Poll: Do PC gamers have an image problem?

[JokerboyJordan]

So I know that the Escapist is rife with PC gamers and I just thought that this would be the ideal place to pose such a question. I myself am a console gamer out of preference, and I make no efforts to hide that fact.

So I was browsing the threads on the Escapist on the rumours surrounding the next Xbox, most notably of the it being "always online" and in each thread there were a large amount of replies that came off as dismissive of consoles in general.

Rather whimsically, I typed "PC Gamers" into Google, only to find the top result as "PC Gamers are snobs", followed by "PC Gamers are the worst".
I was shocked to find that these were the top searched terms, but I plugged in "PC Gamers are" without instant to see if these were just outliers.

The results speak for themselves.

Whilst the positives and negatives of either of the sides have been spouted time and time again ad verbatim, I'm not here to incite a flamewar- only to gauge the Escapist's opinion on the matter.

So, do you think that PC Gamers subconsciously perpetrate a negative stereotype of their community as a whole?

If so, what can be done to address this problem?

 

[Tom_green_day]

I'm a console gamer as well but one who doesn't particularly thing consoles are superior. I just prefer to use a computer AND game simultaneously. Therefore I consider myself in a someone neutral position when I say that when PC gamers talk about consoles, they tend to do so in a negative way as though they are inferior. I know this isn't the case for all, as I assume that those who don't mind consoles aren't vocal about it.
The remedy? I don't think there is ome. People will always attack those they feel are inferior, since as you say the Escapist is more populated for PC gamers, people on this website don't attack PC gamers as much.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

My PC has red LED fans with 3 speed settings.

Fuck your consoles


Joking aside, I have consoles and a gaming PC.

Am I a hybrid that will bring about the end of days?

 

[Ickorus]

I just googled 'console gamers are' and got 'idiots' 'retards' 'ignorant', so we should send you all back to school. (joking)

The funny thing is that the people my google search calls idiots are the same ones googling that PC gamers are all arrogant and vice versa, both groups are minorities that should be mocked equally by the majority of PC gamers and console gamers.

 

[Jazoni89]

Whatever happened to playing games regardless of platform... I would play a game on a sodding calculator if it was any good.

That's what I want to know, Platform fanboyism is just immature and childish, and you are only limiting yourself to what games you can play, all for what, boosting one's ego?

 

[tippy2k2]

Gamers have an image problem.

There is an easy way to fix this but no one wants to do it because their choice of item is "the best and others are stupid!". Stop arguing about which group is superior and ignoring the fact that they both have pros and cons like a bunch of toddlers arguing which one of their race cars is coolest looking.

On the plus side, I do think that the majority of gamers are not these toddler twats having an imaginary pissing contest. The minority just happens to be the loudest and therefore we all get lumped in with the stupid.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Similar things happen when you type "conole gamers are..."

Both sides are full of vocal morons who think their platform of choice makes them a superior person. I sometimes get the feeling that liking both isn't allowed, but I know that, really, most people are reasonable and don't give two shits about what I do in my spare time.

 

[Goofguy]

Both sides have their fair share of idiots. I own a PC, 360 and PS3 so I consider myself to be representative of the best and worst traits of both sides. My buddy was once a PC snob until I convinced him on the merits of just lazing on your couch with a controller in hand following a long day at work. Sometimes, that beats sitting at your desk when that's what you were doing all day.

 

[Genocidicles]

PC master race?! Pfft!

The true solution is to embrace the post-human gaming ideal of owning every console and a gaming PC!

 

[Requia]

Whatever happened to playing games regardless of platform... I would play a game on a sodding calculator if it was any good.

I've actually done that, there's a surprising amount of power (for 2001 when I was doing it) if a shitty display on some of them.

I don't think PC gamers have an image problem, so much that they cause an image problem for PC gaming. When you have people going on about how much better the graphics are on PC (instead of sane hardware benefits, like a mouse or noncrippling amounts of RAM), what people here is blah blah blah spend 2000$ on a computer. They are the magpiest of gaming magpies, and unfortunately they are also the loudest, perhaps because they need to convince themselves that spending 2000$[footnote]Not hyperbole, whatever your more modest rig might cost, in fact I've fixed $6000 computers in the past, so 2000$ isn't even the worst of it.[/footnote] on a computer instead of 850$ for a PC that would play the same games but not be as shiny was a good idea.

 

[Wadders]

I'd certainly agree that they have problems with their image. Losing those bloody fedoras would help.

 

[Phasmal]

The first few for gamers are is: idiots, more intelligent, sexist, losers.
Gaming in general has an image problem, but gamers often don't do much to dispel it.

I imagine that is something that will change gradually, as long as we don't sit around proving the stereotypes all day.

My PC has red LED fans with 3 speed settings.

Fuck your consoles


Joking aside, I have consoles and a gaming PC.

Am I a hybrid that will bring about the end of days?

Exactly. I play both. I play multiplayer on my PC and single player on the Xbox (mostly because that's the best way if you're with a gamer guy- so we don't have to buy new games twice).

 

[templar1138a]

Here's the way I see it: ALL gamers have an image problem. We are constantly presenting ourselves as whiny, entitled, self-centered pricks with limited or no scope. That's the real cause of the flame wars and the negative stereotypes.

What can be done about it? Repeat after me:

I am a gamer. I like the games I like.
I hope to meet others who like the games I like.
If someone does not like the games I like, that is alright. It's their preference.
If someone likes games I dislike, that is alright. It's their preference.
If someone begrudges me for the games I like, I will disregard them.
If someone I know begrudges someone else for the games they like, I will remind them that they have no reason to.
If I begrudge someone, it'll be because of their personality or their actions, not the games they like or dislike.
I am a gamer. I am one of many.

 

[takemeouttotheblack]

I think the problem is that often, PC gamers do spend a lot of time and money on getting really impressive gaming rigs with the best sound and graphics and multi core processors, which is perfectly fine if that's what you want to spend your money on, and I totally get the thinking behind it. What gets people's backs up is when a small minority of them get into arguments trying to justify the cost, and it escalates into a mud slinging match where console gamers are characterised as low brow button mashing yokels and in turn, PC gamers are portrayed as elitist snobs.

Personally, I think however much you want to spend on your gaming hobby is completely up to you. It's your money, and it's up to you how you spend it. Just don't try and make an issue out of it to try and look better.

And before people ask, I'm a 360-er with a laptop which I use to play older games. I don't have a gaming rig because it's not practical for my current living situation, I'm way too poor and lazy to try to keep one up to date, and I'm not that bothered how my game looks as long as I can see what's going on.

 

[Zipa]

Here's the way I see it: ALL gamers have an image problem. We are constantly presenting ourselves as whiny, entitled, self-centered pricks with limited or no scope. That's the real cause of the flame wars and the negative stereotypes.

This pretty much, gamers as a whole have a bad image, just by being one of the newest forms of entertainment. Its like how TV , radio and every other media has gone through but they have been around long enough that people alive now haven't known life without it so its accepted as a norm. It will happen to gaming to give it another 15-20 years or so.
My parents for example generally think that computers are the cause of most of the worlds problems now because they don't understand them.

That said the people going being twats about their preferred hardware for playing games often have the loudest voice so it paints every gamer as said twats. (This applies to certain people across ALL platforms console , PC or otherwise)

 

[wulf3n]

For PC Gamers to have an Image Problem, their Image must be causing a Problem.

Sure they may have a bad Image, but not an Image Problem.

 

[Domogo]

Whatever happened to playing games regardless of platform... I would play a game on a sodding calculator if it was any good.

That's what I want to know, Platform fanboyism is just immature and childish, and you are only limiting yourself to what games you can play, all for what, boosting one's ego?

Have you ever played a game on a ti-89 or higher? that's some good shit right there. I think we need to start a calculator gaming master race

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Yes they do. There are way too many vocal pc gamers who thing they know what they're talking about don't know jack shit. I just can't stand the ones who don't see the choice between pc gaming and console as an OPINION. PC's are great gaming devices, I love mods and amateur games, but they're not always convenient. Hell, I read a post from some out of his mind dude who said "you buy a pc thats better than a console for the price of a ps3 or an xbox". A pc to game on. For fucking $250?!. A pc that cheap wouldn't even have a fucking graphics card. I don't understand people look at specs with more ram and gigahertz and say "Yup, thats not as good as a pc" without considering the software it runs on (Windows sucks when you get down to it).

When someone says you don't have to get a $1000 pc to game on and can instead buy a mid range pc like $500 thats still "better", you'll still be playing games on fucking medium settings that look the same as console except now you have to go through the hassle of adjusting the graphics setting so the frame rate don't skip. Nice buy

 

[wulf3n]

Have you ever played a game on a ti-89 or higher? that's some good shit right there. I think we need to start a calculator gaming master race

Ahh, the good old ti-89 got me through many a boring maths lesson.

Teacher: "Are you doing your work?"
Me: "I'm totally doing these differential equations, and not playing snake at all!"

 

[Phlakes]

Here's the way I see it: ALL gamers have an image problem. We are constantly presenting ourselves as whiny, entitled, self-centered pricks with limited or no scope. That's the real cause of the flame wars and the negative stereotypes.

Yup. The biggest problem is that most people don't see how they're actually affecting things. I mean, just look at the last few days. First there was the outrage over that terrible Machinima video, where people rallied against it saying it was not only an offensive idea in the first place but it reflected poorly on the community by assuming that models getting shocked paddled on the ass by someone named Sinfister, but also playing Guitar Hero, was something people actually wanted to see. Good job, gamers. Not even sarcastic about that. That's the kind of stand we should be taking.

And then literally the next day people started a one-target witch hunt against Adam Orth for some dumb shit he said on Twitter (which now lost him his job, and I guarantee that wouldn't have happened if people hadn't lost their shit. The dumb things he said aren't justified but think about the environment that sort of "this guy was a douche, let's ruin him" reaction is creating).

And then just a few days later gamers vote EA as the worst company in America, and even though some people had better intentions, the rest of the world sees a bunch angry nerds with no perspective.

One step forward, two steps back. And it's obviously not always the same people doing all these things but as a community gamers haven't really done much to disprove the stereotypes.