Gaming Stereotypes
These days everyone plays games. It’s been over a year the Wii has been out and people still are getting in line for it. It’s funny how time has a habit of changing things, I remember back in my middle school days, my daily hobby of playing video games was to be kept a secret from my peers, just for the sake of my dignity. Whenever I would mention any thing relevant to gaming, Super Nintendo, GameBoy, etc, I would just be setting myself up for the “cool kids†to just pick on me. But now, it’s the talk of the town. People spend thousands of dollars (Ebay) on these systems, and I used to be terrorized for just playing them? Ironic isn’t it? Of course there is still a kind of stereotype going on nowadays, people think video games are a waste of time and are just brain washing kids to become super mass murders that will eventually take over the world… right. I’m 23 years old, and whenever a relative comes from out of town and watches me play Mario Galaxy or Halo, they ask me, “You still play this?â€, “I thought you would’ve grown up by now?â€, “This is kids stuffâ€. I’ve been getting these lovely remarks ever since I had a Super Nintendo, and, when I was younger, I would feel ashamed and turn off whatever I was playing. But now, whenever they present their unwanted opinion or question, I just smile and continue playing. Why, cause I enjoy it. Just as all we gamers do, we play for the fun of the game, not for the sake of anyone else (Unless you’re a game tester).Of course, some of the old fashion stereo type still exists. The, “Oh my god, you play video games? You’re such a loser!â€- Apparently they don’t see anything “loser-ish†in the way their talking! I actually had a debate with one of my female friends. I mentioned to her how I bought an Xbox 360 for $400 and she’s responds with the, “What a waste of money!†and I responded on how she doesn’t find buying a $500 Coach purse a waste of money. So we “debated†about how much useful an Xbox 360 is compared to a Coach purse. Yes, she is stupid and no, she’s not hot.
Now this is where the Wii does wonders. People love it, it’s simple, it’s new, and it’s fun. I wouldn’t go off to call these people the casual gamer, the Madden and Need for Speed people, I would label them as, non- gamers. Though I see more and more people interested in Wii sports! Now as a hardcore gamer, I see that as a game just to show was the Wii is capable of, not as a REAL game. But, the non-gamers are buying into it! I mean c’mon, how long can someone play Wii sports for!? The Wii is more about Mario Galaxy, Zelda: TP, and Metroid Prime 3!
These non-gamers also have the typical image of a hardcore gamer: overweight, hairy, breath loud, talk from their nose, and have glasses as thick as professor Fonzworth (Futurama). I remember when I went to go reserve the Wii, it was a Friday because that’s when my local Gamestop started taking reservations. I didn’t have class that day and I called in sick for work so I could be there on time to get the system. In order to get there on time and not to be last in line, I had to get up early, which is something uncommon for me. (Sleeping in FTW!) When my mom heard that I was up, she came out and asked me what are you doing up so early? And I told her that I’m going to go reserve the new Nintendo system and the expression on her face clearly said , “Dumb ass.†Nonetheless, I got to Gamestop and I saw a small line of about 7-8 people. I got in line and sat down, there was still a good hour an half left for the store to open, but it went by so fast, because I found it so easy to relate with those people. There was a fair share of weird people but nothing extreme.
Either way you look at it, almost every new culture has it’s stereotype, we might not find them appealing as others would, just as they wouldn’t find gaming appealing as gamers would. So, am I a loser for playing games? Nope, but people can think whatever they want, but unlike them, I’m not waiting in line for a Wii.
By Gamer, January 14, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Loser! Just kidding. I’m 34, and played hopckey for the last 20 years (3 professionally, not NHL). I’ve been playing games since the Atari 2600, and quickly made friends with people that had it as qwell, as well as rarer consoles like Intellivision. My first PC was an Apple IIe, and I secretly stayed up late past bedtime to play Lode Runner, Karateka and Choplifter. My favorite? The Ultima series.Especially Ultima V. When I was little (not so much any more, but only because arcade games suck now) I was fascinated by the arcade, and spent HOURS in them. Games like Tempest, GOrf, Phoenix, Tron… these games fascinated me. Even if I didn’t have any quarters, I would still go in and watch people play Dragon’s Lair.
Years later, I bought my first Pentium, supposedly for school… but I wanted to play Doom. I have followed the evolution of the FPS ever since. RPG’s are my true love, and even my girlfriend had to take three days off work when I got Oblivion. This was after she got hooked on Morrowind, which I also replayed to get back into the story. I should mention my friend and I used our week vacation back in the day to play Final Fantasy VII.
So am I a “geek”? Sure. Nobody really ever gave me too much crap about video games, as most everyone I knew played them. The “cool” kids weren’t nearly as cool as us, as they had nowhere near as many Star Wars toys, Legos, or games. I remember one “cool kid”, who really was the most popular kid in 4th grade… his house SUCKED. He had a football and a tree you could climb. At least at my friends house, if we were banned from the video games and told to go outside, we would run around with our homemade Time Bandits Map.
So I guess my point is… after time I wear my geekery like a bade of honor. I can’t stand sports games for the most part, and Halo bores me to death. I like an intelligent one player campaign over getting “pwned” any day. And to give this story a happy ending, my love of computers has me in graphic design, so I’m always a click away from a game.
I’m a freakin geek and proud, and the memories and friendships from video games still last.
By Canucklehead, January 14, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
Wow - I can’t possibly follow Gamer above me there - but really, who could.
Anyway, another Pong, Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colleco-Vision, Nintendo, PS2 …. Wii evolution geek here.
Great post - another proud to be a geek stopping in to say cheers!