This post is really about the Xbox 360 Live Gamer Tag, and specifically the "Zone" declaration line, but it really applies across the board for gamers and gaming if you think about it, because it addresses a larger question of just what our self-image as a gamer is and what it means to us.
While I like the Gamer Tag system, and think it is spiffy to be able to not only see my own Gamer Score and the lists of the different achievements that I have unlocked in a game as well as compare with my friends to see what they have unlocked that I have not and vice-versa, the question of the Gamer Zone has always bothered me.
The Live Gamer Tag
Every Xbox gamer has a Gamer Tag, and is familiar with its basic contents. There is your actual Gamer Tag (the name by which you are known online and in the multi-player game lobbies), your Online Reputation, your total Gamerscore, and your Zone. In addition there is your motto and bio below that (if you actually fill those in, a lot of gamers do not), a line at the bottom showing the icons for the last five game achievements that you unlocked, and finally a status line at the very bottom right telling your friends (or anyone who looks at your Gamer Tag) whether you are currently online or, if not, how long it has been since you were.
Of all those factoids the one that probably concerns most gamers is the Gamerscore, but the one that I find troubling is the line marked "Zone."
Gamer Zone
Officially when you create your Gamer Tag for the first time you will select from one of the four options for the Zone you wish to identify yourself with: Family, Recreation, Underground, or Pro.
The Family Zone: This really requires no explaining, as it is the zone you would pick for ultra casual gaming in which you mostly play games of a type that is appropriate for kids. You probably have them, and your game play habits are ultra casual mostly because you only play every now and then, and when you do, you prefer not to be sworn at, insulted or otherwise abused by gamers in game lobbies and games that support voice chat.
Chances are your kids also live in this zone.
The Recreation Zone: I suspect that most gamers think of this as the definition of the zone for true "casual gaming" and it is what you select if you are, like most people, a gamer who uses your Xbox strictly for entertainment. I notice that a lot of the people that I meet online (and who end up in my Last 50 Players List who have this zone selected spend as much time watching Netflx as they do gaming or maybe even more time.
The Underground Zone: This is the bad-boy of Xbox Gaming Zones, right? Well, maybe not, as after all it is really about how you see yourself, not how the community sees you. In my experience the majority of gamers who have this zone selected tend to be teenagers.
I can say with certainty that when I hear a potty mouth or abusive language 100% of the time when I check the Gamer Tag of the abuser, it reads "Underground" which, to me, says it all :)
Finally there is the Pro Zone: The most confusing zone of them all. Not because I do not know what it means, I do! It is short for "Professional" -- as in Gaming Professional. Gaming PRO. But what does THAT mean?!
According to the IAAU when an athlete accepts money to play a sport, they lose their amateur status, becoming a Pro. As a Pro they are not eligible to compete in the International Olympics, and you would probably be surprised at what qualifies as compensation that can cause you to lose your amateur status!
A lot of gamers liken console gaming to sports, and in particular gamers who like sports games or games with a certain level of competition built into them -- like racing games, football, baseball, basketball, etc. I don't know about that really, but if we carry that analogy forward -- and it really does sort of make sense when you think about it -- does that mean that anyone who has their zone set to Pro is being paid to play video games?
Upholding your Pro Status
Maybe it is ridiculous to assume that anyone in the Pro Zone is being paid to play games. They could be though. For instance they could be games journalist, or paid reviewers. They could be gamers who compete in tourneys for prize money. They could even be in-game gold farmers in Taiwan, or perhaps one of those "consultants" you read about online who will, for a fee, unlock achievements for you or level your rep up in games you don't have the time to play?
Though on that last one you have to wonder what the point to that would be?: After all, if you do not have the time to level your account to master in Halo or Gears of War, do you think any of the real players will be fooled when you show up all Veterany with the achievements and bling and all that rank, and then when they play you you get fragged by your own grenade because you did not realize that 10m is not far enough away?
But that is not the point to this really. The point to this is actually even simpler.
Nine times out of ten when I see a gamer in my 50 Last Gamers Played list who has the Pro Zone set on their Gamer Tag, when I actually look at their tag their account is 3 or more years old, they have a Gamerscore of less than 5,000 and when you look at their individual games, they are almost always sporting 3 or 4 out of 50 achievements for each game! And they are Professional Gamers?!
I ask you this: how can that be?
The Addiction Cannot be Resisted
Now I do not care if you are a Pro gamer, or a Recreational gamer, or even a Family gamer -- when I see games like Fallout: New Vegas, Gears of War 3, LA Noir, or GTA IV in your achievements list and you only have the first two achievements unlocked, I automatically have the reaction of saying "ArWhaaaaaa?!"
I freely admit that I am not the typical gamer, being female, a mother, and lacking in free time to play the games I want to play, but how could any gamer Pro or not only play LA Noir for five minutes? Or GTA IV? Or Gears of War 3? Seriously? You play for five minutes, unlock one or two achievements and then -- wait for it -- never play the game again?!
New Zones I am Proposing
If Xbox Live had to comply with the Truth in Advertising Laws there would have to be a slew of new zones added to the choices, and they would have to implement an AI system that set your zone FOR you, based upon your play history and style. I can see them now:
The Not as Cool as I Think I Am Zomne: This would be the zone for gamers who play the really good games for five minutes, unlock one or two achievements, and then never play them again.
The Achievement Whore Zone: Basically this one is automatic for anyone who has 1000/1000 in their Achievements List for the games Avatar: The Last Air Bender AND King Kong.
The Soccer Mom Zone: Every game in your list is a Kinect for Xbox 360 Title.
The I Have WAY Too Much Free Time Zone: Any gamer whose Gamerscore is over 50,000 on a Gamer Tag that is no older than 2 years old and contains more than 6 1000/1000 titles.
I can probably think of more. And maybe even funnier ones. Can you? If you can, please share your proposed New Gaming Zones with its name and brief description by commenting on this post :)
Now, if I could just get Xbox Live to add a "Wish I had More Time Zone" to the selections...
One more thing -- my husband just pointed out that there is a 5th official Gamer Zone that can appear on Gamer Tags: Cheater.
It turns out that gamers who are caught editing their Gamerscore get their score reset to ZERO and their Zone changed to "Cheater" when they get caught, and according to my honey they almost always get caught, because that is how Karma works :)
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The Slacker Zone - for people who spend more than 40 hrs/wk playing one game.
The Chaos & Mayhem zone - for people who have every achievement in GTA IV except the ones you get for the story.
As for me, I don't have a 360, but I'd probably be in the Recreational zone if I did. That seems to be my pattern. I'm watching Numb3rs on my ps3 as I write this.
It seems to me you've put far too much thought into something that means very little. Gamerzone is a superfluous, self proclaimed sub-title with little meaning beyond labeling yourself into a stereotype.
I do find it interesting how different people view the zones though. Some, like yourself, would say the recreation zone is for "true casual gaming" and that users in this zone tend to use their Xbox for media as much (or more) than gaming. I would be an exception to that, however, as I'm in the recreation zone and only use my Xbox for gaming. I find that the PS3 makes for a better 'all-in-one' media hub in the living room, mainly because of the XMB's ease of use and access to networked media streaming devices but also because I have an 'old' Xbox and I don't like to leave it on for long periods of time because of the noise, heat issues and publicised hardware problem, you know the one :|
Anyway I'm getting off topic so I'll end it here, oh and thanks for mentioning that the cheaters get 'named and shamed', I never knew that ^_^
"...my Limited Edition MGS4 console (less than 10k made for North America) that I paid $600+ for at launch direct from Konami..."
Wow well that proves you must be a massive PS3 fan huh? You must really love the Playstation brand and also Metal Gear Solid 4 to pay all that 'money', I bet you're constantly saying how great the PS3 is in forums and comments sections?
BELIEVE ME, we're neither completely opposite nor similar in any way.
I always understood that these zones were for matchmaking purposes. As in, do you want to play against professional gamers (or moronic teenagers who clearly misunderstand the use of the term), casual/recreational gamers, 4-70 year olds or morons who blare dub-step/gay metal over their microphones while calling everyone "f*gs" and n-words?
It may have fallen by the way-side in years gone by, though.