How do you define a gamer?

[Gourmandise]

My roommate and I both bought games today. I got Crypt of the NecroDancer, he got HuniePop.

I'm surprised by this, as he usually is into instant-gratification lootwhore games like Diablo and such. I ask him why he bought it. He says "some guy on Youtube played it".

I then to tell him that I, too, have bought a game and it's the one he knows I've been on the fence about. Now I know what HuniePop is all about and don't really care. Play whatever you want and have fun, right?

But here's the kicker; he glances at my screen for less than a second and proceeds to tear this game a new one based off of the fraction of a second he's seen of it. I try to explain to him what it's about but in his massive willful ignorance he spouts tripe like "it looks like shit" and laughs. I went to my room, mind-boggled by how stupid he can be sometimes and thought to myself what defines a gamer, because he sure as hell ain't a real gamer.

So guys, what defines a gamer to you? Is it simple someone who plays games, or something more?

[Jester Joe]

Someone who plays games as a hobby, rather than just as a casual past time. There's a big difference to me.

One is someone who will be like "Oh man, I've been waiting for this game! I can't wait to play it!"

The other is like "Oh, I got 20 minutes on the bus, let's play some Candy Crush".


PS- I never head of this Crypt of the NecroDancer, I just looked up the trailer and it looks really good actually. So many indie games I've been missing lately.

[Orange Joe]

A gamer to me is someone who frequently plays games. (At least 16+ hours a week)

[Daedius]

Anyone that enjoys video games as a frequent past time ?

Edit - did a quick Google Image on "HuniePop" ... a lot of anime porn cropped up <_<;

[Gourmandise]

Someone who plays games as a hobby, rather than just as a casual past time. There's a big difference to me.

One is someone who will be like "Oh man, I've been waiting for this game! I can't wait to play it!"

The other is like "Oh, I got 20 minutes on the bus, let's play some Candy Crush".

I can dig that. It's like i'm not a sports fan just because my friend has extra tickets to games sometimes.

Anyone that enjoys video games as a frequent past time ?

Why so not sure of yourself? It's your answer and what you believe!

[Daedius]

Why so not sure of yourself? It's your answer and what you believe!

Rhetorical question.

[Rixis]

Google images for the two games tell me your friend didn't buy it for the game content that it may have and more the naked/suggestive anime girls, hell one image even looked a bit tentically

It's hard to say it without sounding a bit snobbish, but to me, a gamer is someone who loves and plays what I consider actual games, games with more substance than to join 3 gems together, or visit someones farm and see some automated text and a couple of button presses.

That's not to say those aren't games or anything, but a gamer will enjoy at least some modicum of variety. If the only games you ever play are driving games and won't entertain the thought of anything other than that, you're not a gamer (in my opinion), you're a guy who likes driving games. You don't have to like every single game/genre, but to like games.

Mobile gaming has brought in this new wave of so called gamers, but to me all it I see it as is something to do for 10 minutes whilst waiting for the bus, or on your break at work. It's a distraction, not a hobby. I wouldn't call myself a swimmer if I had a bath once a day.

[Deleted]

For me, a gamer is someone who considers gaming to be a large part of their hobbies, if not their only hobby. My aunt is a gardener. She's always doing stuff in her garden, she has a huge garden full of flowers and vegetables and other spider-ridden nightmares. I've got a few hanging baskets which need watering, sure, but I'm not a gardener.

My mum plays facebook games these days, and back in the 90s she'd play doom, hexen and playstation games like crash bandicoot, but I wouldn't call her a gamer because it's ultimately a very small part of what she does, and always has been.

I don't really consider someone who has candy crush installed on their phone a gamer, even if they do game every now and again. If, however, you were going crazy on candy crush and played it constantly, I would call you a gamer.

[Gatsbybutters]

I see 3 gamers:
Good gamer plays to win and helps whatever team they are on whatever game they are playing. They don't buy shitty dlc deals (not all are), support nonsense marketing (amiibos, pre order crap), and play for the sake of having fun.
Casual gamer don't care. Picks a genre, stays in it, win, lose, w/e. Into it, but not into it.
Shitty gamer trolls, yells at people, buys over priced dlc, pre orders everything, doesn't care about teammates in anything, frequents kotaku and goes by gamespot/ign reviews.

Everyone's a gamer if they game. It's what kind of gamer you are that matters.

[Halicia]

I'd say that a GAMER, is someone that plays multiple/many games and not just "one game".

Its hard to find anyone nowadays that hasn't played a videogame at some point... but there's plenty of people that *ONLY* play that one game. Be it Minecraft, or Call of Duty, or (sports franchise) 2017.

I'd also extend the Gamer moniker to Boardgames, Cardgames, RPGs, etc. A *GAMER* will likely enjoy games in general, and may pursue the settings or styles they enjoy across genres.

Skill has !@#$all to do with it.

Honestly though, I don't get where pride/insults comes into being called a "real gamer". If you're doing something because you enjoy it as a hobby, wtf does it matter what anyone else thinks ?

Now, if you're getting paid to do something you enjoy, there's something to be proud of in that. (Pro Poker gamers. yay.)

[Deleted]

my opion of a gamer is someone who would rather game as a free time activti then other hobbies, like reading a book or watching tw. Not saying you only stick to the one thing and only that, But it filles alot more of your time then the rest of them.

[mizeri]

someone that plays video games as his/hers favorite past time

[lawow74]

It's someone who plays games, be they video games, tabletop games, card games or a mixture of any of those as a pastime/hobby. Technically speaking, anyone who plays a game on a regular basis is a gamer, but to me a true gamer is someone who plays or has played multiple different games and is interested in the overall industry/culture of games to some degree.

[Blueobelisk]

If you don't have an Xbone, WiiU, PS4, and PC built from parts released in the past two months, you aren't a gamer.

[Jester Joe]

If you don't have an Xbone, WiiU, PS4, and PC built from parts released in the past two months, you aren't a gamer.

I would narrow that down to at least having one of those.
Personally I have a Wii U, a PS4, and a PC I bought 2 years ago...wait...you're exaggerating about that aren't you?

[zealo]

Someone that plays "ordinary" games beyond just candy crush on their phone occasionally.

There's a massive difference in demographics between what is commonly referred to as a core gamer and your uncle who plays angry birds on his phone once in a while.

[Blueobelisk]

a true gamer is someone who plays or has played multiple different games and is interested in the overall industry/culture of games to some degree.

I agree. A gamer is anyone who plays games. That means people playing Angry Birds seriously are gamers. Saying otherwise is just to make yourself feel special since you devote so much time to games. OP, you're definitely wrong. People have different tastes and you're no better of a "gamer" than your roommate just because he likes a different genre, whatever it may be.

I do think to be a video game enthusiast, as lawow said, you have to have enough knowledge about the industry and about games and consoles in general to at least hold a decent conversation. Because someone can play an MMO 24 hours a day or think they're hip playing Call of Duty or sports games on their console all day, but if they don't know anything else then they're too limited in knowledge to really say video gaming is their hobby.

[rayden54]

I can play baseball with my friends. That doesn't make me a baseball player. There's got to be some sort of investment or commitment involved. I'd say it's the same with gaming.

Context matters too. I keep seeing these posts from some group on Facebook claiming that "60% of gamers are Female." The problem is, they include things like Farmville in their definition of games. Which would be fine by itself, but it keeps popping up in the wrong context. These people are not the same "gamers" that matter to the studios who make AAA games. You can't tell Ubisoft that they should have a female lead because that study says 60% of "gamers" are Female--they're not the same market*. For that kind of gamer, I'd argue the investment involved is the purchase of a dedicated graphics card. After all a lot of the people who play Facebook games can't even run a AAA game.

Actually that same study includes anyone who "owns at least one gaming console." No mention of whether it's current generation (thus making you relevant to content creators) or if it even works. I own a PS3. I use it to watch Blu-rays. I own 6 games. I very occasionally play them. I even have a broken Super Nintendo. I'm not a console gamer.


*That's not to say they shouldn't have a female lead. Though I don't care for female leads for the sake of having one and I really don't care for the "you should have a female lead because of female players" argument-as if all females wish to play female characters.

[Imnick]

Anyone who plays video games and cares about them enough to want to use the word gamer as a self-description, is one.
It's... just that simple. Anything more discriminating is just bullshit nerd elitism.

[Lady Dragonheart]

A gamer is someone who plays games... It's not that complex or specific to me.

Anything past that is moreso just a competition of who plays what more... They're all still gamers in the end, just to different degrees of casual vs hardcore.