Don't Use the Word "Gamer"

[kintaris]

I don't really see much evidence of the 'gamer' stigma in England. I work in Game, and even we don't call each other Gamers, even though that would make sense in some sickening HR move to make us more approachable in the store.

I disagree with the point about there not being avid film-goers or book-readers, though. Sure they might not go around wearing the name (again, not that I see much evidence of the 'gamer' branding in England anyway), but people staunchly defend reading as a medium, and others devoutly sing the praises of going to the cinema regularly.

I agree that the way that... gamers (OK the word is just horrible in itself, so I'm behind you there) tend to fling faeces at videogames' detractors is damaging to the medium's growth. But the answer isn't for us all to shut up and play videogames in private, that's how a medium stagnates and a stereotype ingrains itself with no opposition. What needs to happen instead is for more people who have a touch more finesse and reason in their debating skills to fly the flag of the... videogame player... to be proud of it and therefore be a catalyst in changing the minds of the masses who think we are all drooling idiots.

 

[Jonathan Wingo]

As I have, so far, avoided any oppression for labeling myself as a "gamer," I've always referred to myself as such. Now, seeing how in other places (generally in the social world that I, as a "gamer" rarely involve myself with), that there really is a negative connotation to the word "gamer"; I will stop referring to myself as such, and encourage my fellow gamers- I mean people who play video games, to refrain from using the word themselves.

 

[potatoko]

Well, I'm late to the ball, so this probably won't get read, but . . .

Seems like you'd particularly like to distance yourself from the concept of the sweaty neckbearded gamer. Move away from the concept that gamers are a community rather than a bunch of individuals who happen to play games. But you are dependent on that community, aren't you? Don't hate on it, man, people are never going to stop identifying each other through meaningless trivia, and the fact we have a sense of community is what keeps you in business. This whole post is strongly reminiscent of Mark Millers' hatred of the comic readers who pay his electricity bills.

I sort of agree about the girl gamers who use their gender to try to garner extra attention, rather than just playing the game, but I resent the idea we should take on false identities to pander to the ignorance and general insecurity of the gaming community. I will play with a girl avatar for the same reason you play with Guy Cleftjaw-McManlychin- I want to relate to the main character, thx. I find that, once I've been playing long enough to be better than the majority of players people stop believing me, anyway. The number of messages in my inbox calling me 'fag' attest to that.

. . . wait, why am I defending these people?

 

[MGlBlaze]

Actually you make fantastic points... also, did 'gamers' really send death-threats to those people? Wow. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatAnIdiot]

Anyway;
Good point about the word 'gamer', at least if it's used as some identifier thing about oneself, though the only time it really gets grating is when someone says 'girl gamer'. I think I read on this very site that something like 40% of the people who play games online are girls. They just don't make themselves known because a lot of the males are idiots, but that isn't really much different outside of virtual worlds either. Those that bleat it proudly are probably just looking for attention, but I would like to see the other more legitimate females out there not be afraid to plug in their microphone.
I for one will probably not use the word 'gamer' any more - at least not for any single person. I suppose it's a useful word to address a large group of people who play games, but it probably really shouldn't be used singularly.

 

[Melgrath]

First rule of gaming is: YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT GAMING
Second rule of gaming is: YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT GAMING
Third rule of gaming is: WHEN YOU LEAVE/TURN-OFF THE PLATFORM, THE GAMING IS OVER.
- 2-4 PLAYERS AT A TIME. MORE IF YOU'RE ONLINE.
- ONE GAME AT A TIME.
- GAMING WILL GO ON AS LONG AS IT HAS TO.
- IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST NIGHT OF GAMING, YOU HAVE TO PLAY.

Seriously.
Gears of war boxer-shorts? Cosplaying? Doodling video-game characters in your spare time?
Halo soundtrack on your I-pod? Blizzard sweater? Oblivion baseball-cap?
Wasn't there a time where those kinds of kids got beaten up for doing that?

I am behind Yahtzee.
One who plays video-games does not necessarily fit the "Gamer" image. More and more of the world's population are using technology for entertainment. There should be no prejudice, nor even cause for prejudice.

Dear Mr or Mrs. Gamer,
Gaming is not a part of your loser identity, so stop making the rest of us look bad!

Pretty much sums up my thoughts on this, word for word.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Can we use it ironically?

 

[Aureliano]

I dislike that it shares a denotative relationship to a compulsive gambler: "Gaming", ever heard of it? I get that Vegas wants a share of that sweet video game playing cash too, but seriously people.

Probably over half of the people anybody who goes outside knows, including friends who are ladies, probably plays video games, and that is only going to increase. You're not part of the tooth-brushing subculture if everybody brushes their teeth.

 

[-|-]

What a colossal dick. Nice shameless plug for your business. Without those very same gamers you openly ridicule, kids and men who are passionate about 'something', you'd be out of work. And people actually follow you, maybe even look up to you? I really somewhat liked your garbling rants but you lost me as fan..you're just a dick.

Nah, he's just insecure. Somebody must have said something about his business being for gamers and he took it personally and went off on one. I'm guessing he also feels a bit threatened by the marketing guys piece which makes a good stab at defining who gamers are.

 

[grandad1982]

Doctors in the UK aren't ment to call people with diabetes, diabetics anymore. Its felt that defining something a complicated and interesting as a person by one aspect of there life might be insulting.

Fairplay.

I've been playing games for nearly 20 years now and not once have I considered calling myself a "gamer". I have told people I play games and they still (if they are an arsehole) treat me like some kind of subhuman idiot for what I do, not how I describe myself.

I find this esspecially hard to deal with as I play a lot of Civ so I consider myself to be fairly mentally active and alert.

Oh well live and let live....

 

[Birdmad]

While I agree with some things pointed out and the article did open my eyes a bit to the "girl gamer" thing, that I never thought about, it's just ironic that, right below the article you can read: "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and GAMER with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder."

So, if you want to change the use of the word "gamer", perhaps you should stop using it in your description at the escapist? o.õ'

Sorry if someone did point that out already, I'm too lazy to read 7712665353 comments ^^'

Also, sorry about my bad English. It's not my native language.

 

[SnipErlite]

If you really want to be classified as "gamer", I have a handy dandy little chart so you can see what kind of gamer you are.

Spoiler

However thats only if you consider yourself a gamer, instead of simply "someone who play games".

From that, I'm no.23. I actually like games. With a dash of nostalgia.

Though really, while I'd say I was a gamer among most of the people I know I don't like it when they call me a gamer...They imagine a basement-dwelling guy with no life.

>.>

<.<

Okay I don't have much of a life, but oh well!

 

[William Dickbringer]

Extra Punctuation: Don't Use the Word "Gamer"

Not all gamers are sweaty manchildren playing games in their parent's basement. Some of them are actually normal.

Read Full Article

Like... you?

On topic, I agree. I don't use the word gamer anyhow... it carries with it a negative stigma that's sort of unappealing to be labelled as.

And yes, 'girl gamer' is the worst. As if it's something special to be a female who plays video games. The smart girls I know on the intertubes disguise their gender to simply get along with the game, rather than be bombarded with unwanted attention.

I think what he says about the girl gamers would be good on a tee shirt

 

[Bat Vader]

thank you yahtzee, but being a "gamer" used to be something to be proud of, we used to be "l33t" (lol), but now every tom, douche and dick head can play and took what used to make us friends and nerds and gamers. now it's just what people do on their day off.
well i say fuck it, i no longer consider myself a gamer, video games will become what "everyone does" so much it will become as normal as the movies they play at the cinema, watered down and meaningless

Being a gamer is still something to be proud of. How is it a bad thing that more people can play video games? It helps bring in more money to the industry and some of those people actually buy good games and helps support the developers that make them. Why does it matter if someone plays video games seven days a week or two days out of the week?

Some of the movies that are played at the cinema are quite good and unique. Not all movies are watered down.

 

[Ewoc]

well.. I can't say anything that all the hundreds of people haven't said.
So, I agree with you, enjoy your vacation, and congratulations with the Mana Bar. I hope it goes even better for you.

 

[DPSSOC]

We do call people bookworms and film geeks though and a lot of people proudly wear those hats. I don't see a problem with using the word gamer to describe a someone whose hobby is playing video games just because it doesn't matter too much to me to even worry about it.

Yes and if you want to hold on to gamer it should be reserved for people who've taken it to the same level of excess. I read, usually knocking out a book in a month, that does not make me a bookworm. When I was in highschool knocking out 5 books a week and being on a first name basis with every librarian in the city, then I was a bookworm.

Taking a title based on a hobby or past-time as a badge of honour should mean you've done something to deserve it. It should denote a level of excess that is, in it's own bizarre way, impressive in that it takes nothing away from normal life. I know true gamers, people who dedicate hours a day to playing games and hours more to researching future releases and hunting obscure titles. They are people who've spent money on storage space for their old systems and games, they've earned every achievement found every glitch, and can go through most games blindfolded. That's not impressive, that's actually rather pathetic (and I say this as someone who greatly enjoys playing videogames), what is impressive though is that with all this they still have normal lives. They work full-time, go on dates, hit the club, watch TV, etc. they're obsession has not dominated their life.

So I agree that gamer should stick around but it should be reserved for people who've earned it, who've taken playing videogames to a level of excess beyond comprehension. I am not a gamer any more than I am a movier, booker, or was a TVer until a few years ago when TV officially stopped being entertaining.

 

[kouriichi]

I'll have you know im proud of my neck beard.
And the only reason im a bit thick is because my wife makes me make her the best meatballs on the planet.

Oh, and i dont exercise. ((unless you count hardcore rockband)) But im proud to be a gamer damit!!

if they want to clump me in with the rest of the fat slobs and 13 yearold pre-pubecent screechers, im fine with it.

 

[nik3daz]

I consider myself an avid gamer. I've played all of the classics and can quote the stats historical. Many of my friends are also gamers. We just spent a night at a net cafe (more stigma there) playing various FPS (about 30 of us from our uni group). There were plenty of girls and nobody thought anyone was one of THOSE gamers.

I think the term gamer is an honorable title in the right circles and there's no real point in trying to convince someone that gaming is a valuable experience when they've already made up their minds.

Don't tell us what to call ourselves. You don't know what my people have been through.

 

[blobby218]

Sir John the Net Knight:
You know, I've put up with the self-important, narcissistic bullshit of a one Benjamin "Yahtzee" Croshaw for quite some time now. And though that is hardly a stretch for me, as I have been absorbing the anger and prejudice of the world's asshole population for a good three decades, I can no longer stand to have Yahtzee's own brand of verbal diarrhea being funneled into my ear canal any longer.

I put up with a lot of shit from people like Yahtzee over the years. But when you call Aerith Gainsborough a "flaky bint", you have stepped over the proverbial line. I have no more patience for you, Croshaw. Take your crybaby rants that you poorly disguise as legitimate reviews and stick them up your pasty, white tuchus. You really wanna know what the definition of the stereotypical asshole gamer that gives us all a bad name? Every morning you look at one in the mirror when you wake up. It's people like you that ruin this hobby for the rest of us.

And before you accuse me of the following. No, I do not own a body pillow or any other perverted anime crap. Though I'm sure you'll claim otherwise in next week's article.


Whoa, ok breathe 2 3 breathe 2 3.

first of all everyone is entitled to their opioin and if you hate it so much STOP WATCHING IT doihoihoi. hhmmm i hate something but i'll carry on watching it uuuuhhhhhhhhh

 

[Aptspire]

I choose to blame this PR guy for everything
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/News/230934,microsofts-kinect-launch-laughs-at-sweaty-gamers.aspx

 

[theantioch]

Well i have two points to make about this, first the only people who are going to read this are gamers, the negative connotations are in the minds of the people who don't play games or read anything pertaining to them. Simply changing the title does nothing to erase the stereotype; just ask an African-American. people upon hearing that you spend a lot of recreational time playing games immediately conjure up images of smelly nerds in basements. Second im not sure if you aware of this but EVERYTHING has stereotypes just saying there wrong doesn't change a damn thing; you know what gets rid of stereotypes? awareness. posting an article railing about the maltreatment of "gamers" on a predominantly gaming website doesn't change anything