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So it's 2017. Why does gaming still have an "uncool" stereotype?

F

Family Fry

Member
First 2 mins of this Dara o'brien stand up sums it up nicely and this is from 2010.

https://youtu.be/yKIiUsbOO24

Personally, I was geeking out over Far Cry 4 with my managers boss a while back, my manager over heard us talking and was like "what's got you guys so excited?" We were like oh new Far Cry game for Xbox, great fun.
Manager just took one look at us and had no problem saying to her boss and me "how old are you both?"

This is one I hear a lot, as if playing video games is what kids do and you should grow out of it. Kids read books. Kids listen to music. Kids watch Disney movies. I stil do all of these.

I really doesn't help that there is a large section of gamers who are douchebags (mostly guys) doesn't really help the image of gamers and to be honest I don't think that will ever change.
 
A

Aurongel

Member
If I'm being totally honest, I don't see a huge issue with the stigma. A vast majority of the loudest voices in the medium have been PR train wrecks lately, fostering and cultivating wide swaths of socially isolated young men and radicalizing them. There's a reason YouTube now offersadvertisets an opt-out option for the entire category of video games.

It's a young medium that's moving at a glacial pace socially.
 
N

Nessus

Member
Feep said:
Do people typically go around making something like "I enjoy movies" a core component of their identity? It's a hobby. Even if you love them, it's weird to associate yourself primarily with a label based on a thing you enjoy doing.
Click to expand...

This is how I've looked at it ever since Gamergate happened.

I love movies and I go and watch at least a dozen a year in theater, but I don't base my identity around being a "moviegoer".

I own hundreds of games, I have a large gaming-related tattoo, and I'm currently wearing a Black Mesa hoodie and I *still* don't like to call myself a gamer.
 
L

low-G

Member
Yeah gaming is not stigmatized really anymore. Somewhat generational, 20 year olds and younger have zero stigma with gaming.
 
L

low-G

Member
Basketball said:
Lol
people actually believe this

Lots of NON GAMING chicks think gaming is a massive waste of time
They want a guy that does stuff instead of sitting in the house gaming (but they watch netflix all day)

plain and simple
Click to expand...

Hottest girl I ever dated dabbled in CoD, popular, associates with that type, 11/10 by all measures. Of course I had to destroy her in a 1v1 round though. I don't think that impressed her tho, lol.

Nobody tolerates a freak who doesn't do anything productive.
 
D

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
I've honestly heard gamergate mentioned once in real life, by another big retro gamer friend of mine, back when that was going down. The average Gaffer tends to think that Gamergate is this whole big conspiracy that goes years back and is the reason Trump got elected, but the fact is, barely anybody outside of GAF knows what it is, and the ones who do probably pay it so little mind. And I have never once heard gaming being associated with nazis/alt-right.

Anyways, I don't really know of gaming having any 'uncool' stereotype anymore. Everyone I know in my age cohort plays games in some fashion, with varying levels of interest. Or, they would play games if they had time to. The people I mostly know from gaming-related scenes (local retro gaming meetup groups) all have careers, most own their own place, most are in a long term relationship or married. Your average white middle class suburbanite, except with a few more pinball machines in the basement. Just today I was getting some gastric tests done and the gastroenterologist noticed me playing Switch in the waiting room. Then was all excited, talking about gaming, talking about the Mario vs Rabbids game and Octopath demo, asking me if I knew about all these obscure PC game series.

The few times I've actually managed to get women to come over my house, they didn't run out screaming "neo nazi gamergator mysogynist!" when they saw my library of nearly 1000 games and lots of retro consoles.
 
G

ghibli99

Member
Don't really care what other people think, especially those who I have no personal connection to, which is most people.

That being said, our cousin's 8yo son learned I worked in the videogame industry today, and I was suddenly a rock star to him. That felt pretty good. ^__^
 
M

Mesoian

Member
Fj0823 said:
Oh it's not uncool.

Just associated with Racism, Misogyny, Toxicity and Harrasment.

But it's cool now! Take that jocks!
Click to expand...

Pretty much.

Somewhere in the past decade, gaming went from being uncool to being actually abhorrent in the eyes of the masses. Thank the extreme right wingers who spawned gamergate thinking people would back them up on their bullshit.

djtiesto said:
I've honestly heard gamergate mentioned once in real life, by another big retro gamer friend of mine, back when that was going down. The average Gaffer tends to think that Gamergate is this whole big conspiracy that goes years back and is the reason Trump got elected, but the fact is, barely anybody outside of GAF knows what it is, and the ones who do probably pay it so little mind. And I have never once heard gaming being associated with nazis/alt-right.
Click to expand...

I mean, the former chief strategist of the white house was culling and weaponizing these guys, but yeah, sure, gamergate was small and meaningless.

Come on man, just because you didn't pay attention to it doesn't mean it wasn't significant and dangerous.

Azelover said:
It is that way because you/gamers want it that way.

You lynch anyone who tries to change it. Haven't you noticed?
Click to expand...

Now THIS is the mother fucking truth. God damn. Motherfuckers are STILL mad about Gone Home! STILL!
 
P

plufim

Member
Because gamergate happened and yet nothing changed. So everyone knows loud sexist shitlords will be welcomed into this fucking hobby.
 
DESTROYA

DESTROYA

Member
Usobuko said:
Look at the biggest YouTube channels and how they conduct themselves vs how your highest paid Hollywood actors do.

You get the point. Clowns against gentlemen.
Click to expand...
You thing Hollywood actors are gentlemen!?
Most if not all are self centered egotistical asses that should just stick to acting and keep to themselves when they talk about spew there toxic hate on the current political culture, I don't care what your political views are but to throw them in my face at every chance is really a huge turnoff.
As for the op, this is oversimplified but I think it's still a games are for kids and not adults mentality.
 
O

old manatee

Banned
I don't even play video games with my nephew. I can't stand the idea of him sitting around all day watching jackoffs like PewDiePie and calling his friends the n-word and the f-word. He's cool as fuck right now, so when I babysit him we do cool people shit like color with crayons and run around the yard.
 
C

Chao

Member
Because it’s something kids do, and kids are noisy, stupid, obnoxious, racist and homophobic most of the time, so you’re essentially sharing your hobby with the worst kind of people you can imagine.
 
Elfstar

Elfstar

Member
Nox said:
Gamergate wasn't that long ago
Click to expand...

You people are hilarious. No one outside of Gaf knows what that stuff is.

Anyway, you just have to wait untill every generation older than millennials dies. That's how it worked for every new art form.
 
Humdinger

Humdinger

Member
I think it's 5 main things:

1. Historically, games were targeted primarily at kids and teens. First impressions last.

2. Games were a part of "nerd" culture for their first few decades. Those impressions have persisted as well.

3. There are plenty of gamers who fit the stereotypes (e.g., lazy stoners, socially retarded, misogynistic, immature), and they reinforce people's negative perceptions.

4. The press generally focuses on the bad news about everything, and it's no different with gaming. So, we get plenty of media stories telling us about the downsides of gaming.

5. If you are a member of the public who is casually viewing ads for videogames, or browsing a game store, you will see lots of gun battles, fast cars, sports, violence, combat scenarios, and sexual objectification. You're not going to say to yourself, "Oh, this looks like a mature art form." You're going to say to yourself, "This looks like an entertainment field aimed mostly at young men." That's not a demographic held in high regard by most of society, so the impression it creates isn't "cool," unless you're in that demographic yourself.
 
F

Forkball

Member
People have already covered it pretty well. People who don't play games assume people who do spend all their time doing so. Many people may have played games as a child but stopped when they became an adult, further reinforcing that games are something for kids. It also just falls under the general nerd umbrella and some people are averse to anything under that whether its games, comic books, anime, science fiction etc.

Though there are certainly double standards. I like sports... but sports are completely absurd and pointless. If you say you spent all day Sunday watching football, no one would blink. I mean, how does watching three straight games of football help you mentally or physically? What do you learn from it? Absolutely nothing. Plus there are grown men and women who walk around in public with jerseys, which is essentially cosplay. Even the name and logo can come off as silly.

bLcIggd.jpg


A: What are you wearing? A bright ass blue shirt with a cat on it? Is that some sort of Pokemon?
B: It's the logo of my favorite sports team. They're my favorite because I live in relative proximity to them, even though none of the players are actually from where I live.
A: Oh, what a completely normal piece of attire. Carry on.

Also I used to work with guys who talked about fantasy sports all the time and no one questioned it. But if I started talking about the new Witcher 3 DLC, I would become "that guy."

You could really criticize any hobby this way. I really like hiking and most people consider that to be a normal hobby, but you could certainly spin it into a waste of time.

A: I went hiking today, got some fresh air and exercise.
B: You could've spent that time taking some online classes, or undergone training to better contribute to your work. If you spent every minute learning a programming language instead of hiking, you could increase your salary exponentially.
A: ...Saw some butterflies.
 
K

Kilvas

Member
Carcetti said:
Consider that most visible gamers now are Youtube people like Pewds, Jontron, Boogie and their best tube pals like Thunderf00t, Sargon and the ilk.

Gaming might've been uncool but now it's being represented by Trump-loving tube nazis, redpill misogynists, chan creeps, and unhinged twitter stalkers.
Click to expand...

No one who isn't a gamer knows about this. The odds of her knowing is incredibly low. Tinder is a large pool, but its really shallow. I've dropped people for pettier reasons.
 
N

nailbombxx

Member
Random Human said:
Gamergate made international news.
Click to expand...
If someone doesn't care for video games why would they pay any attention to news related to video games? Even most people that play video games don't care for such things.

Chances are no girl is going to notice that you play video games and then drop you because you might be sexist/racist person like Pewdiepie or the Gamergaters! lol
 
G

GLAMr

Member
Seriously, most people don't know about gamergate. I'm a gamer, and didn't know about it until last year (when I read about it on NeoGAF). If anything, I think the toxicity and harassment in gaming needs more mainstream awareness to help effect change.

To me it seems that gaming is seen as a "young people" thing more than anything. Meeting a dude under 30 who doesn't play games is unusual. Sure, a lot of them are just in it for FIFA or a particular series/genre. I honestly can't think of anybody under 30 I know who doesn't play some kind of games (be it console, PCMR, phone, laptop, handheld etc).

Also, I know women of all ages who play games. Plenty of women I know play on different platforms, and a lot of older women who didn't play games before now enjoy mobile games like Candy Crush or Pokemon Go. I know women who can destroy me in shooters, I'd never challenge my mum to Tetris and my step mother topped the charts in our country for Words With Friends. But I don't know many men over 40 who play games. It's kinda weird/sad how gaming is often associated with young men, while women of all ages are gamers (though there's that elitist 'mobile isn't real gaming' stuff in the way).
 
G

GodofWine

Member
There are still plenty of people that think binge watching a tv show at night is somehow more acceptable than actively being engaged in a game, using your brain and or competing.
 
M

Mesoian

Member
Elfstar said:
Sure, try ask to anyone in real world if they know what a gamergate is.
Click to expand...

Ask anyone in the real world if they remember, "that time where a bunch of nerds doxxed a bunch of women because they said women actually do play video games."

They might not remember the name of the event, but they remember the event. Shit, my 70 year old aunt came up to me an asked, "what the hell is going on with those gamers now? They're calling 911 on each other can getting the police to shoot one another by saying they're terrorists?"

People know. Saying that people don't know is just ignorant.
 
X

xevis

Banned
GodofWine said:
There are still plenty of people that think binge watching a tv show at night is somehow more acceptable than actively being engaged in a game, using your brain and or competing.
Click to expand...

Please don't try to sell playing games as some kind of thinking-man's hobby. Most games, by which I mean the ones most strongly associated with the hobby, are brainless fun played on instinct and muscle memory.

I also think the competitive nature of games is one of the reasons the hobby is so widely derided. So much of games boils down to wining and playing skilfully and obsessing about achievements and so on to the point where simply suggesting any other way to enjoy the medium immediately results in exclusionary rhetoric and shortly thereafter hateful bile. Like, just try to have a conversation about skipping the gamey bits of gamesso you can enjoy the story. Or worse, try discussing the merits of an easy mode for Dark Souls. Yikes!
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Forkball said:
People have already covered it pretty well. People who don't play games assume people who do spend all their time doing so. Many people may have played games as a child but stopped when they became an adult, further reinforcing that games are something for kids. It also just falls under the general nerd umbrella and some people are averse to anything under that whether its games, comic books, anime, science fiction etc.

Though there are certainly double standards. I like sports... but sports are completely absurd and pointless. If you say you spent all day Sunday watching football, no one would blink. I mean, how does watching three straight games of football help you mentally or physically? What do you learn from it? Absolutely nothing. Plus there are grown men and women who walk around in public with jerseys, which is essentially cosplay. Even the name and logo can come off as silly.

bLcIggd.jpg


A: What are you wearing? A bright ass blue shirt with a cat on it? Is that some sort of Pokemon?
B: It's the logo of my favorite sports team. They're my favorite because I live in relative proximity to them, even though none of the players are actually from where I live.
A: Oh, what a completely normal piece of attire. Carry on.

Also I used to work with guys who talked about fantasy sports all the time and no one questioned it. But if I started talking about the new Witcher 3 DLC, I would become "that guy."

You could really criticize any hobby this way. I really like hiking and most people consider that to be a normal hobby, but you could certainly spin it into a waste of time.

A: I went hiking today, got some fresh air and exercise.
B: You could've spent that time taking some online classes, or undergone training to better contribute to your work. If you spent every minute learning a programming language instead of hiking, you could increase your salary exponentially.
A: ...Saw some butterflies.
Click to expand...

I think a major difference is that sports are usually watched socially and communally. Of course that's certainly true of video games, but that side of video games isn't what most people see who don't play video games. The stereotype is one person playing alone, even if they're online. WoW has slipped into the mainstream consciousness, but not that much. The occasional online game of COD, Halo, or 2K isn't considered nerdy, but anything outside of that probably still is.

The main reason though might be that sports have simply been around longer. They've been around long enough that three or four generations of the same family can bond through sports. With video games, most of the "original" console gaming generation is just old enough to have kids in elementary school. At most someone who's been playing games since the 80's might be playing with their small children right now, and a lot are.

How that pans out in the future in my opinion is gonna depend on whether that new generation of kids inherits console gaming. In an earlier post I said I think the console industry in particular never really expanded beyond the core group of people who've been playing since NES -- a lot of mainstream people fell off after 1983 and some more fell off after the transition to 3D. Maybe the kids of the people who still play console games might keep playing console games until it's enshrined as a true family institution. A lot of them are just playing mobile games though.
 
sotojuan

sotojuan

Member
Few pages after I last checked and I still have never met anyone IRL who knows about whatever racism or sexism is in the "industry" (e.g. YouTubers or journalists) unless they are in that scene already.

99% of people who think it's uncool don't say "omg this person plays games what a sexist". They think "omg this person plays games, that's for socially inept nerds/kids!".

I'll also even stretch that to not just playing games but being a gaming enthusiast i.e. someone that plays Halo or Madden 10 hours a month is not "uncool".

--

Ironically, worrying about your hobby being uncool is more immature than whatever the hobby is.
 
C

Chris_Rivera

Member
Uncool as in “for kids” or “for nerds” or “lazy people” are the historical stereotypes. They didn’t fall out of thin air, but are not culturally relevant today.
 
OmegaDL50

OmegaDL50

Member
BocoDragon said:
I don't think a girl prone to blocking someone for being a gamer would understand any of the toxic, racist gamer culture stuff.

It's probably the old school "nerd with no life" stereotype.
Click to expand...

There are far worse hobbies. I'd much rather be criticized for playing video games as a hobby as opposed to being addicted to casino gambling or doing drugs.

Unfortunately there is a specific subset of individuals that make a gross brushstroke against anyone who plays video games and actively enjoys them. Years ago I used to make the comment about bad hobbies and alluding to the statement that my playing video games can't hurt anyone else, as opposed to the things I mention above, but because of gamergate and other nonsense groups. There has been a level negative connotation as a result.

Fortunately, I have not ran into anyone in public trying to ostracize me over it since I generally take my 3DS everywhere I go, especially when I get a free moment and use it. I have not ran into folks making disparaging remarks because I do so.

In the end it's I see it as a hobby, just like there are bookworms that love reading all kinds of books, and moviebuff folks that typically make a point to see a lots of film in a theatre. I just happen to play video games.
 
D

Dane_gerClose

Member
besada said:
The vast majority of people don't care one way or another if you play video games. Tons of people play video games. If you run into someone who has a problem with video games, that's their problem, not yours.

You'll enjoy life a lot more when you quit worrying if the things you love make you "cool", which is an arbitrary and changing metric, and just love the things you love honestly.

Like stump mentioned, the most judgmental people I've ever associated with regarding video games are other gamers.
Click to expand...

Best post in the thread. I agree wholeheartedly.
 
X

Xist2inspire

Member
There's too many negative stigmas attached to gaming for it to be as "cool" as some think it should be. There's the "gaming's for kids" stigma. There's the "gaming's for manchildren" stigma. There's the "gaming's full of misogynist, racist assholes" stigma. And if that wasn't enough, the industry and its fans have their own issues that do more to hurt gaming than help it. Think of how many people look down on mobile gaming and those who play them. Think of the reaction to the Wii, in fact, think of the reaction to nearly anything that doesn't aim to please "core" gamers. Think of how the vast majority of gaming ads are always laser-focused on one, and only one, particular demographic.

Gaming may be more acceptable and "mainstream" these days, but there's too much working against it to be considered "cool." It's similar to comic book culture in that regard. Trendy, perhaps, but not exactly "cool."
 
F

FranF

Banned
Bobo Dakes said:
Thanks for reminding me that was a thing.

The girl in the poster definitely wasn't in that movie, right?
Click to expand...

Noobz_Movie_Shoot_-_the_Pixies%2C_rival_gamer_girls%2C_featuring_Zelda_Williams_and_India_Oxenberg.jpg


Apparently the "rival gamers" from the movie actually included Zelda Williams?

Anyway I don't think most people know about GG or Pewdiepie but "Xbox Live" isn't an uncommon shorthand for flagrant childish displays of racism, homophobia etc. Saw it a few times on imgur
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Because of stuff like this.

sanstesy said:
I've been with her for almost 2 years now and me and her agree that we fit together like Mario and Peach. I've never had a relationship with someone this comfortable, open-minded and just overall respectful in every aspect. It couldn't much better. Like when Bowser kidnaps her and tries to cuck me she straight ditches him.
Click to expand...
 
JimmyRustler

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
Guess because the hobby is still heavily associated with being unproductive. This can be the case, sure, but very often just isn't and especially older people have trouble understanding this.

Like this older guy in his 50s who once goes like "nah, my daughter don't waste their time with videogames." in the usual sense like he doesn't want them to become loosers or something. And then I explain to him how stupid this sentiment is considering how many people from our office are gamers (some even hardcore) and name them to him. On the other side I tell him I know people where their parents didn't let them play games and they ended up far worse than I did work-wise. The guy was speechless.

I personally am pretty open about my hobby and have very little trouble with the stigma since I work out a lot and watch my nutrition, therefore am in better shape than all people around me. I do get some weird reactions sometime but no one dares to say something. It's actually kind of funny totally not fitting that cliche picture of a gamer yet being a hardcore gamer.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
i hate questions that start with ‘its 2017 why is....’ what about 2017 made you think the panties would start dropping for gamers?

there are pretty much still two types of gamers, casual who dont view gaming as a hobby and those who do. gaming hobbiests wont ever be cool, but who cares?

also, no hobbies are cool. i took up skydiving in 2008 and did think it would be a bunch of radical bros. its pretty much just aviation nerds.
 
S

SolicitorPirate

Member
We're on a forum where a fucking torrent of people lost their collective shits when Jim Sterling gave BotW a 7/10 and you're wondering why gamers are not cool?
 
G

Golden_Pigeon

Banned
Elfstar said:
Sure, try ask to anyone in real world if they know what a gamergate is.
Click to expand...

I can confirm that even among my most "gamers" friends, nobody heard about gamersgate. Gamers were uncool way before gg.

It's true that PewDiePie could make some people think that gamers are racists but I really doubt that people would not be able to dissociate PewDiePie and the millions of people consuming the same art.
 
C

Chao

Member
plufim said:
Because gamergate happened and yet nothing changed. So everyone knows loud sexist shitlords will be welcomed into this fucking hobby.
Click to expand...

You guys tend to forget that US is not the center of the universe. Gamegate is not a thing in Europe, never ever seen anyone in the media talking about it.
Even in the US I doubt it is as widely known as you believe.

Gaming’s stigma comes from way back. It’s a hobby for nerds, adults think of consoles as toys, millions of kids play these games and these kids are assholes. No need for gamergate to help out with the stigma
 
A

Auctopus

Member
- A vocal portion of gaming fans flat out abhor the idea of video-games becoming more inclusive to other genders/races.
- AAA games are still sold primarily with a boy's club mentality. Arguably, it's mainly guys who are going to see it but it doesn't help.
- Within the media, gamers are still portrayed as no lifers with dead-end jobs, no social life or other hobbies.

There's multiple other reasons OP but I agree the stereotype is slighty exaggerated in this day and age. It's seemingly "cool" to binge a Netflix show in bed for 8 hours but if you were caught binging a video-game for 8 hours, you'd be considered repellent.

At the end of the day though, I don't think "gamers" help themselves.You're also overestimating the age of video-games as a media. When people say that TLOU has an amazing story, I agree as long as it's entirely relative. Because in the grand scheme of things, video-games have a LONG way to go with character development and plot to catch up with the greats of other modern media.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
I don't think it comes down to stuff like gamergate or misogyny or racism. Don't take me wrong that stuff is terrible and one of the big reasons I don't like to label myself as a gamer despite loving this hobby.

But , and mabye it's different in the US, no one has ever even mentioned any of these things to me.... Like literally never. I've gotten a lot of "it's a waste of time and money" and even more of "aren't you too old for this"?


Overall it just seems to be more of a generational thing. At least in my experience most people in their 20's or even 30's are fine with gaming as a hobby. It's mostly the older generations that have a problem accepting it .
Sure, staying home alone playing on a Friday night is seen as lame...but so is staying alone a Friday night reading or drawing, etc. With younger people it's more of Stiga against not doing social stuff.
 
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