Poll: What is a gamer?

[frobalt]

I'd say it has to be someone that plays quite often.

I mean, if I played football once a month I'd hardly be classed as a footballer, right?

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

"Gamer" is a pretty broad term, but I'd say it takes more than the occasional game of Words With Friends on the toilet.

 

[Cyfu]

So I'm not a gamer then? even though I play on average 8 hours a day?(what? I don't have a job yet and homework is not important, obviously xD). Seriously, I don't know the specs of my PC. I know it's shit, because it's old as fuck and all i care about is if it's able to play the games I want to play.
I haven't played anything competitively, ever. I have played a lot of games that is often played competitively, like HoN and Starcraft 1,2. I dont't know ANYTHING about hardware accessories.

Why can't it just be a term used for people who play games a lot?

*rolls eyes* Yea, to me you're not a gamer. What, is your world ending now? I'm just some girl on the net you don't know. So what if you're not a gamer in my book?

Captcha: Thank you, come again

well, no. I don't really care if you say I'm not a gamer. I just understand why you have so strict rules for being a gamer. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Cyfu]

So I'm not a gamer then? even though I play on average 8 hours a day?(what? I don't have a job yet and homework is not important, obviously xD). Seriously, I don't know the specs of my PC. I know it's shit, because it's old as fuck and all i care about is if it's able to play the games I want to play.
I haven't played anything competitively, ever. I have played a lot of games that is often played competitively, like HoN and Starcraft 1,2. I dont't know ANYTHING about hardware accessories.

Why can't it just be a term used for people who play games a lot?

Does buying a skateboard and spending half of your day on one of those ramp installation thingies make you a Skater?

Does getting on the Green with a set of golf clubs make you a Golfer if you don't own and wear those Golfer pants? (Which are even part of the dress code in many golf clubs.)

Does singing every time you're in the shower make you a Singer?

Are you a Guitarist if the only track you can play is Smoke on the Water?

-----------------------------

Playing games is not the same as being a Gamer. Being a gamer requires that you show a little more interest in the subject, and keep up with the happenings, etc.

That's how it is with all such terms.

In my eyes a person who plays a lot of video games do show interest in the subject. Or.. eh, I'm not sure. By video games I do not mean games for Iphone and android. They are games and I enjoy them a lot, but if you only play games on your Iphone you're not a gamer. Because I think most of the time they play on their device just to pass time, not to play video games. but that just my opinion.
anyways, as long as they play a lot of games on a console or a PC I think that qualifies that person to be a gamer.

And for your examples, If someone buys a skateboard and skates a lot, yeah I would call him a skater.
If someone golfs a lot then he is a golfer.
If you ONLY knows smoke on the water, that means you most likely do not spend a lot of time learning the guitar and therefore you are not a guitarist.
I think singing is a special case. Because it's very hard to be good at singing if you are not born with talent and if you don't take singing lessons. So even if you sing a lot you are not a singer, not in my eyes anyways. I know that contradicts what I said above but like i said, Singing is a special case. If that makes any sense xD

 

[PrimitiveJudge]

I cannot answer your poll, because the option of "playing games their whole life" is not an option. To me as a gamer, I look for the next exciting adventure rather then hording loot or waiting 2 years to gain a skill. I love games and will play them till death.

I classify myself as a gamer because I give even the worst games a benefit of a doubt (reading news mostly). I will never say a game is crap without playing it and will never judge a game by it's audiance. I will play a game to my thirst and attempt to master it. The only reason why I hate online shooters, is the gloating and bitching.. I just want to play and not hear 13 year old ***** about everyhintg for gloat how awesome they are in fantasy.

Sorry went a little off topic there. Yeah I am a gamer, and I do not need anyone to tell me otherwise =)

 

[SweetShark]

What is a gamer?


Well, you did ask.

A gamer is anyone who enjoys playing videogames as a hobby, the same way a golfer enjoys playing golf as a hobby, a reader enjoys reading books, a trainspotter enjoys looking at trains.

It doesn't really matter what particular franchise or genre they're in to, just as an athlete is anyone who enjoys playing anything out of a whole range of sports, or a bookworm is someone who enjoys reading anything out of a vast collection of literature, a gamer is anyone who enjoys spending their free time playing a videogame, be it 'casual', 'hardcore', 'indie', or whatever.

F*ck!
I wanted also post that -_-....
I am SO original after all........ T_T

 

[loc978]

...I've always felt that the misunderstanding of this term, and its use as a True Scotsman tends to stem from a misunderstanding of its history. For the record, anyone who plays games routinely is a gamer. It's generally understood to apply exclusively to video games, but tabletop RPGs or wargames could count... hell, even board games could count. I've known people I would consider gamers who only play chess.

However, the term originated with video games, and that was back when video games were a niche thing. You had to have a fairly advanced, specific technological skillset to even be able to play the really engaging ones... hence this stereotype [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iInGhnpWe4o].

Nowadays gaming is no longer seen exclusively as an arcane interest for reclusive technophiles, so the meaning has changed. Nothing wrong with that. Languages evolve and people resist change. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[CCountZero]

In my eyes a person who plays a lot of video games do show interest in the subject. Or.. eh, I'm not sure. By video games I do not mean games for Iphone and android. They are games and I enjoy them a lot, but if you only play games on your Iphone you're not a gamer. Because I think most of the time they play on their device just to pass time, not to play video games. but that just my opinion.
anyways, as long as they play a lot of games on a console or a PC I think that qualifies that person to be a gamer.

And for your examples, If someone buys a skateboard and skates a lot, yeah I would call him a skater.
If someone golfs a lot then he is a golfer.
If you ONLY knows smoke on the water, that means you most likely do not spend a lot of time learning the guitar and therefore you are not a guitarist.
I think singing is a special case. Because it's very hard to be good at singing if you are not born with talent and if you don't take singing lessons. So even if you sing a lot you are not a singer, not in my eyes anyways. I know that contradicts what I said above but like i said, Singing is a special case. If that makes any sense xD

Thing is though, we've all walked down the street, spotted someone who dresses in a specific way, and thought to ourselves: "Hmm. Well, there's a Skater for ya", despite that person not actually carrying a skateboard at the time.

That means that there's a bunch of other stuff associated with being a Skater, than just the actual skateboarding bit.

I believe the same is true for more than most other such labels, Gamer being one of them.

To elaborate on the guitarist example, I wouldn't really care how many songs you actually could play, if you don't know the basic terminology of the instrument.

In that same manner, being a Gamer requires certain knowledge of, and interest in, the culture associated with the label.

But of course we're all entitled to our opinions