yeah like if somebody enjoyed gardening alot and would identify and start conversations with, "i'm a hardcore planter", you'd probably think they're an insane person
I would probably say they were a serious gardener.
For films, I would say that person is a big film buff or a fan.
The same applies to video games.
I feel like most people's impressions or image of games and the people who play them are Mario games, male dominated arcades, and hobbyist computer nerds who happened to play video games on these gadgets.
The image is changing. More people associate gaming with Call of Duty, sports titles, and Minecraft.
They don't associate gaming with their phone. It seems more like Facebook etc. They aren't doing a kids thing or a nerd thing, because it's so simple and it's on their sophisticated, business device.
The toxicity of the gaming community is really only of interest to dedicated followers of the culture surrounding internet chat boards and social media.
Most people see gaming as a thing kids do or they did when they were a kid. Their reaction to toxicity on stuff like voice chat is to assume they are dealing with a 12 year old kid who would make phony phone calls in a past generation.
It takes more and more people of the younger generation, maybe PlayStation and beyond, graduating to higher levels to change the overall perception of games.
Also, things like pop music only started to get taken seriously as art when you had media like the Rolling Stone treat the musicians like they were amazing talents. People knew the faces of music and understood their worth. They saw the craft of what it took to make the stuff and not just the screaming kids who consumed it. Pop art influenced regular culture in the same way video games have already been doing for awhile.
Also, nothing really makes a hobby that cool. Music nerds aren't cool. The musicians are cool. I think you're asking for the hobby to be normalized and accepted by everyone. I think you are slowly seeing it and the acceptance of technology and social media is part of that. Less social pastimes are becoming less and less weird.
Music had school dances, social concerts, and band class.
Movies had theaters where you can take your date.
Games used to have arcades, but they died and were replaced by your own device with your own screen, and your own controller, in your own house. Also, the barrier to entry is higher for a social event.
Movies and music are trending towards games with personal music listening and video streaming services with personalized content.