Comments on: Point-Counterpoint — The “Gamer” Label: Should It Be Retired?

By: Hatm0nster

Hatm0nster — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 17:15:04 +0000

That’s just how labels work I think, they can simultaneously invoke the best and worst ideas of a group depending on which side of it you happen to be standing on. Gamers get a lot of bad press, hence the poor image. At least that’s how I’m seeing it

By: Danielle I

Danielle I — Fri, 31 May 2013 11:13:48 +0000

I’ve always thought gamers are cool and smart people with great stamina. The first gamers I met were like that, so I don’t see negative stuff about the label. Gamers do have a “life”, and they’re very passionate about what they do that they sometimes seem like obsessive nerds to people. I don’t know why some people don’t understand that.

Besides, I am a gamer, too.

By: cary

cary — Thu, 30 May 2013 12:02:47 +0000

Thank you for the nomination! And you make a great point, that change starts at the bottom. Well…not that us bloggers are the “bottom,” but most of us are working at the grass roots level. And we’re able to reach a swath of gamers and non-gamers alike. We just have to keep the positive spin on “gamer” in everything that we write.

By: cary

cary — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:57:04 +0000

Great commentary here! You're idea about having a public figure speak up for gamers and gaming is interesting. Adam Sessler comes to mind, though he's not necessarily that well known outside of the industry. Jane McGonigal has also made small strides in trying to educate regular folks about games and game design. But the shield of negativity and exclusivity around the word "gamer" is so strong that their efforts only seem to make the smallest ripples. However, that doesn't mean that spreading the good word, so to speak, isn't worth doing. We, collectively, have to keep up the good talk, and eventually people will listen, learn, and accept.

By: cary

cary — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:47:34 +0000

I certainly hope that positivity is the wave of the future (generally) when it comes to gaming and gamers. As games change and evolve, “gamer” will too. The same has happened with so many other labels that are now widely accepted. Hopefully, it’s only a matter of time.

By: Astro Adam

Astro Adam — Thu, 30 May 2013 03:41:18 +0000

I really do dislike the negative gamer stereotypes out there. But we can, starting with our blogs, change the public’s perception of gamers. I’d write more but may want to save this for a post of my own.

By the way, I thought this post and your blog deserved an award. So I nominated you for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Congrats! https://wp.me/p2FQoz-f1

By: I Like My Awards Sunny Side Up, Please! | Video Games Nebula

I Like My Awards Sunny Side Up, Please! | Video Games Nebula — Thu, 30 May 2013 03:31:07 +0000

[…] 5. United We Game […]

By: Hatm0nster

Hatm0nster — Wed, 29 May 2013 23:28:22 +0000

I hadn’t thought of the term as a means to exclude people too, guess there’s always a flip-side to every label huh?

I like your line of thinking though, a group to respond to all the negativity spread by mainstream and gaming media alike. Maybe that’s something we could all work at too. Every little bit helps right?

By: gimmgp

gimmgp — Wed, 29 May 2013 11:49:35 +0000

These sorts of “all or none” issues always come from boiling down anyone’s personality to a single term. The same gut reaction to the word “gamer” and be applied to terms like “sports fan” or “musician,” just because there is a dominant hobby in a person’s life does not exclude any other aspects of his/her world. That being said, I take no issue with the term “gamer,” and I do not feel that retiring the word will change public perception of those who play games.

I agree with all three of you on the idea that it is not the term that needs to change, but the public perception of video game culture as a whole. Even now, when so many people play Angry Birds or Words with Friends on their smart phones, there is still a huge “us versus them” sentiment on both sides of the fence. Just last week, I was discussing the next generation of consoles with one of my co-workers who regularly plays Call of Duty and Monster Hunter. At one point in our conversation, another co-worker walked by and inquired as to what we were discussing. I started to explain that the Xbox One had been revealed, and what sorts of things this could mean, when the first co-worker said, “Don’t bother explaining to her man, she’s not a gamer so she doesn’t care.” My other co-worker made no attempt to deny this sentiment, and immediately sulked away, in spite of the fact that she regularly plays a variety of iPhone games and even dabbles in video games with her family. With just a single twist of the word “gamer,” she was completely snubbed and her interest in extended video game culture was diminished just a bit more. Just imagine what an open discussion and enthusiastic tone would have done instead.

What we could really use is a sort of public figure or group to dispel nasty myths and rumors about the video game industry and culture. For every poorly researched and completely twisted bull-shit news report about how video games are turning kids into violent killers and feral shut-ins, we should have stories about video game charities helping those in need, or hope filled tales of how video games inspired people to make the world a better place. Parents who feel alienated by video games and the culture that surrounds them should be educated through informative news programs that would explain the role of the ESRB, and just how much one can bond as a family through a fun-filled video game night. There should be piles and piles of popular news media that would take back the term “gamer” from the antiquated and uninformed and turn it into something all-inclusive rather than totally exclusive.

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 29 May 2013 03:07:02 +0000

I take pride in the term “gamer” but, as Cary said, I also take pride in the fact that i”m a “writer” or a “rider” (in terms of horseback riding). But to me, these terms don’t arise solely when I am taking part in these actions — rather, they define who I am all the time. They are my passions. Although I dislike the negative stereotypes attached to the term, I think they are slowly fading away as gaming becomes more popular. With that being said, even if doesn’t change, most “er” terms has some sort negative stereotype attached to it.

So I’m for gamer. I have never seen anything wrong with it, and with the way the industry is going I can only see it becoming more positive.