First of all what is a gamer? Well I'll save that for another blog.

Without going into too much detail a gamer, in my opinion is self-identified. For instance a person who owns an Xbox One who only plays COD and FIFA may say they are a gamer; a person who owns a Wii U, Xbox One, PS4 and a PC may say they are gamer; and a person who only plays mobile games may say they are a gamer. I think because there is no clear definition, and also because they self-identify as such, that they all qualify as gamers. But do I?

Personally I think there is no better time to be a gamer, the options are almost endless. So why don't I play video games that much anymore? When I was a child I would play video games for a few hours at a time ever other day and it was great, passing the hours and generally having a great time. Then during the awkward puberty years I would literally play video games all weekend, using them as a form of escape. My teen years saw a massive scale back and a return to general enjoyment. What I did not anticipate was my early adult years in which I used video games to just pass the time. Now I'm in in my mid-twenties and I have random spurts where I play video games for 2-4 months at a time and then I go up 6 months without playing a single game. It seems like now I only play video games just for the sense of accomplishment, some might say trophy/achievement whoring. I rarely enjoying playing just for the fun of it. As a result I have yet to decide to actually buy a Wii U, Xbox One or PS4.

But at the same time something interesting happened. As I started playing less games I became more interested in the industry as a whole. I began to follow games that I knew I would never play just to see what their impact would have on the industry. I also began to follow respected reporters within the industry. Now E3 is more exciting than any game release. I now spend more time watching panel discussion videos, commenting on feeds and reading articles on gaming than I actually do playing games.

A positive from this was that I was able to shed my "fanboy" tendencies (I still prefer a specific console producer), but I began to appreciate what each player brought to the scene. As a result I now look at the industry objectively and have consequently shed my jadedness with what the industry has to offer. Sure I have my opinions on what should be done, and I am also disappointed in how some things have turned out; but gamers have it so good now compared to when I was a child.

So the question still remains the same. Am I a gamer? For me, there probably will never be a definitive answer to that question because I often go back and forth between yes and no. Am I gamer? Well today as am writing this . . . . . . . . . . Yes I am a gamer. Tomorrow? Who knows, I may be a son, a brother, a boyfriend, an employee, an astronomer, a runner . . . . . . . . . basically whatever I choose to self-identify with that day.