Gaming Is Cool But Gamers Are (Still) Not

Quote: "A few years ago I read an opinion column in a local gaming magazine in which the writer drew a very unnerving picture about the gaming scene; where it has come from and where it is going in the future.

In a nutshell he asserted that as gaming slowly but surely reaches the mainstream, it becomes more popular and receives more widespread positive appeal but those of us who have always been around and can actually call ourselves gamers will not suddenly become the cool kids. The jocks will effectively still remain the jocks and, unfortunately, we will still remain the nerdy / geeky dweebs who creep everyone out and essentially, are social outcasts. "

[Canary]

Did everyone else go to a stereoptypical 1980s high school?

I almost feel bad that my school wasn't segregated into social classes like that. ~__~

[Krypto]

Only ones that are not cool, are the ones that don't game!

[Reverent]

I don't even understand that. As a kid, I went through FOUR separate schools (3 in small towns, and one in a huge city) and literally none of them were set up in that stereotypical fashion. It's like, everyone was too busy with their own lives to give a crap about who was the "cool" group, or the "jock" group etc. Did TV sitcoms just invent it to set up some stupid gag, or what?

[wallis]

TV just relies on lazy stereotypes as do most narratives. You can't introduce every single aspect of a character from the word go so a lot of the time it's inferred and stereotypes are great at this. You see this all the time in video games as well. How many old wise guys, little bouncy sidekick girls, big hulking angsty heroes and violent orcs have we dealt with in games? How many villains have facial scarring, how many heroes have stubble as a shortcut for manliness? Just the way shit is.

[HammadTheBeast]

Tv media, whatever.

In my time, Gameboys were what the "cool kids" had.

[Reverent]

Lol exactly. When I was in school, whoever had the latest console, games, etc. were considered the person you wanted to hang out with.

[GloriousBagel]

I'm cool :<.
Gaming was cool in my High School but it was just a bunch of lame CoD kids. I felt like the only RPG gamer there xD

[mamotte]

I'm 27, work in a company with guys my age... and I still know that feeling. I mean, they're literally "But, but... you need to read in that game, right? Meh"

[3-4-5]

I'm same age and come from a time when games were anything.

There is a whole generation of gamers who think that if it's not COD then it sucks.

People who are just getting into gaming since 2007 end up being the most vocal about what games are good even though they have no clue how many gems of various genres they have missed out on over the years.

90% of games released today don't hold up to the SNES, N64 , PS1 classics.

[GloriousBagel]

I know that feel. I am an early ninety's kid. 93' to be exact :).

RPG games were all the rage, kids didn't mind reading. (at least that was the case for my group of friends) We played all genres and loved all games.

That is not the case anymore, my siblings can't touch anything that isn't CoD. They can't stand RPG games because of the reading.

Instant gratification/ADD styled games have ruined this generation of gamers.

[mamotte]

@ those two guys above:

I dont know what's happening with the extreme laziness today. Specially when it comes to read. You should see my coworkers's face when they catch me playing 999 or Phoenix Wright during breaks (Or learning Japanese). They just cant imagine a game with so Much text can exist. They think it cant be funny, too. Sad times, really. Not to mention that the native language here is spanish, and I play games in english. So: Full text + english = ARE YOU F'ING INSANE???.

[HK5A]

'Some of them' Are NOT, NOT all of them.

[Jayjayff]

I'm pretty cool.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Dude you have an Oldboy avatar. You are way cool in my book :3

[ApolloTheBoss]

If all gamers were cool we'd all be playing nothing but Madden and COD.

[Reverent]

That's funny because most of the people I know who play both of those games, are chubby, greasy guys who just sit on the couch all day and either, play the aforementioned games, or watch sports.

Not saying this is a stereotype or anything; just my personal experience.

[ApolloTheBoss]

Well, high school jocks would usually play those games when I was in grade school, but hey, to each his own experience.

[Reverent]

Also, I realized my comment may have come off a bit defensive/rude sounding, but that wasn't my intention. I do actually agree with you lol.

[ANIALATOR136]

I hate people like my dad who can't appreciate a game such as metal gear solid and see it the way i see it. He just sees it as me pressing buttons on a screen and quite nerdy. It's a fantastic, mind blowing story but he doesn't see that. He'd rather watch the bbc program pointless ffs. But he appreciates some films. Why not games?

[e-p-ayeaH]

meh who gives sh!t im the one who´s being entertained.

To be completely honest i rather see gaming as an non-mainstream medium because that doesn't affect originality in games.

[momthemeatloaf]

Most gamers are just nerdy and don't have much personality and style, but not all of them. I am a gamer and have both, I'm a beast.

[aLucidMind]

I would say "many", not "most" as it is likely just most of the gamers you personally have met. Many have no real personality or style, while many others do.

[NateCole]

F*ck cool. Who the fuck cares?. I play and enjoy the hell out of my games and i don't care how i look while doing it or as a result of it.

[thebudgetgamer]

That clearly doesn't apply to me as I have been voted coolest boy in all of the land three years in a row.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Speak for yourself, nerd.

[Max-Zorin]

Only gamers that simply hate other gamers for having different preferences are not cool.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Well said.

+1 bubble.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

I agree although I admit im more of a ps3 gamer or fanboy you might say but I dont hate 360 owners or nintendo fans, I have relatives and friends who own 360 and wii and I play with them. But Some PC gamers is what pisses me off. bashing consoles and the users thinking theyre all high and mighty, coming to topics and having arguments not even acknowledging that consoles have advantages over PCs but we are not saying consoles are the best.

[worldwidegaming]

When I was not gaming, I was getting laid.
When I was gaming, The ladies were waiting for me to save.
Now if I was caught playing a game like
hyperdimension neptunia then I think my odds would drop...
Hell, Real nerds only need their hand and some dead or alive... in the end who cares. as long as you are well entertained its all good!

[CEOSteveBallmer]

PC gamers (some, not all) are not cool. Always coming to topics like consoles are good, PS4 is awesome and then bashing it with facts. They dont even acknowledge the advantages of consoles over PCs. Everything has pros and cons. PC has advantages but that doesnt give it the right the its the best. same can be said of consoles. I can tolerate Xbox fanboys, ps3 fanboys, nintendo fanboys but some PC fanboys I cant tolerate. They think theyre the best and have the best "machine"