That depends, if you're really good at a particular game then you can go pro. Once you do that gaming ceases to be a waste of time, and becomes an effective means of making money.
Of course this requires massive dedication, and more often than not, pursuing a career in professional gaming will ruin your life.
If all of that fails, then there's the boring option of being a game tester, while you may not always have fun, it means you're making money, and therefore gaming has just become productive again.
However, I do agree, as a rule gaming doesn't do anything for you (except maybe ruin your eyesight if you play too much), and it is just for fun. I've had only one person tell me that I was wasting time playing video games, two weeks later I got them to try some of the games I had, and they were converted fairly quickly (about a week later they bought a N64, which was the latest console at the time).
), I disagree with the notion that games aren't productive. But let me clarify; in the majority of cases, they are not productive in the sense that they result in a specific output like work does. What they do instead, however, is reduce stress and increase morale, thus allowing you to perform those output tasks more efficiently. From that standpoint, they are indeed very productive. This is not mentioning some of the other effects it might potentially have (depending on the game), such as broadening your horizons and improving your hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
