What is and what is not a gamer for you?

[darkforcegod]

I want to make a civilized discussion about what is and and what is not a gamer? This will be based on your believes, experiences and opinions. This thread is being made because I see more and more cases of people trying to "decide"who is a gamer and who is not. We will discuss this with respect please.

I will give my opinon when Im done writing it.

Love you all.

 

[Dullshimmer]

I guess I'm willing to be fairly generous and say that anyone who enjoys video games and plays them on a consistent basis is a gamer. You have to enjoy games, just playing to appease a sibling or significant other doesn't count. It also has to be something you're doing actively, not that you played Mario on the NES when it came out. If you're still playing it now I'd say that counts, it doesn't matter if you're playing current gen or the Atari 2600, it is more about if you're still playing now.

That's my thought on the matter, I suppose I would change a bit if you're asking who is "hardcore" or not, but I kind of find that distinction a bit pointless.

 

[darkforcegod]

I share basically the same idiology as you @Dullshimmer

I think that for me to consider you a gamer you have to play regularly and be interested in the gaming world ( news, upcoming games, you like to talk to others about games and your experiences etc etc etc).

I dont consider people that only play when they are totally bored and download candy crush but don't even care about it or other games or the industry. Gamer for me means that the hobby that you enjoy the most is gaming. You love to game and aside from working, having a family and other things which are important but you still love to spend time with your games and other gamers then you are a GAMER.

There are other type of people that only play one game and they think they are the ultimate gamer just because they play that game over and over again. That doesn't make you anything special because when you go to another game you don't even know what to do with it. It happens A LOT where I live ( Puerto Rico) where most people just buy an Xbox or PS just to play COD then they call themselves "the best players".

 

[Lifewish]

Anyone that plays JRPGs

 

[Jacky]

In my a opinion a gamer is a person who plays games period, and i mean any type of game. From cards, to board games, to video games. However if you are refering to a specific type of gamer, that's where i like to throw in the sub categories, i.e.
Video gamers
Board gamers
Etc..

 

[Chandler Wood]

A gamer is anyone that would categorize themselves as a gamer. I know some people that play mobile games, but would not consider themselves to be a gamer. I feel it is more of a self identifier than anything else.

 

[Lifewish]

A gamer is anyone that would categorize themselves as a gamer. I know some people that play mobile games, but would not consider themselves to be a gamer. I feel it is more of a self identifier than anything else.

Cell phone gaming does not make you a gamer.

 

[Chandler Wood]

Cell phone gaming does not make you a gamer.

That's what I'm saying. The ESA includes cell phone 'gamers' in their reports about gaming demographics, yet most of those cell and facebook players don't consider themselves gamers, so the industry shouldn't necessarily either.

 

[Dullshimmer]

What's hard is that I feel the label of "gamer" gets used in at least three ways commonly (that I can think of).

1. It's used as a self-identifier. It's used to indicate that I like playing games.

2. It's used as a form of measurement within the self-identified group. If someone claimed to be a gamer and only played cell phone games they may not be considered a gamer by a good number of people no matter if they self-identify as a gamer or not. This kind of usage also gets into the whole who is the more "hardcore" gamer argument.

3. It's used by outside parties as a demographic. Either as mentioned above by the ESA, or by news outlets as some kind of target.

Personally I use it the first way most of the time. I don't really have too much use for measuring other people's claims to be a gamer as long as they're actually interested in games. Like all things there are people who have more experience, a wider variety of interest in genres, and more money to put into the hobby. The third runs the risk of being used in ways that are too wide (this person downloaded Candy Crush so they're a gamer) or blown out of proportion (gamers are dangerous to society or some such rot).

 

[Lifewish]

What's hard is that I feel the label of "gamer" gets used in at least three ways commonly (that I can think of).

1. It's used as a self-identifier. It's used to indicate that I like playing games.

2. It's used as a form of measurement within the self-identified group. If someone claimed to be a gamer and only played cell phone games they may not be considered a gamer by a good number of people no matter if they self-identify as a gamer or not. This kind of usage also gets into the whole who is the more "hardcore" gamer argument.

3. It's used by outside parties as a demographic. Either as mentioned above by the ESA, or by news outlets as some kind of target.

Personally I use it the first way most of the time. I don't really have too much use for measuring other people's claims to be a gamer as long as they're actually interested in games. Like all things there are people who have more experience, a wider variety of interest in genres, and more money to put into the hobby. The third runs the risk of being used in ways that are too wide (this person downloaded Candy Crush so they're a gamer) or blown out of proportion (gamers are dangerous to society or some such rot).

They gave us trophies and achievements and whatever lame system Nintendo put in place as a way to help us "measure" who is a "true" gamer.. So yea I usually use option uno.

 

[darkforcegod]

I just think that if we are going to count every single person that downloads candy Crush or flappy bird and plays it and call him or her a gamer then doesnt that make 90% of people now days a gamer? I don't think so. Gamer is much more than just playing for a while then forgetting about everything about games, the industry and the community. Gamer is exactly that: games, caring for games, the development and the industry in general, being part of the community.

If we are going to count almost everybody as a gamer just because he knows how to grab the controller then the idea of what is a gamer would be lost.

 

[Lifewish]

I just think that if we are going to count every single person that downloads candy Crush or flappy bird and plays it and call him or her a gamer then doesnt that make 90% of people now days a gamer? I don't think so. Gamer is much more than just playing for a while then forgetting about everything about games, the industry and the community. Gamer is exactly that: games, caring for games, the development and the industry in general, being part of the community.

If we are going to count almost everybody as a gamer just because he knows how to grab the controller then the idea of what is a gamer would be lost.

Yea, I know how to pick up a tennis racket and swing it, but that doesn't make me a tennis player.

 

[darkforcegod]

Yea, I know how to pick up a tennis racket and swing it, but that doesn't make me a tennis player.

Yeah. I think that a lot of people call everybody that plays ( even if it is one time during the month) GAMER just because they don't want to be the bad guy that decides who is what and who is not, more or less.

 

[MakaiOokami]

Gamer. Someone who spends money to play games. Not someone who only spends money on free to play games in order to get further by playing the game less. So this includes people who spend a bunch of money in Minion Madness, or Jetpack Joyride, or Farmville, but not people who play those games and spend maybe $10-20 dollars.

Hardcore Gamer. Someone who goes looking for games to buy regularly. Example if I say Humble Bundle, and you go to that website, and then hit up GoG for sales, and then steam sales, you're a hardcore gamer.

Casual gamer. Someone who will play Hohokum, Journey, or a few other games that don't require reflexes with a handful of games that do.

True gamer. Someone who takes a break from hardcore gaming sessions by throwing in some Flower, Minecraft, Hohokum, Jouney, and other pallete cleansing casual titles.

Fake gamer. Someone who says "Omg really? More indie games?"

Ungamer. Someone who buys Call of Duty, Destiny, Madden, GTA, maybe a racing game, and what ever other game everyone talks about. These are the people that ONLY play what sells in the millions to 10s of millions ranges. They don't even really care what else is out there. Unless everyone else is playing it, they don't want to.

 

[darkforcegod]

Yeah. True they will not buy if its not super popular like GTA and COD.

 

[MakaiOokami]

I actually started my whole argument as a joke.

Then I realized that it was only funny to me because my caricatures are actual archetypes. So I went from goofily making up various categories, to actually considering maybe they should be categories.

 

[FAT MAN GO BOOM]

Gamers are those that buy into gaming and play at least a couple times a week...

It can be hard... to define such a thing...


Gamers are those that game regularly and punchers gamers regularly..

 

[Arthur Sataine]

My personal categorization is unanimously unpopular across all spectrums. However, the self-categorizing aspect is one I agree with most.

Gamer. Someone who spends money to play games. Not someone who only spends money on free to play games in order to get further by playing the game less. So this includes people who spend a bunch of money in Minion Madness, or Jetpack Joyride, or Farmville, but not people who play those games and spend maybe $10-20 dollars.

Hardcore Gamer. Someone who goes looking for games to buy regularly. Example if I say Humble Bundle, and you go to that website, and then hit up GoG for sales, and then steam sales, you're a hardcore gamer.

Casual gamer. Someone who will play Hohokum, Journey, or a few other games that don't require reflexes with a handful of games that do.

True gamer. Someone who takes a break from hardcore gaming sessions by throwing in some Flower, Minecraft, Hohokum, Jouney, and other pallete cleansing casual titles.

Fake gamer. Someone who says "Omg really? More indie games?"

Ungamer. Someone who buys Call of Duty, Destiny, Madden, GTA, maybe a racing game, and what ever other game everyone talks about. These are the people that ONLY play what sells in the millions to 10s of millions ranges. They don't even really care what else is out there. Unless everyone else is playing it, they don't want to.

To give a taste of what I mean above I'll use these excellent categories by Makai here. For instance, my definition of Hardcore Gamers is essentially the combined results of Makai's Fake Gamer and Ungamer. I'll also use the term Non-gamer as a synonym for Hardcore Gamer. They are just the people that take gaming far too seriously and play for all the wrong reasons.

A True Gamer to me is a combination of Makai's Casual Gamer, Hardcore Gamer, and True Gamer. These are the ones that truly love our hobby and enjoy everything about it.

My Casual Gamer is simply people that play whatever they can, whenever they can play them.

Both my definition of True Gamer and Casual Gamer play for one, simple reason. Fun. Ultimately, that is why gamers game. We play games to have fun and we love having fun playing them.

 

[MakaiOokami]

My personal categorization is unanimously unpopular across all spectrums. However, the self-categorizing aspect is one I agree with most.





To give a taste of what I mean above I'll use these excellent categories by Makai here. For instance, my definition of Hardcore Gamers is essentially the combined results of Makai's Fake Gamer and Ungamer. I'll also use the term Non-gamer as a synonym for Hardcore Gamer. They are just the people that take gaming far too seriously and play for all the wrong reasons.

A True Gamer to me is a combination of Makai's Casual Gamer, Hardcore Gamer, and True Gamer. These are the ones that truly love our hobby and enjoy everything about it.

My Casual Gamer is simply people that play whatever they can, whenever they can play them.

Both my definition of True Gamer and Casual Gamer play for one, simple reason. Fun. Ultimately, that is why gamers game. We play games to have fun and we love having fun playing them.

Well casual gamers sometimes just play because they need to kill time and they get addicted. Not neccessarily having fun but it's better than staring blankly at traffic going by. There might be satisfaction but not fun.

Kinda like smoking. People don't smoke because they want to they have a need to fill.

 

[MakaiOokami]

A True Gamer to me is a combination of Makai's Casual Gamer, Hardcore Gamer, and True Gamer. These are the ones that truly love our hobby and enjoy everything about it.

Sometimes people call themselves hardcore gamer, when they're just a hardcore CoD fan, and they don't play much else. So self categorization doesn't always mean anything.

My definition of true gamer actually included combining hardcore and casual gaming.

"True gamer. Someone who takes a break from hardcore gaming sessions by throwing in some Flower, Minecraft, Hohokum, Jouney, and other pallete cleansing casual titles."