Gamers

That was great! Thanks for sharing.

Similarly, I shall express my feelings of this through the same image (I'm so original).

Well the way I always saw it was....if you played a little basketball once every other week with friends or played tennis from time to time you wouldn't really define yourself as an athlete would you?

Sci...Fi? Ohhh they mean Sy Fy, got it.

Idiotic renaming aside, I agree. There's no difference between myself and the individual who playes Wii Sports. Can't we all just get along? Oh right, if you don't play games 50 hours a week your not really a gamer. Forgot.

I like games =)

"Well the way I always saw it was....if you played a little basketball once every other week with friends or played tennis from time to time you wouldn't really define yourself as an athlete would you?"

Yeah, I play Sensible Soccer on my Mega Drive I'm fucking hardcore.

I was pretty sure this thread was going to be about this, anyway.
Fun.

Reminds me of that episode of The Hotspot where the guys were talking about how much they hated the word 'gamer'.

"Well the way I always saw it was....if you played a little basketball once every other week with friends or played tennis from time to time you wouldn't really define yourself as an athlete would you?"

I think I'd rather be called a playa than a gamer - HA! 

All joking aside, people who play games need to be called something, something short and identifiable, so "gamer" is fine with me.  Getting your panties in a bunch over it is kind of like getting upset over "trekkie" and "trekker".  Who gives a flying fig?  There is a casual games market and a hardcore games market.  Sometimes hardcore people play casual games and some casual games are played "hardcore".  In the end it really doesn't make a difference since they are all games.  Separating out the people with a passion for a hobby from those who just dabble is nothing new.  Do you enjoy playing pool (billiards) or are you a hustler/shark? Can you cook a few things, or are you a chef?  Do you ride your bike or are you a cyclist?  You may run, but would you consider yourself a jogger?  It's all semantics I guess, but it does bring immediate understanding that the person being described as a shark, chef or jogger has a greater commitment to the activity than your average guy.

That read as if you, Hamz, are the author of VG Cats. :P

Very well......shown, Hamz. I hate the word "gamer" but it has stuck so it ain't going anywhere. And I know plenty of people who only play COD4 or WoW all the time but I play a large variation of games. I think I am much more well-versed in videogames than almost all of my friends, and I do view their gaming styles differently than mine. But, I am fine with us coexisting. If it is because of them that we are getting Modern Warfare 2, then thank you very much!

I've played a lot of games in my life, leaving many friends and loved ones not understanding. These past two and half years have brought gaming "my passion" together with the ones I care about. It's the Wii... bowling, golf, tennis... fucking Wii Sports still gets played every weekend when family and friends enter my comfortable home. We even play a game with youtube on my Wii Opera browser, it envolves bad video and missed turns. It's all good at least we're playing games... video that is.

To adress this thread though, I think that it's fairly ridiculous that someone can call themselves pro at gaming, which would imply that they are just hella good at every game. A football player doesn't make money playing Basketball and Soccer as well, does he? I think the true professionals are those that play A GAME. Look what happened when Michael Jordan tried to play baseball.

LOLZ is the new LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Wow, that was awesome. Nice post.

While I don't necessarily have a problem with the term gamer, I agree with you on that calling people "casual or hardcore" players is silly. I think it's also flawed to keep using these words to describe a game (the only time I see it necessary would be if the difficulty settings of a game use those terms). Everyone has their own definition of what a causal or hardcore player is anyway, so I think it's useless to continue using those labels for people.

"MrGetBonus said:

"Well the way I always saw it was....if you played a little basketball once every other week with friends or played tennis from time to time you wouldn't really define yourself as an athlete would you?"

I see the point you're making there, and I can respect that. But is it honestly right for someone who plays all sorts of different games for 50 hours a week to say they are a more 'hardcore' video game player than say someone who plays only one game for the same amount of time per week?

Those people out there that might play only Wii Bowling, Rockband or an MMO every week and nothing else. Are they any less of an equal player than someone who plays all sorts of different games each week for the same amount of time?Does only being able to maybe dedicate 10 hours a week to playing video games make you any less of a video game enthusiast to someone who can dedicate 50 hours a week?

I guess what I'm saying is, why do we have to split what is already a niche community into two groups? Why do we continually have to categorise ourselves into different groups and not just embrace the fact we all as a whole enjoy video games? As video game enthusiasts we shouldn't start dividing ourselves but rather coming together and actively enjoying this medium of entertainment in all its forms."

Gamers who don't like "casual" games are similar to music fans who only listen to music that is "punk" or "indie" enough to be worthy of their time. In other words, snobs or elitists.

Yeah, there are a lot of terrible games out there aimed at a more casual audience. You only have to glance at the Wii's backlog of releases to realise that. But terrible games existed before 2006.

"floorswine said:

"Gamers who don't like "casual" games are similar to music fans who only listen to music that is "punk" or "indie" enough to be worthy of their time. In other words, snobs or elitists.Yeah, there are a lot of terrible games out there aimed at a more casual audience. You only have to glance at the Wii's backlog of releases to realise that. But terrible games existed before 2006. "

I pretty much typed up something resembling this, but yours is close enough to my thoughts that I will approve.This post is essentially the substitute for a thumbs up +1"