Be a “player of games” rather than a “gamer”, no thank you!

Amber writes: "#GamerGate. I’m sure you’ve all heard about this by now and if you haven’t, you’re one of the lucky ones. Not only are gaming journalists coming under fire, and rightly so, but so is the term “gamer” and those that use it. A barrage of articles popped up on multiple gaming related websites over the last few weeks stating that we should disown the term gamer, completely rid it from our vocabulary and coin a new term such as “player of games” to describe ourselves, but why should we?"

[AmbaLaBamba]

Midnight rant of sorts, I apologize for wasting anyone's time!

[randomass171]

Nice rant. I really liked the article. I personally don't want the term gamer to go away either. A few bad eggs does not mean the term gamer or gamers in general are dead and I also agree with the sentiment that the term applies to anyone who is passionate about and plays many games.

[Godmars290]

And yet you've only commented, instead of removing this drivel.

And really, after all the BS about "updating" the term gamer, "a player of games" is the best anyone has come up with?

Edit:
Maybe. But then by my lower, earlier comment, I stopped reading it at a certain point. A point where I drew a conclusion.

[randomass171]

Isn't drivel a little harsh? He was defending the term gamer in the article and speaks very positively about the medium. But judging from your comment below, I take it you did not read past the second paragraph?

[born_naughty]

Thank you for apologizing.

[mcarsehat]

There are Gamers who buy and play games because they like them, they don't care what is said or done in the industry, they just want to be entertained.

Then there are the others that maliciously insult, complain about, skit, rip, riff, shit on the things that they don't approve on.

If the term "Gamer" represents the latter; i am not a gamer anymore.

[Serrafina]

Well, it's your opinion.

[randomass171]

That's why it's an opinion piece! :P

[Serrafina]

I know, that's why I'm surprise the author has apologized.

[Godmars290]

"The term however is now outdated and the description should be altered and updated,"

Stopped reading there...

[BrandanT]

"I'm a player of games"... That's incredibly awkward to say. I don't understand what's wrong with calling ourselves "gamers." It's grammatically correct; adding "er" to the end of a verb turns the verb into a noun, For example, if the word was "read" adding "er" to change it to "reader" turns the verb into a noun meaning "one who reads." So, "gamer" just means "one who games."
Why do feminists always have to make things so cumbersome? Maybe one day, they'll change "reader" to " a looker of books who mentally uses the given characters to make grammatical structures in order to understand the story that the author wanted to share."

[mad-dog]

It is an akward thing to say. Who really says that anyway?.. you say "i play games". Like "i read books" and "i listen to music". You don't say "i'm a reader" or "i'm a reader of books".

Both are stupid.

Calling yourself a gamer gives the impression that you limit yourself, or dedicate your life (for a large part) to one type of entertainment. That's a personal choice. But for me gaming is just one type of entertainment. So no, i wouldn't call myself a "gamer". I play games though. Sure.

[DragonKnight]

"Calling yourself a gamer gives the impression that you limit yourself."

Literally have had zero people ever express that idea until right now when you pulled it out of the dark ether of nothingness.

Gamer is just an easy was to say you play video games. It's a way to describe the group of people for whom gaming is more than just a passing hobby. It's not a restriction on entertainment choices.

[hkgamer]

no one calls or labels themselves a reader.

i also think gamer is a weird term but if you like to call yourself that then you have the right to. i dont think gamer is associated with anything else so why bother changing it?
maybe i need to readup on the details of this gamergate thing, or should we call it #playerofgamesgate

[ruefrak]

People label themselves as readers all the time.

[Spotie]

They've all pretty much got their own terms. Movie lovers are buffs, or cinephiles. Book lovers- specifically books- are bookworms, though you CAN be called an avid reader if you cross formats regularly, like I do. People that like to tinker with cars are called gearheads or motorheads.

Why can't we just be gamers? What's weird about it? And why isn't there this movement to force gender-related changes on anything else that's male-oriented?

Why aren't we men trying to force daytime talk shows and soap operas into catering to us? We watch TV, too.

Oh, wait. Because that's stupid.

[DragonKnight]

"no one calls or labels themselves a reader."

7 billion people in the world. Your study must be thousands of pages long and contain only 2 columns. One filled with 7 billion names, and the other with either a yes or a no beside the question "labels themselves as gamer." When can I expect to see it?

[hkgamer]

well, i always though the term gamer was stupid. actual not a big fan of slapping a name on anyone.

but i do agree that player of games is downright stupid.

[contradictory]

Since when was the term gamer negative to begin with? But I don't feel like it's necessary to put that stamp on anyone anyways to begin with..

[KentBlake]

I'm a playa!

That's just ridiculous. I'm a gamer, why not? The term gamer already means "player of games". I'm not racist, sexist of homophobic because of that. And also I won't make any death threats to someone just because I disagree with them on the internet. If some gamers have these problems, it's not because they're gamers, but because they're idiots.

And all I said above is just common sense, but nowadays common sense is just not so common anymore. We need politicians, scientists and the media to teach us how to reach common sense. And usually in the most nonsense ways imaginable.

Crazy times we live in, I say.

[ruefrak]

Exactly. I've been playing games for 30 years, and I'd consider myself a gamer. I was shocked to wake up on day, not too long ago, and suddenly read that "gamer" was now a negative thing. WTF?

Terms are only negative if you allow them to be.

[Fishy Fingers]

Games are more or less as big a part of popular culture as movies or music. Having to define yourself as a 'gamer' is totally redundant unless you consider some form of badge of honour for the 'hardcore'.

[Baka-akaB]

What's the point of refusing a label if it's to adopt a new one ?

[MilkMan]

You know what? I wish there was another term rather than "gamer" I usually call myself a hobbyist to non-gamers. When you say gamer and they know I'm 42 years old they assume I'm some man-child that screams profanity at a TV screen an plays that "military" game all day long in the basement of my dead mothers house.

Its a stigma I try to break, a perception I try to change.
We face lots of challenges in this industry, this being a small, little, tiny one.

I interchange them sometimes, for lack of a better word. But the fact of the matter is I play almost all genres, on all platforms.
Dont know if this is a rare thing or not, but whether it is or not. This is the face I like to push forward. Not the idea that Joe public has of our sub-sub-culture (as thriving as it may be)

[DragonKnight]

You understand that that "stigma" has existed for 40+ years and isn't going to change with a label right?

[SilentNegotiator]

Proud gamer here. I've never let the minute minority decide my level of commitment or pride, and I'm not starting by calling myself a "player of games" like an idiot.

[vikingland1]

I play alot of video games therefore I'm a video gamer. To say I'm a gamer is more a broad term. Monopoly , baseball , poker are all games. If I played many types of games then the term gamer would be correct. I don't mean different genre of video games either.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I didn't realise gaming terminology bothered anyone...

I play games all the time but I see it as a fun hobby and don't understand all this seriousness and "gamergate" whatever that is. Seems a bit pathetic to me...