I saw this subject brought up in another forums thread, two people were arguing about what makes you a serious gamer.i use the example of movies.
To be a movie fan, What specific movies would you have to watch to be considered by some people, well educated on the subject?
The same applies for games for some people, What games would you have had to play to be considered a true "Gamer"?
halo series? COD series? half life Series?
What about the people that play not as well known games, Are they gamers or are they just people interested in games?

If you were totake the mindset of someone who considered a gamer as someone who played specific games, what do you think those games would be?

Is everyone who had ever played a game, whether it be Pacman and tetris or halo 3 and Gears of war, in fact, a gamer?

i dont think there is any one game/series that would make you a gamer by playing it
i tihnk having a marginal idea of what makes a game really good and worthwhile makes you a gammer. not just oooooh pretty graphics bu being able to analyze story and gameplay and acurately compare them and be able to back up what you say not just say it
not like "halo 1 is better than halo 3" but like "halo 1 is better than halo 3 because you dont just have to play what bungie made IE modded maps/servers on the PC"

To be considered a serious gamer to me, you must play everything and anything. Play every genre.. thats a serious gamer lol

Reply: I play for hours on end, even to the point of 18 hours per day. Of course, if I can play that much Gran Turismo or Ace Combat and still not be considered a Hardcore Gamer because I don't play every other genre, your meatbag brains surely must be functioning improperly.

Derisive Insult: Is that simple enough for you to understand, or is your limited insight still going to deny me that right, meatbag?

*Dark Side Points*

A serious gamer is one who's primary hobby is gaming. So, that means that gaming isn't just something you do in your spare time... You make time for gaming. Even if you aren't on your platform of choice, you still have some part of your brain whispering to you to again indulge on your addiction.

I would go so far as to say you live gaming, but then, even I think it might be going too far.

I tend to think a serious gamer is anyone who plays a game and puts their heart into it. When you make gaming more of a life style than a simple hobby.

^_^

I wouldn't know how to say it.
But people, by people i mean some gamers, believe that you are only a gamer if you play X and only X for Y amount of time. What i classify a gamer by is if you have a mild interest in gaming you don't have to play Y amount of X to be a gamer, You've just got to play games, even if you only play it casually, you're a gamer. It means you play games, it doesn't matter what system.

Have played 1 bad game, one cult game, and 1 game that really did deserve all the praise.

for me,
Star Wars - Rogue Squadron,
Killer 7,
Guitar Hero II

Pie:
You've just got to play games, even if you only play it casually, you're a gamer. It means you play games, it doesn't matter what system.

Emphatic Agreement: That is what I was trying to say... I was just using the fact that I play Gran Turismo excessively as a reason why you can't say that only playing one genre is not being a gamer. I love Halo, even though I have been a very lackluster player for the entire existance of that game. I am much better now than I was, but I am willing to bet that most of you would wax the floor with my bloody intestines. I loved 24, Rainbow Six, and Grand Theft Auto. I emphaticaly loved Shadow of the Colossus, but didn't much care for Prince of Persia. I have played a lot of every genre, it just so happens that Racing and Flying are my genres of preference.

I agree with Pie as well. The reason that people try to define it with these 'prerequisites' is a sort of elite-feeling I think. You're a bit part of the cult if gaming is your life, and you played all the big things, etcetera. If you say 'if gaming is your hobby you're a gamer' well, it isn't exactly cult enough, or elite, or core, or whatever term.

We're all gamers to one point or another, sure I play games a lot more than some people and a hell of a lot less than others but where can we draw the line? Is the guy who only owns Pro Evo, and plays it for an hour a week at best, not a gamer? Certainly a lesser gamer than the ones who play WoW for hours of an evening but a gamer nonetheless. I believe that to play video games makes us gamers but the extent to which, what and why we play makes the difference between us being a casual gamer, a hardcore gamer and so forth.

And for another example, Are you a runner if you run, Are you a swimmer if you swim, Are you a pilot if you pilo- wait....
What i'm trying to say is, why are people considered to be of a higher pecking order, A true gamer, only if they have played a game of a specific genre?

What makes a halo 3 player a gamer and not a pacman player one, Why is it that you're either one or not one. Why do gamers have to have sub-battles between genres about who's more of a gamer? We've got enough pressure from political idiots that want to please the masses of those concerned mothers that think all those videogames made their little tommy rob that convenience store. We're all gamers, We play games casually or not.

I've just thought of another example, If you smoke once, are you still a smoker?

It would have to be 'time consumed by the activity' relative to 'time spent existing' that decides if you are a part of that group, I think.

Someone who once ran from a dog can't go around saying they're a 'runner' unless they go about doing a bit more running. If you went to the beach when you were ten, surely you're not a 'swimmer' now that you're 20-ish. Sure, you COULD run, or you COULD swim if needed, but that's not the question.

Same thing with smoking. If you smoke once every three months, you could hardly be called a smoker.

If someone plays Pacman in the arcade, bar or at home just as much often and for just as long as the person who plays Halo 3, then they're equally gamers (or not, depending on how much time we're talking here).

From there, I would guess that you break it down into "casual gamer", "gamer" and "hard core gamer" for how much time is spent playing. Similar to how you go from "casual smoker" to "smoker" to "chain smoker". Or "runner" to "marathon runner" to "Olympic runner". Which one makes you think they do the activity in question longer or more often?

someones who plays games much more than it to be called just a hobby, plays a selection of games on as many platforms as possible, but generally if you play on the PC for example 10+ hours a day on a SELECTION of games, sorry WOW players, then your a true gamer.

So i suppose it is divided into sub-categories.

Casual gamer
Gamer
hardcore gamer

But what i want to know, Why is a hardcore gamer more of a gamer then a casual one. I fail to see how those extra twenty hours of gameplay make you MORE of a gamer. Just like if you indeed did run, how can running that extra day make you more of a runner? It doesn't really?
I can't blatantly say that there wouldn't be a massive skill gap between a hardcore gamer and a casual gamer. but what about going back to the genres, Can i be a hardcore gamer at say crysis, yet only a casual gamer at Oblivion?
Wouldn't i still retain the title of hardcore gamer, Or am i now a casual gamer now that i've swapped hats?

Iīd say itīs not only the gaming itself that decides your "rank" among gamers but also the "non-gaming activities" that link to it.

For example spending some time informing yourself about games, thinking about strategies to use, discussing games (with as little fanboyerism as possible, please ^^) and stuff that doesnīt actually involve staring at a screen, pushing buttons are factors that have to be considered.

However, since you canīt make a scale for that sort of thing anyway itīs all rather on the philosophic side, so you can think whatever you want.

Edit: come to think of it, I actually dreamt about gaming yesterday and itīs certainly not the first time. Donīt think you can get more hardcore than that ;D
(for the curious among you, I dreamt of my Dark Eldar army from DoW:SS getting crushed by Space Marines, the bastards)

That depends, everyone has their own line to draw.

Some people will say smoking once a day makes you smoker. Others will say you only have to smoke every other day. And some people will scoff at your 'habit' until you smoke a pack a day.

There is no right or wrong, or even solid answer to it. It really is up to the individual. Look back at my thoughts on the Pacman example. That person could very well be considered a 'hardcore gamer' if they spend enough time playing. Regardless of whether that person has ever played any other games, right? Of course, some people will denounce that, saying they aren't a REAL hardcore gamer because they haven't played X, Y or Z.

Own anything but a Wii and I can think of you as a serious gamer seeing. I can think of you as a serious gamer if you do own a Wii but I think it depends on your gaming catalogue. Obviously this is just a steretype that Wii owners are people who know next to nothing about videogames (and are 6 years old) but it is still a sterotype I beleive in.

Pie (in line with Yan-Yan):
Playing games makes you a gamer, period. Just like a runner is someone who runs.

Playing more hardcore games or playing games hardcore (ie competitive) makes you more of a hardcore gamer. Playing more casual games or playing games casually (ie online CoD4 an hour a week or so or just with friends for laughs) makes you a more casual gamer. Fanboyism, having discussions about games a lot and the like also add to your score in the hardcore department. You can in fact be a hardcore casual gamer.

Some may say that a casual gamer is the opposite of a hardcore gamer. I don't think this is true, if you play Bejeweled 20 hours a week, that's friggin' hardcore, no matter what you may think of it.

The problem is really the connotation that has become attached to the word gamer. The mom of a friend of mine played countless hours of Zuma per week, but she would not be called a gamer, despite the fact she obviously was. Why? Because gamer implies you being a sort of obsessive-compulsive person with social deficits. When I told her I considered myself a gamer she lightened up considerably on the matter.

Your gaming CV isn't all that important: it helps if you want to have a discussion with someone else about gaming, but that's pretty obvious. All you need to be gamer is a willingness to suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours at a time. The rest is fine-tuning.

And hands. You need hands.

Pie:
And for another example, Are you a runner if you run, Are you a swimmer if you swim, Are you a pilot if you pilo- wait....
What i'm trying to say is, why are people considered to be of a higher pecking order, A true gamer, only if they have played a game of a specific genre?

Because they're sheep?

I definitely disagree with the notion that to be a gamer, you have to have a pre-req set of games that you have played. A gamer is simply someone who actively and regularly plays games. They just don't play them occasionally, or just for the heck of it, they seek out games as a form of entertainment and hobby for themselves. Nothing more need be considered. The people who say "you have to have played game x to be considered a gamer" are fooling themselves into thinking that to be a gamer you need to have played all the things other gamers play, or what is considered "popular".

Part of the problem is that the "sub-genres" or popular games get sensationalized and covered, therefore they are the games that are taken "seriously". The definition is really much more forgiving and broad. The next time someone says "you need to have played this game to be called a gamer", counter with the question "why is it, then that games aren't just like game x with no real variety?". After all, if being a gamer means playing only certain games, the market would have long ago since shifted to a direction that develops only those kinds of games, because they are "real" games. Saying "someone has to develop things for the non-real gamers" is a cop-out, because you have to then define what these "non-real games" are.

A serious gamer play's to have fun, but also something a little beyond too.
He/she wants to find all the unlocks, and beat the game on its hardest difficulty. A serious gamer doesnt see much of a future outside of gaming.

Or something like that.

I'm often serious when I play games, therefore I am a serious gamer.

Nearly on subject, In the words of the Masterer "To be truly Pro you must pwn at all games"

To me, a gamer is someone who spends in excess of at least 14 hours gaming in a week, and plays games from at least a half-dozen different genres, and on at least 3 platforms.

Someone who just plays one console or just PC games to me isn't truly a gamer.
Someone who only plays one type of game (such as the FPS addicts) isn't to me a gamer.

A gamer is someone who plays games for the love of such a game. Someone who is truly able to appreciate all the aspects of the game. Someone who doesn't hate games simply because they're different. (I have a friend who hates Brawl because Fox was slowed down a slight bit. He doesn't even play as Fox. ever)

A gamer can play for maybe an hour a day, but as long as they are truly able to understand and wrap their minds around all aspects of a game, then yes, they are a gamer. Someone who plays games "simply because they're bored" is not a gamer. They're just nerds. XD
My same friend who hates Brawl goes out every time there is a new FPS out. He played COD4, and now expects every game to be like it. Adversely, I have a friend who only plays FPS on a console, not on a PC, because they're too easy on a computer. They're just simple point and clickers.
The true thing that makes a gamer is someone who plays a game to check out it's own merits, not for the purpose of seeing what it stacks up to.

Surely you can be a gamer and play only 1 medium. I.e. the term "PC Gamer" and surely you can't deny someone who plays WoW religiously the right to be called a gamer. Admittedly I'm neither of these things, but I believe it's enough qualification to be called a gamer.

If you play games of any kind as a hobby, then I consider you a gamer.
My question is this: Why do some (I go with most) 'hardcore' gamers seem to think that their level of gaming..playing in any and all free time..working only to buy more games.. mastering every game that comes out and spending way too much time posting how awesome they are on forums.. makes them better than other people?
The same can be said no matter the type of geek you are. I know p&p gamers who do the same because someone at the table can't quote an obsure rule from the book.
I don't get that. Most of these people spent their youth being derided and picked on by
'normal' people because they were geeks.. then they do the same to everyone around them. It's sad and pathetic.
Sorry... went to a gaming session this weekend with some new people. Had to put a guy in his place and that sort of ruined half the game night for me.

My definition of what makes one a gamer is rather fuzzy, but it's sort of a combination of having a strong interest in games (in general, not specific ones)/playing a wide variety thereof/choosing to identify as one. For the most part, if someone thinks of themself as a gamer, they probably participate in/enjoy the act of gaming enough that I would agree with their assessment.

For the record, I don't really consider myself to be a gamer, because I don't really care about the medium in general; I just play a small number of games that I like. By some definitions of the term -- mainly the "if you play games you're a gamer" sort -- I actually am a gamer and just refuse to call myself one, but I'm going by my own definition here.

I consider myself a gamer even though I dont meet some of the requirements you guys set above. :P I have other hobbies which take some time, but I play video games 20+ hours a week pretty easily on a normal week, less during racing season and more during the off season probablly. I have a 40+ hr a week job, a family, and lots of things to tie up my time, but I still play video games any chance I get. As an example: sunday I played some viva pinata and Wii tennis with my daughter before she left(followed by 3 hours at the park and bike riding), a couple hours of forza 2, went on a raid in WoW, and finished up my first mass effect playthrough/started my second playthrough. I play a variety of games on a variety of platforms, and have been gaming since the NES days (I still have my old original NES console in the cabinet below my TV along with 20 some-odd games from mainstream to extremely obscure).

I enjoy all types of games, and own every genre in one form or another. Ill buy and play old games that I missed just to experience them, I overlook flaws that would turn non-gamers away from a game because I find other parts fun and exciting, but if the game isnt fun to me ill put it away for good. Im always interested in game mechanics, and I play through many games more than once on different difficulties to have fun with them even if I know the whole story. I have fun with games, so label me what you want, I dont care. :P

Gigantor:
And hands. You need hands.

Tell that to N0M4D. ;)

I play games. That, and nothing else, makes me a gamer. Perhaps it's different for you, and I do believe that different people can be gamers while defining the term differently, but that is all it takes for me.

I personally believe that a person who plays games a lot is a gamer . Essentially , a person who makes games a part of life is a true gamer in my opinion . Platform doesn't matter , genre doesn't matter , number of games doesn't matter .
If a person plays a single game for hours on end , then IMO he/she/it is a gamer .