gamers have been around the block. We were there when Halo was good, we were there when it sucked, and we were still there when it turned good again. We were there when GTA was top down and had a half hour long soundtrack. We're lvl 80's in full raid armor, we beat Ultima Weapon, we shot people in the finger with the Golden Gun, we unlocked the Star world. I just don't think that's the same as spending a train ride with Proffessor Layton then chucking your DS back in your bag til next week. I guess it's just because I've been an avid gamer for so long and it gets on my nerves that anybody that can wave a WiiMote is seen as being 'my catagory of person'.

views? Again, sorry if i sound elitist, I'm really not. I love that something I'm passionate about is reaching out to people and becoming less and less of an obscure hobby populated by the overweight, dice rolling minority, I just wish the media could differentiate between a gamer and someone-who-has-played-a-game-at-least-once-in-the-last-6-months.

Idk... Gamer seems like a genre with a ton of sub genres. I however always depicted a gamer as someone who spends most of their time playing video games.

I agree completely. Some of my friends consider themselves 'gamers' when all they really do is play Fifa 10 and Rockband every other month.

You make a valid point and I agree. Blog it and try to get it featured in the Soapbox.

You make a valid point and I agree. Blog it and try to get it featured in the Soapbox.

--Thomas--

how do you put something forward for soapbox? I havent really done much other than muck about on the forums thus far...

EDIT: Figured it out, thanks :D

I think it doesn't really matter, if you play games you're a gamer. Even if a person only plays casually they are still playing games so there is nothing wrong with calling them a gamer. Sure there are those who play more than others, and you can call them "hardcore", but it doesn't dismiss the fact that they are also classified as gamers.

I think it doesn't really matter, if you play games you're a gamer. Even if a person only plays casually they are still playing games so there is nothing wrong with calling them a gamer. Sure there are those who play more than others, and you can call them "hardcore", but it doesn't dismiss the fact that they are also classified as gamers.

HaLoMaStErJT

But just because someone kicks a football around it doesnt make them a footballer... it just means you kicked a ball. Just because you played a game once it doesnt make you a gamer, it just means you played a game.

I think it doesn't really matter, if you play games you're a gamer. Even if a person only plays casually they are still playing games so there is nothing wrong with calling them a gamer. Sure there are those who play more than others, and you can call them "hardcore", but it doesn't dismiss the fact that they are also classified as gamers.

HaLoMaStErJT

If somebody enjoys the film "The Dark Knight", does that automatically make them a Batman or a comic book fan?

Even though I really enjoyed the movie and have seen it at least 5-10 times, I wouldn't label myself as a Batman fan, considering that I bear almost zero interest in the comic books or its literature.

[QUOTE="HaLoMaStErJT"]

I think it doesn't really matter, if you play games you're a gamer. Even if a person only plays casually they are still playing games so there is nothing wrong with calling them a gamer. Sure there are those who play more than others, and you can call them "hardcore", but it doesn't dismiss the fact that they are also classified as gamers.

wraithbladeuk

But just because someone kicks a football around it doesnt make them a footballer... it just means you kicked a ball. Just because you played a game once it doesnt make you a gamer, it just means you played a game.

Nobody's claiming playing a game once in your life makes one a gamer, the TC is complaining that people who play the 'wrong' games, don't play games more than they do anything else (must be nice to be independently wealthy and live a life of leisure) or don't play games often enough.

I'm being gaming for 31 years and never saw 'gamer' as a title, just as a label applied to people who play videogames. I completely agree with Halomaster.

I'd have to completely agree with the TC on this. I've been a gamer for 28 years, i've stuck by it, nurtured it, put money into it and persisted with it. I am a gamer. I'd hardly call someone who waves a wii-mote around for 10 minutes a day, who's just got into the "fad", a gamer.

As much as I think the whole "casual gamer" market is good for the gaming industry as a whole, these people have only just got into it cos its now deemed socially acceptable. We've had to endure the many years of beng told to grow up, now things have changed.

I'd have to completely agree with the TC on this. I've been a gamer for 28 years, i've stuck by it, nurtured it, put money into it and persisted with it. I am a gamer. I'd hardly call someone who waves a wii-mote around for 10 minutes a day, who's just got into the "fad", a gamer.

As much as I think the whole "casual gamer" market is good for the gaming industry as a whole, these people have only just got into it cos its now deemed socially acceptable. We've had to endure the many years of beng told to grow up, now things have changed.

Dollar75

We should start an uprising ;)

[QUOTE="Dollar75"]

I'd have to completely agree with the TC on this. I've been a gamer for 28 years, i've stuck by it, nurtured it, put money into it and persisted with it. I am a gamer. I'd hardly call someone who waves a wii-mote around for 10 minutes a day, who's just got into the "fad", a gamer.

As much as I think the whole "casual gamer" market is good for the gaming industry as a whole, these people have only just got into it cos its now deemed socially acceptable. We've had to endure the many years of beng told to grow up, now things have changed.

wraithbladeuk

We should start an uprising ;)

What do we want? People who play one game every 6 months not to be labelled a gamer!! When do we want it? NOW!!

It's a term that only has an equivalent in movies, I think, which is "moviegoer", a term that refers to anybody that goes to the cinema. That's why I don't like the term "gamer", and much prefer "video game enthusiast".

In my opinion, a video game enthusiast is somebody who has played/plays a lot of video games, and a lot of different kinds of video games, on a regular basis. So somebody that plays Peggle 10 hours a day is not a video game enthusiast, but a Peggle enthusiast.

It's a term that only has an equivalent in movies, I think, which is "moviegoer", a term that refers to anybody that goes to the cinema. That's why I don't like the term "gamer", and much prefer "video game enthusiast".

In my opinion, a video game enthusiast is somebody who has played/plays a lot of video games, and a lot of different kinds of video games, on a regular basis. So somebody that plays Peggle 10 hours a day is not a video game enthusiast, but a Peggle enthusiast.

Greatgone12

Damn I'd hate to be a peggle enthusiast...

There are two definitions two every word; the one that is objectively present, and the one that is subjectively present in the transmitter/receiver of the word. It's easier to communicate when the two are the same, but often they aren't. When I say I am a gamer, do you truly know what I mean? Do I mean that I occasionally play Tetris and a few other puzzle games, and had a three month affair with World of Warcraft? Or do I mean that I regularly play a variety of games, including niche ones? You have no way of knowing; all you can do is make an educated guess based on context. I mean, this is the essence of numerous post-graduate existential hazes, but it goes back to this--if you don't know, gaining clarification is not hard. If someone says, "she's a gamer" or "he's not a gamer", ask for clarification. Just don't expect to understand the intention of the person who used the word "gamer" without further context or clarification; in circles such as these, it's so multi-layered in its meaning, that it depends almost entirely upon its intention to gain a precise meaning. Much like the word "art".

ive been playing games since the early eighties. so im a gamer.

ive been watching movies all my life, am i a filmer?

i love music, have a vast amount of cds. am i a musicer?

its a hobby. not a label.

I'd have to completely agree with the TC on this. I've been a gamer for 28 years, i've stuck by it, nurtured it, put money into it and persisted with it. I am a gamer. I'd hardly call someone who waves a wii-mote around for 10 minutes a day, who's just got into the "fad", a gamer.

As much as I think the whole "casual gamer" market is good for the gaming industry as a whole, these people have only just got into it cos its now deemed socially acceptable. We've had to endure the many years of beng told to grow up, now things have changed.

Dollar75

I'd have to completely agree with the TC on this. I've been a gamer for 28 years, i've stuck by it, nurtured it, put money into it and persisted with it. I am a gamer. I'd hardly call someone who waves a wii-mote around for 10 minutes a day, who's just got into the "fad", a gamer.

As much as I think the whole "casual gamer" market is good for the gaming industry as a whole, these people have only just got into it cos its now deemed socially acceptable. We've had to endure the many years of beng told to grow up, now things have changed.

Dollar75

I personally dont think that people who dont play games often should be labeled as gamers, I watch a movie once every few months, but im not a movie enthusiast, thus people who dont play often should not be called gamers.

then again, as long as my gaming experiences arent affected in any way, I really dont care what new gamers are called......

I personally dont think that people who dont play games often should be labeled as gamers, I watch a movie once every few months, but im not a movie enthusiast, thus people who dont play often should not be called gamers.

then again, as long as my gaming experiences arent affected in any way, I really dont care what new gamers are called......

Darkman2007

^this

It just grates on me a lil tiny bit, the same way i bet it grates on people who call themselves Star Wars fans and get lumped in with people who liked the prequel trilogy when it was on in the cinema :P

I wasn't saying it was the be all and end all, just a tiny gripe.

If video games are a big part of your life then you're a gamer. If you've only played Guitar Hero and your first and only console so far is a Wii, I won't consider you a gamer.

If video games are a big part of your life then you're a gamer. If you've only played Guitar Hero and your first and only console so far is a Wii, I won't consider you a gamer.

neo_starwind