What does it mean to be a "gamer" anymore? Does it mean anything at all?

[Able Seacat]

I don't really know which category I fit into which makes me think I must be 'casual' but I do consider video games to be a main hobby so maybe I'm 'casual-core'.

"Casual-core". Oh wow, are we there already, as a hobby? Are the distinctions really that fine?

I don't know I might have made that term up but I guess that's what I was trying to say, I have no idea where I fit so somewhere in between maybe.

 

[Vault101]

I think its pretty straightforward. There is nothing like a hardcore golfer, nothing like a hardcore sailor. So why hardcore gamer? I think the terms has been invented by maybe people who consider themselves hardcore/h@r1)c()r3 who feel contempt for people who play wii or the likes.

those peopel who go on solo trips around the world battling harsh seas and their own sanity arnt hardcore sailors?......bullshit

bad example, those are more niche (particually sailing) than the kind of media everyone consumes

and even if you do go there..take movies, Art films and film festivles....isnt there even a name for that kind of thing? cinemaphiles?....anyway my point is I think the distinction comes from [b/]how deep the enthusasm runs[/b]

there isnt really any other term but "hardcore" (mabye "core") but theres still a difference...if you own a big libairy of games...play games alot..keep up with gaming news and have every bot ofgaming merchandise you can get your hands on then its painfully obvious you are different from somone who bought a Wii for Wii fit

 

[FalloutJack]

I have a great idea: Stop foisting these pointless titles on people who play video games. We all just want to have a bit of fun, dammit.

 

[Vault101]

Pfft, scrub.
Everyone knows alienware are way overpriced he's definitely not a gamer if that was the case XD or at least not a "hardcore" one.

while Alien are overpriced....I don't see whats so wrong with the willingness to pay for convience...but no, suggest the Idea and they all go after your head

Im not saying go buy an Alie ware...I'm just saying wanting to buy a gaming PC rather than build one yourself maybe doesn't make you scum of the earth? even if it is as easy as people say

 

[Vault101]

He sounded surprisingly disinterested in the topic; a marked contrast to the enthusiasm I'm accustomed to when talking to other gamers. Something wasn't right. But, hey, he'd told my friends he was a gamer. He'd mentioned it himself at the beginning of the date. So, he must be one, right? And I'm no gaming snob - anything he plays is fine. Maybe it is just Robot Unicorn Attack, or World of Warcraft. I play far too much pew pew myself. "So... what have you played lately?"

.

mabye he figured being a "gamer" ment playing games no matter what kind or how long for...OR the amount of knowelge he might have

anyway....

I dont think you need to have knowlege of (or even like) older games to "be a gamer"

when I first came to this site, if anyone was to quiz me on my gaming related knowelege they probably would have branded me casual within 30 seconds and cast me out....which was true, I knew very little

however after trying out all thease new and exciting games...hanging out on the forums and actually keeping up with gaming related news for once...I now "know" things about gaming

theres still alot I don't know (like what Leauge of ledgends is...other than its awful)

 

[TehCookie]

A gamer is someone who cares about games. Doesn't matter what games you play or how long you play them. Before smartphones and facebook I called myself a casual gamer, since I loved games casually (and I didn't want to try to prove that I'm hardcore since I don't care about other people, I care about games.) Now I use softcore since casual refers more to smartphones and facebook than enjoying all games to a lesser degree than enthusiast but still more than normal.

People who don't care about the medium can still enjoy games though, and they're just normal people with no classification. The same way I may watch movies, if you ask me what's playing I have no clue but there will be that one movie I'll want to see and that's all I know. Then you have movie-goers where you name a movie and they've seen it.

 

[WoahDan]

A 'gamer' to my mind is someone whose primary method of entertainment is gaming, if you spend more time playing games than you do reading books or watching films then that's the only qualification you need.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The term casual gamer, I mean, it shouldn't be an insult, just a descriptor for someone who occasionally plays games.



I despise the term 'hardcore', it just makes me think of people who only play military FPS games.

Maybe make a new term, like, I dunno, off the top of my head, Daystar grade gamer.

>_>

<_<

Completely agree.

Daystar Grade Gamer? Someone who waits until his 20's to try Civ for the first time!

Sounds about right

Never was into strategy games that much.

 

[Rastien]

People over complicate this shit...

Do you play games as a hobby and would be happy to chat to others about games?

You are a gamer. awesome lets move on.

 

[Garrett]

Do you want to try dating me?

On a serious note

I'd say if you're "out of the loop" of the gaming industry then you're no longer a gamer.
For instance in this generation if you don't know what:
-League of Legends (most played PC game this year so far)
-World Of Warcraft (most likely the biggest MMORPG so far)
-Team Fortress 2 (Ridiculously popular FPS with a huge fanbase)
-Skyrim (So much hype)
Are then you're probably not really a gamer, even if you're a casual gamer you should have at least HEARD of those titles they're just too big too ignore.

I have to disagree with that. You don't have to be "in the loop" to be a gamer. There are probably plenty of gamers who play only older titles and don't give two cents about present games. As soon as new console generation will hit the market, I will become one of such people. Yet I will be still playing a lot.

I don't care much about a label of "hardcore/casual/whatever gamer", however it does put me off a little when people call themselves gamers when all they're playing are games on their shitphones or facebook.

All in all

People over complicate this shit...

Do you play games as a hobby and would be happy to chat to others about games?

You are a gamer. awesome lets move on.

This.

Your date was probably desperate for a date so he was like "Yeah, I'm a gamer *inner monologue: I played some Diablo stuff few years back, gaming industry couldn't have become that big all of a sudden, I'm probably safe on this point.*"

 

[HardkorSB]

Well, that's part of the problem. Gaming, at least to people of a certain again, has become virtually ubiquitous - like reading books or watching television. Everyone does it. While back in the 90s calling yourself a "gamer" might have meant identifying with part of a subculture, these days "I play video games" is tantamount to saying "I use the internet". Or, "I breathe air and drink water". "Gamer" must necessarily mean something other than "has played any video games at all" because it is fast becoming interchangeable with "human being on the planet Earth".

And why is it so important to have these labels?
What's wrong with saying "I play games sometimes" or "I play games a lot" or "I play games and am also interested in the history of gaming"? Does it really hurt people to say a few more words?
The same labels can mean different things to different people. For someone who doesn't play games, a person who plays games sometimes is a gamer. However, for a person who plays games 30-40 hours a week and knows who's making what, what different consoles have under the hood etc, that same person will not fit the description of a gamer.
I don't like labels in general. Unless it's in your job description or you're trying to impress other people (which is probably what this guy you're talking about wanted to do) for various reasons (in this case, to make you like him more, most likely), you don't need them.

 

[Fappy]

The term casual gamer, I mean, it shouldn't be an insult, just a descriptor for someone who occasionally plays games.



I despise the term 'hardcore', it just makes me think of people who only play military FPS games.

Maybe make a new term, like, I dunno, off the top of my head, Daystar grade gamer.

>_>

<_<

Which is just another way of saying, "If you go 10 minutes without playing Civ V you start slapping your face and looking for crack rocks."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The term casual gamer, I mean, it shouldn't be an insult, just a descriptor for someone who occasionally plays games.



I despise the term 'hardcore', it just makes me think of people who only play military FPS games.

Maybe make a new term, like, I dunno, off the top of my head, Daystar grade gamer.

>_>

<_<

Which is just another way of saying, "If you go 10 minutes without playing Civ V you start slapping your face and looking for crack rocks."

Just...

One...

More...

Turn...

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

Hmm... the way I see it, the lines of what a gamer actually is have been blurred.

I guess I would fall more within that classical version of a gamer. Loads of games, loads of consoles, really invested in the industry, its workings. Stepping into the shallow pools of game design.
Hell I'm even as far as to actually be seeking out old games and playing them as well. I never had a NES, but I love Castlevania. I thought MULE to be oddly charming. I got over 200 GOGs. Just love jumping in and trying a game, and reading the history around that game, putting its quality into a relative context.

I like to call myself an "Enthusiast". I think I have gone to a level higher than just playing and enjoying games.

Maybe thats what a gamer is "a person that regularily plays and enjoys games". Its just a shame "Gamers" these days, the ones I generally meet in the general populace, like crap like Call of Duty, and FIFA.

Then again, I think the entry point is different.

I got into gaming when I was very young. I grew up around games, I definately grew a more humble and respectful, but also fun approach to playing games. Especially competatively against other players.

The "gamers" of today seem to enter at that older childhood/teenager bracket, bringing that class-room maturity with them. They get mad when they lose, they cuss, and they will cheat if they can get away with it.

Thats not to say they are all like that. It is a bit of a generalisation, but from my experience, that seems to be the case most of the time.

I always put "casual" gamers into a sort of non-gamer area. They play Facebook games, simple little arcadey stuff on their iphones. Its cheap, it doesn't require a huge amount of investment, and it fits nicely in with their other activities.
My parents are like that. They played games like Pac-man and Space Invaders as kids, but it didn't stick to them. That nostaligia is kind of their still, as they love playing those kind of simple games, (sometimes fiercly competatively like in Tetris and Bejewelled Blitz).

EDIT: I guess I don't make it easy for myself.
I mean I'm 21 years old, but I don't act like a 21 year old in my part of the country would.
Its bad when supposed "gamers" are truly baffled and alienated by everything I talk about.
(To be fair though, not many people can keep up with me! XD (It made university very difficult. Sure people are friendly, but I never made a good connection, not to that point where one could share a room or a house, (or a bed! XD))

It truly is a shame, that the only gamers I have ever really known in person were the people I hung out with at my secondary school. Playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on a mini TV at lunch breaks, and hung out for sleepovers at my best friend's house (And only 1 or two of those people I keep regular contact with)

 

[McMarbles]

Does being a gamer still "mean anything"? No. Because it NEVER meant anything.