Socially acceptable to play Pokemon Go yet WoW has a massive stigma

[IntellectuallyChallenged]

TBF people do that regardless of Pokemon Go

Fair enough. I can't disagree with that.

The idea behind the game is, I think, great but I don't think they accounted for human stupidity.

They never do. They just make contributions to said stupidity. All they see are dollar signs. It makes them blind to reality.

[Thoughtcrime]

Haven't really run into this 'massive stigma' personally. But then WoW isn't some massive part of my life that I feel the need to talk about it a whole bunch to people that I know aren't going to have any interest. Same with Pokemon GO I guess, or any other hobby I have for that matter.

[Shinra1]

well its just anecdotes of course, i didnt try to claim that my experience was universal. However i have been in 5 - 6 different workplaces in a few different fields, some tech related, some retail, some catering, and all had the same experience

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i agree about stop caring, as i mentioned in my post i have seen / faced stigma / comments about both, but i really dont care, everyone has their hobbies. usually the people that make a fuss about pc gaming / wow are the people who's only hobby is watching TV after they get home from work, i'd like to ask one how that hobby is any better than me going home and playing pc games for a few hours

It is definitely not just you. Adam admitted above that he's never been to school or uni. First post on page 2. I think he's the one who's the exception not you or me.

[Deleted]

As i've grown up, i've discovered a lot more people play games than they let on.

I've never really understood the need for the "double life" as it were, but as someone whose "open" about being a PC gamer, I tend to get into a lot of conversations with people who otherwise wouldn't let on that they play games.

That said, the idea that gaming in general is "nerdy" has already died, so I don't know where your getting your social stigma from. Most people I know have only heard about Warcraft from either playing it, or from South Park.

[Hawthorne Wipes]

I'm all in for the good side of going out walking miles and all that, but how can people be saying it promotes social interaction that much?
Can you really consider it "interaction" when you go outside but keep looking at the phone screen all the time? and you can perfectly play without speaking to nobody, if people are doing it now is because: they were nice in the first place, and the initial hype was exciting enough to share it. That's all.

I think the stygma associated with WoW has more to do with the monthly payment and the fact that you can't (or couldn't) just log in and do a quick play.

[urasim]

Pokemon go isn't socially accepted. Can't tell you how many assholes tell kids they're geeks and losers when I'm out shopping or whatever. I don't play the game myself. But, if it gets fat kids out of the house to exercise and socialize with other kids, it's probably the best video game ever created.

I hear a lot of horror stories around it, though. Like assholes playing while driving. Think those idiots need to be arrested and their licence revoked for life.

[Theoris]

The only time I was labeled a loser for playing WoW was by a girl back in high school. She was kind of a bitch to everyone in general, though.

[Coombs]

The 'gamer' culture died in the early 2000's, and so did the stigma with it. Now everyone plays stupid fucking games on their phone that take little time investment and they all lack depth. Much like the current WoW lol.

[Malacrass]

There is also a stigma about Pokemon Go, but it's still different compared to WoW.

With Go you have a lot of positive articles flying around, people gathering in person in the outside world doing stuff together. A harmless smartphone game (apart from people getting hit by trucks and stuff).

WoW on the other hand received bad media coverage from day one. A game for basement dwellers, addicts, soon to be school shooters. I even remember our state channels here in Germany demonizing the game.

[Bigthumbb]

The fact is, Pokemon Go has become a phenomenon in a time when game culture is accepted as mainstream. WoW became a phenomenon at a time when game culture was NOT accepted as mainstream, even though it really already was. WoW helped bring gaming culture into the public perception, but it was sort of a martyr in that sense. WoW was the poster child for videogame obsession and dysfunctional nerdiness, and it carries its stigma with it to this day, even as games in general have become completely normal and mainstream.

[Deleted]

It is definitely not just you. Adam admitted above that he's never been to school or uni. First post on page 2. I think he's the one who's the exception not you or me.

Where the fuck did I say I never attended school? I'm 30, WoW came out in 2004, do the math! My experience regarding WoW has been with adults of varying ages, neither me or my associates encountered stigma regarding MMORPGs or other games

[Calfredd]

The only time I was labeled a loser for playing WoW was by a girl back in high school. She was kind of a bitch to everyone in general, though.

There were a lot of wannabe gang bangers and 16 & Pregnant girls in my high school. If any of them found out I played games and mocked me for it, I'd probably laugh.

[zorkuus]

It's a generational thing. I'm a 35 year old lawyer, and my colleagues don't understand me playing Pokemon Go any more than they understand me playing WoW.

Doesn't sound like a generational thing. As a 35 year old you shouldn't really be part of the generation that got swept away by the Pokemon craze back in the days. I should know, I'm 35.

[Maudib]

There's no stigma unless you only associate with teenagers and weirdos

This. The only stigma is in your own mind. You are embarrassed to be addicted to a game, and therefore assume others look at you differently. If that is the case, then it's YOU who needs to take control of your life and adjust your priorities.

[Thage]

Adam and Thage pretending like stigma playing WoW doesn't exist in mainstream society (the real world) is not doing either of you favours. Obviously it depends on where you live and who you hang about with but our experiences cannot be that wildly different unless of course you didn't go to a normal school or a normal university or have a normal job where playing a game like WoW is frowned upon.

I live in Georgia, and work at a moderately-upscale restaurant. The sort of place with an actual band (and not the Rolling Stones or local garage rock band kind of band) playing. Not everywhere in America is full of luddites who bought into the anti-game rhetoric of the 90s. Especially not with WoW, which was until a couple years ago a cultural phenomenon with even movie stars and world leaders admitting to playing it.

[Maoli]

I've never felt a stigma towards the WoW. I see a huge stigma towards Pokemon Go. A lot of people think it's silly and that adults shouldn't be doing it.

[Shinra1]

This. The only stigma is in your own mind. You are embarrassed to be addicted to a game, and therefore assume others look at you differently. If that is the case, then it's YOU who needs to take control of your life and adjust your priorities.

Your circular logic makes no sense. A stigma has nothing to do with your own perception of the game rather other people's perception of the game usually people who don't play the game or games in general. And this has nothing to do with how many hours you play the game or your priorities. You're coming across as a tortured soul that grew up in a household where your dad has been telling you to toughen up all your life. lol

[Treeskee]

I've seen more hate for people playing Pokemon GO being "immature" and playing a "kids game" than I have ever seen about WoW.

[ParanoiD84]

One is actually healthy and one is not.

[Alvito]

There's no stigma unless you only associate with teenagers and weirdos

Well that does make up a large group of current and ex WoW players.