The Definition of a Gamer

[KalosCast]

Gamer: people who play games. These are always amusing because most people's definitions aren't "what should a gamer be called?" but instead "the type of gamer I think I am"

It's a stupid term though. I don't fit into a category for playing guitar (well, middle class white male, but), or for watching tv, enjoying movies, listening to music, or anything of that sort.

 

[Ruzinus]

You're all wrong. Playing games might make anyone a gamer in the sheerest sense of the word, but you don't go around calling everyone a breather just because they breathe.

A gamer is someone who identifies themselves as a gamer.

 

[AdamRBi]

Search around, you'll see other discussions for both what a Gamer is and why the term should not be used. The arguments are all around the table.

For starters, I would not call anyone who plays games a "Gamer." Just as you wouldn't call everyone who watches movies a "Film Buff." Everyone watches movies, it's pretty much a fact excuse for a few who for some reason or another choose to not watch them. The line between casual viewer and Film Buff is how devote the individual is to the medium and/or the craft and art of the medium.

I count myself as a Gamer; I say this not just because I own a gaming console and play a lot of PC games, but because I have an interest in Game Design, I'm working on a collection of retro consoles and games, and I have a few models and memorabilia from a variety of my favorite game titles. Not to mention time spent on the lore and history of some of my favorite titles.

You're specific reasons may differ, but I feel if you don't have this level of interest in the medium you are not a Gamer. If your house is full of sport trophies for example and half your time is spent watching or playing sports? Just because you own a 360 or play games online does not make you a Gamer. It simply makes you a game player, just like watching a movie doesn't make you a Film Buff, just a movie viewer.

 

[Bugerion]

I think a gamer is someone who has to at least try different genres and play more than one game and has to try MP and SP.

 

[TelHybrid]

What the hell has happened to geekdom?

It used to be something where people could like and do what they want without being judged. When did it become so elitist and conformist?

 

[nintenfan231]

If a person answers "yes" to the question "Do you consider yourself a gamer?", then they are a gamer. It doesn't matter if that person has only played one game in his entire life, if that game affected him so much that he identifies himself as a Gamer, then he deserves to call himself as such.
No person can tell another person who he is or is not.

In a sense, identifying oneself as a Gamer is kind of like identifying oneself as religious. A person can believe in God without going to church every Sunday, just like a person can be a Gamer without playing hardcore games every minute of free time he has.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

A gamer is someone who's entire personality can be summed up in a single word, at least to the rest of society, personally I don't think of myself as a gamer, I play and read news about games on a regular basis, yes, anyone who watches ExtraCredits will probably see what I'm getting at here, but I also enjoy watching and reading about films, hell, occasionally even making short ones. Those definitely aren't games, so why should gaming be the only thing that defines someone who enjoys them?

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Gamer- A person who enjoys and spends time playing video games regardless of genre or release date.

I don't care if you play Hello Kitty games, it is a game and you are playing it. You are a gamer.

[sub]This casual vs hardcore split is just ridiculous IMO.[/sub]

Thank you for saying it better than I could. It don't matter if you've played for 2 or 12 years or if you play fucking bejeweled or God of War. And this is coming from someone who's gamed for 13 years and played everything from the original mario bros. to [Prototype].

 

[WelshDanny]

A gamer is someone who plays video games, and if reports like this are anything to go by, then more and more people - people who previously wouldn't have played games - are doing so. http://bit.ly/h6CTxd

Like it or not, games like Farmville and Cityville have 10s of millions of players.

Not that I'd touch them with a 10 foot barge pole.

When I get Facebook notifications saying 'John Smith has found a lonely cow on their farm' my first reaction is 'mmmmm burger'

 

[badgersprite]

The fact that casual gamers are gamers is pretty strongly evidenced by the fact that the term "casual gamer" has the word "gamer" in it...

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

A gamer is someone who plays games in the same way apples and oranges are all fruit. Just because someone is a gamer it doesn't mean they know their stuff and are good at games, that's the fault with your definition, there's gamers and then there's good/serious/hardcore or however you wish to put it gamers.

The common element which makes us all be fruit is playing games and how we play games defines how we actually taste.

 

[veloper]

The fact that casual gamers are gamers is pretty strongly evidenced by the fact that the term "casual gamer" has the word "gamer" in it...

and ex-wife has 'wife' in it. Semi-automatic has 'automatic'.
You'd think there's no difference and the bit in front is just to complete the metre.

Because it has the word in it, usually means it sets the term apart from the main group.
Here's what sets them apart:
1 casual gamers don't consider themselves gamers
2 casuals don't have gaming as their main past-time activity
3 gaming news doesn't interest them
4 the industry has create a seperate software library just for them (casual games opposed to core games).

 

[Heart of Darkness]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

 

[veloper]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

People acxtually do.
Movie buffs. Conaisseurs. Enthousiasts.

Doing anything casually never makes you a chess player, a bookworm, a race driver, an athlete.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

People acxtually do.
Movie buffs. Conaisseurs. Enthousiasts.

Doing anything casually never makes you a chess player, a bookworm, a race driver, an athlete.

I was going more along the lines of "Nobody erects barriers between people who watch romantic-comedies and action thrillers."

 

[Krylock]

People who only buy consoles or PC's just to play Call of Duty, are not gamers in my opinion. I see that so many times on xbox live.

This person has 2-3 years of membership and only plays ONE GAME SERIES with a GS of less than a 1000. You are not a gamer, you are a tool.

You're not a gamer for just picking up a controller and start playing. Gamer is a title that is earned, not simply given away. If you just casually play Call of Duty and nothing else, i would consider you some average Joe who is just killing time and playing with friends.

If you play games just for the Multiplayer, you are not a gamer. If you prefer Multiplayer over single player, you are not a gamer. Video Games are driven by single player story-lines and gameplay.

Someone who has a respectable amount of Gamerscore, is considered a Gamer. Someone who strongly dedicates there time to beating single player, is a Gamer. Someone who dedicates them selves to great accomplishments in a game, is considered a Gamer.

If you play games just to shoot people and talk trash, then get the fuck out. I like to keep the term "Gamer" respectable, and meaningful.

 

[veloper]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

People acxtually do.
Movie buffs. Conaisseurs. Enthousiasts.

Doing anything casually never makes you a chess player, a bookworm, a race driver, an athlete.

I was going more along the lines of "Nobody erects barriers between people who watch romantic-comedies and action thrillers."

The industry does for one.
Do we target the thrill seekers, or the chocolate hanky types?

Where there's a different audience for something it's useful to be able to tell them apart.
Marketing the next romantic film to teenage males would be a sure fail.
Different words for different audiences.

 

[katsumoto03]

A gamer is somebody who plays games.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

People acxtually do.
Movie buffs. Conaisseurs. Enthousiasts.

Doing anything casually never makes you a chess player, a bookworm, a race driver, an athlete.

I was going more along the lines of "Nobody erects barriers between people who watch romantic-comedies and action thrillers."

The industry does for one.
Do we target the thrill seekers, or the chocolate hanky types?

Where there's a different audience for something it's useful to be able to tell them apart.
Marketing the next romantic film to teenage males would be a sure fail.
Different words for different audiences.

Of course the industry does. But the separations never really go past demographics; they aren't slapping labels like "casual moviegoer" or "hardcore moviegoer" or "once-a-week moviegoers." Marketing to demographics is hardly new and is pretty much evident in all forms of entertainment and has been around since its beginning.

 

[veloper]

A gamer is someone who plays games.

I'm pretty sure this qualifies for "/thread" status.

Besides, why do we want to erect false, dichotomous barriers? Like it or not, games like Bejeweled and FarmVille are legitimate games. Why are we trying to divide people based on how long they play games or what games they play? We don't this for other forms of media, so what makes games so different?

People acxtually do.
Movie buffs. Conaisseurs. Enthousiasts.

Doing anything casually never makes you a chess player, a bookworm, a race driver, an athlete.

I was going more along the lines of "Nobody erects barriers between people who watch romantic-comedies and action thrillers."

The industry does for one.
Do we target the thrill seekers, or the chocolate hanky types?

Where there's a different audience for something it's useful to be able to tell them apart.
Marketing the next romantic film to teenage males would be a sure fail.
Different words for different audiences.

Of course the industry does. But the separations never really go past demographics; they aren't slapping labels like "casual moviegoer" or "hardcore moviegoer" or "once-a-week moviegoers." Marketing to demographics is hardly new and is pretty much evident in all forms of entertainment and has been around since its beginning.

The game industry is slapping the term "casual gamer" and it's working for their casual games.
You cannot make games with a high learning curve for casual gamers, but they don't mind lower production values.
It's a different audience that wants different things.