Gamer Sterotypes: Where do we stand?

[kyouger]

There are stereotypes for literally every single group of people on Earth. So how do we stand? Is the "20-something, fat, virgin, lives-with-his-mother loser" still the face of gaming, or has the "shrieking 11 year old who only plays games to swear online" replaced it?

 

[XzarTheMad]

I think "misanthropic, antisocial, bespectacled nerd" is pretty prevalent. At least that's who I seem to run into the most.

 

[ajofflight]

I think "misanthropic, antisocial, bespectacled nerd" is pretty prevalent. At least that's who I seem to run into the most.

This.
Also, spambots. Looooooots and loooooooots of spam bots.

 

[Vankraken]

I think gamers get a mix stereotype of the "nerd virgin" (the old way of looking at gamers), the "12 year old foul mouth kid who talks trash on voice chat", and the" 20 something frat boy type guy who plays a lot of console shooters". If you said what was the image of a computer gamer that's typically the nerd image while console gamers are the 12 year old and the college guy.
Stereotypes are silly but the mind likes to fill in the blanks with generalized images.

 

[migo]

There are stereotypes for literally every single group of people on Earth. So how do we stand? Is the "20-something, fat, virgin, lives-with-his-mother loser" still the face of gaming, or has the "shrieking 11 year old who only plays games to swear online" replaced it?

I don't think it's really replaced it, as gaming is considered to be childish, so when kids play games it isn't out of the ordinary. It's just the expectation that when you get older you'll stop playing with them.

I think now it's more 20-30-something, fat OR skinny, virgin OR pussy-whipped, lives with his parents OR in a dorm with other gamers, loser that has replaced it. Not much different really, but a gamer is more what you're not. You're not a kid but you're doing what a kid does. You're not attractive - that's why you play games. You've either never been laid or you're completely controlled by your one and only girlfriend, whom anyone else would pass over, and you don't have a job.

 

[Untamed_Skies]

I think the latest generation of gaming has changed things greatly. Because gamer doesn't actually mean one group of people anymore. With the invention of Wii most families that have lots of kids have one, because it involves everyone including the grandparents.

I mean in games in general the list is endless on the different genre's and every genre has their elite stigmas of what they believe the vast majority of the people who play that genre are. I mean honestly how many people have ever heard of Jocks playing JRPG's? No Jocks totally play Madden and FPS's whether or not it's the truth.

I think the main categories we have right now are

Casual Gamers-Mothers, Children, people who play but don't really care

Noobs- Usually people who take the quickest cheapest method of killing someone

Hardcore- People who spend on average 72 hours of gameplay

Bro's- Generally associated with such games as Halo, Call of Duty, and Madden

Recluses- These are the normal sterotypes for WoW, Guild Wars, and Star Wars Galaxies

Nerds- in my experience are the people who are associated with RPG's. Persona, Final Fantasy, Zelda

Retro- People who play any system but the modern ones

And PC elitists- Those gamers who will never so much as pick up a controller so long as their mouse functions correctly.

(Not saying these are truths but generally these are the stereotypes associated with the genre of game out there)

 

[Ploop]

It would be easier to just say that the sheiking 11 year olds are likely to eventually become the 20something fat virgin guy/girl, then we can have both, like a gamer life stages kinda thing.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

Well, I think the new gamer tends to be the kids with X-Box but I think a lot of gamer stereotype tends to be confused with Hipster now, as well as the public image seeming very akin to people who have no jobs and just play at home one hand on the controller the other hand a) on a bong b) in Doritos c) Holding Taco Bell Buritos or d) And I shit you not down the front of their pants every time a female character walks on. Like Shaun in Shaun of the dead and his fat useless room mate.

Disagreement, anyone?

 

[BRMXJzjsoawk321]

The gamers I meet in real life are the 14 year old boys playing Call of Duty on their Xbox 360's and never shut up about that damn game..

The gamers I meet online on Steam tend to not have much of a life outside of gaming, or don't want one, they're usually always on, playing games, escaping from the rest of the world..

 

[TiefBlau]

Yes, let's try to sum up every gamer in a huge sweeping generalization.

This is so much better than stereotyping, because we're pointing it out. And we're totally not degrading ourselves at all.

Is it just me, or do video games just emit microwave radiation that turns our brains into beef jerkey?

 

[shreedder]

I think the best blanket that people still use is angry violant anti-social asshole teenagers.