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Can we switch "Gamers" to "Players"?

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I will never understand why gamers feel so insulted at being called a gamer. It's just a word to describe someone who plays games a lot. Other hobbies have their own terms but they don't freak out over it.


Because people who watch movies are viewers not moviers. People who listen to music are listeners not musicers. Follow?
 
How about "Interactive Art Enthusiast"?

You'll sound classy and be a hit at social gatherings.
 
I have mixed feelings about the "gamer" moniker.

You wouldn't call someone who only sees summer blockbusters a 'cinephile'.

You wouldn't call someone who only listens to the Billboard Top 100 an 'audiophile'.

So we shouldn't call someone who just plays AAA and top grossing F2P a 'gamer'.

It should be reserved for people who look at games critically as an art form and are intricately familiar with games themselves, how they are made, and the industry surrounding them.
 
By your logic film buffs and movie goers should be called Watchers.

And yeah, 'Player' is generally used to describe womanizers.
 
Because people who watch movies are viewers not moviers. People who listen to music are listeners not musicers. Follow?

And people who like cars are Gear Heads and people who like books are Book Worms.

People who are into audio are Audiophiles.

Why is Gamer so bad?
 
Yeah, I'm fine with that. Developers and other pros use players too. Only traditional media and corporate dudes trying to pander say gamers.
 
The heartwarming note in Wotcher 3 from CDPR is almost completely ruined by the "Gamer," at the top, I agree. I guess "Player," would fit in its place pretty well. Or buyer I guess? Valued customer? Gamer is weird because identifying yourself by a hobby is weird. The negative association with hate groups isn't good either.
 
And people who like cars are Gear Heads and people who like books are Book Worms.

People who are into audio are Audiophiles.

Why is Gamer so bad?

That's different though. An Audiophile, a Gear Head, and a Book Worm are all words describing the level of interest someone has for a thing, not the person as they are engaging with the thing.

I would settle for Gamer being used to describe the level of someone's interest and Player being used to describe a person engaging with video games.
 
And people who like cars are Gear Heads and people who like books are Book Worms.

People who are into audio are Audiophiles.

Why is Gamer so bad?

Those command a certain level of interest to be called something like that. Audiophiles are the kind of people to buy 1000 dollar tube amplifiers for their music. The fact that 'gamer' means anyone that plays videogames is intrinsically different from that.
 
How about "user"?

I was at a really fascinating talk where the speaker considered the term "user" clinical, soulless, and the exact opposite of what gamer achieves.

As embarrassed as I am to identify myself as a "gamer" to a room of professionals, theres really no better word.
 
Gross can't people just say they play games instead of calling themselves "gamers" though? I would take 3 steps back if someone introducted themselves that way.
 
They are called filmies. As for music listeners (cringe), they are denominated by genre: metalheads, punks, emos, juggalos, popgaffers, etc.

I've never heard anyone called filmies.

Movie geeks, film buffs, movie aficionados even, but never heard filmies.
 
By your logic film buffs and movie goers should be called Watchers.

And yeah, 'Player' is generally used to describe womanizers.

no that's a "Playa", as if that mattered, which it doesn't.

some are different, I didn't mean to imply that it must be strict verb construction. Movie buff, Audiophile, etc. But Player feels better to me. Strictly an aesthetic and cultural preference.
 
They are called filmies. As for music listeners (cringe), they are denominated by genre: metalheads, punks, emos, juggalos, popgaffers, etc.

Again, those monikers are used for specific levels of interest and subscriptions. When you're talking about the collective of people who listen to music, they're listeners. When you're talking about the collective of people watching movies, they're viewers.
 
I just eagerly await this "Player-gate" where "gamers" transition into "Player's" then we can get this bad boy back into circulation.

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I don't like either of them. I never tell people I'm a gamer, just that I enjoy video games and that it's a hobby of mine.
 
Again, those monikers are used for specific levels of interest and subscriptions. When you're talking about the collective of people who listen to music, they're listeners. When you're talking about the collective of people watching movies, they're viewers.
Mhmm. "___ audiences" also works for everything.
 
Gross can't people just say they play games instead of calling themselves "gamers" though? I would take 3 steps back if someone introducted themselves that way.

I don't think anyone would ever introduce themselves that way. Not anymore than someone is going to walk up to you and tell you that they're a gearhead or a foodie or whatever else they may be into.
 
That's different though. An Audiophile, a Gear Head, and a Book Worm are all words describing the level of interest someone has for a thing, not the person as they are engaging with the thing.

I would settle for Gamer being used to describe the level of someone's interest and Player being used to describe a person engaging with video games.

But someone who plays a lot of games is a gamer and not someone who just touches a game. You don't open Angry Birds and become a "gamer", the same way you don't get inside a car and become a Gear Head.

The term Gamer, at least to me, has always referenced to a video game enthusiast. The same way Gear Head, Book Worm and Audiophile reference to their respected hobby. Some people using it wrong don't change the meaning of the word.
 
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