Poll of the Day > Are video games and being a gamer for "losers" where you live?

(+) Yeah! (+)

The Ready Player One Topic made me think of this.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/3-poll-of-the-day/76902464

I was taught that video games and gamers were losers, so seeing the movie trailer made me cringe. Blame the popular people in school for brainwashing me. Whether I like it or not, it still makes me cringe.

Away from school I played games all the time and was probably a bigger gamer than anyone I knew. But I had to hide that or else I was a loser.

I dont know where you guys live, but saying you play video games as a hobby to your peers or girls makes you look like a loser. It may seem like pop culture has changed that, but it hasnt. We are still persecuted even in 2018.



So even in 2018 I feel this way. Do you guys feel this way?
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No
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No, I don't think so. Pittsburgh is not a cliquey place. People tend to care less about different social groups. Also people here tend to be apathetic to exercise, and it's cold half the year, so even the 'popular' kids games a lot.
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Don't know about this area because I'm relatively new to it. Where I used to live, they were accepted as long as you didn't go overboard.

I usually went overboard.

Didn't get many invites to parties.

Earth? Yes.

Nope.
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I'm not in highschool so I do the think about it nor give a heck
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I think it's generally considered acceptable to play video games nowadays but if you list it as a main hobby and especially if you call yourself a "gamer" people are going to judge you.

Somewhat? Gaming is still seen as more of a kids thing and the activity has mainstream demonization from both Democrats (including ones who tried to blame it for increasing the rate of sexual assault in this country) and Republicans. While there's more gaming acceptance, it's seen as a fringe activity and it's associated with low-performers because... well, it's popular among low-performers.

Granted, I think it's probably more socially acceptable than something like comics these days.
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Mead posted...

No

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No.
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Im in southern AZ and half of my family just dismiss games as nothin really. Mainly the ones that live in LA. The rest of the older adults are pretty accepting especially when they see the younger ones havin fun being together playing mario kart.

In the schools I went to I guess it was a little niche. But no one went crazy if you mentioned games, maybe just giving the cold shoulder.
Thankfully some people grow out of that and won't immediately say it's nerd shit because I take my switch to college and let people use it a couple times, which I really liked.
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I don't know. I've never been ridiculed for playing my 3DS in public, however (at least not anywhere I can hear it)
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GrimCyclone posted...

Are video games and being a gamer for "losers" where you live?

Not sure what the kids think but adults tend to not care if you play video games or not and this includes girls. Hell the girls talk to even know a bit about them as they have either played them themselves or have siblings who did/do. I'm sure someone, somewhere in my city thinks videos games are for kids and men should all like football(soccer) but I've never met them.
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Video games were for "losers" until about 2007, when it suddenly became profitable.
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GrimCyclone posted...

I dont know where you guys live, but saying you play video games as a hobby to your peers or girls makes you look like a loser.

That depends on your peers and the girls, I would have to say...

SusanGreenEyes posted...

Mead posted...

No

This^

I mean, I'm in the Air Force. Most of the people there actually play games. While I was playing my switch there today, a co-worker was on his DS. And I've played my DS at work with everyone on the truck watching a bunch of times. Some of my close friends are also gamers.

It was never really seen as bad or anything at any school I went to. Because about half of the people at school were gamers, as well... I've never felt out of place saying I'm a gamer. Or ever felt like a loser or anything.
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No, but I still don't elect to tell people that I play Persona. Can you imagine trying to explain that shit to someone whose entire background in video games is 20 hours of Assassin's Creed yearly and the monthly game of whatever shooter came bundled with their system?

Not ragging on AC or FPSs, just making a point about what's "normal" in games compared to what isn't.

Why would anyone care?
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i live in the present, not the past... so no.
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Gaming in general? No.
Gaming seems to continually grow in popularity, and people love to watch gaming videos/competition. Some of the most watched youtubers and streamers are gaming ones. Competitive tournaments, such as MLG, also have huge viewer counts.

With that being said, it really depends on what kind of games you are playing.
For example, no average person is going to criticize you for playing GTA unless they hate any form of violent media.

*shrugs*

Never been a big deal where I live, even back when I was a kid in the '80s. Hell, the young people I work with talk openly about liking anime, and I never would have brought that up back in the day.
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I live on earth, so yes.
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People dont really seem to care what other people do around here. They will tell you if one of your horses got out or if there is a fire coming your way though.
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Given my profession, you are usually a loser if you DON'T game. Even the most buttoned up manager types usually have some stories of playing Pac-Man or Asteroids back in the day.
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No, hell it wasn't even looked down on in elementary school around here in the late 90s-mid 00s when I was in there
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MisterXiado posted...

Video games were for "losers" until about 2007, when it suddenly became profitable.

Video games were profitable well before 2007, they started having sustained success like 20 years prior to that

While most people won't treat people like lepers for playing games, video games are still seen as enough of a fringe thing to be used as an easy political lever.

Pssh. If you don't like games then YOU are the loser. Most of the people around here played at least a little.

Then as I usually say, what the hell do I care what people think? Oh I can't play games but you think it's appropriate to drink, party, and date? Get the hell outta here.

DPsx7 posted...

Pssh. If you don't like games then YOU are the loser. Most of the people around here played at least a little.

Then as I usually say, what the hell do I care what people think? Oh I can't play games but you think it's appropriate to drink, party, and date? Get the hell outta here.

Are you a joke account

Yeah it's sort of a guilty pleasure from what I understand

Dating is usually very appropriate...
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Not really. Loads of people (mostly dudes) play games where I live from all walks of life.
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No, but during the early 2000's while I was at school, I've seen people be judged by the type of games they played or not. You were only allowed to like Need for Speed, FIFA, GTA and Tibia. My saving grace back then was the fact I was stuck with a PSX and a bad PC that could at least play Need for Speed 2 (which happened to be the only one of the 4 series I cared for) so I got a free pass, but it was pretty ridiculous. You had to talk to some kids in particular and not be part of THAT group to know what other games they liked.

Nowadays it isn't that bad anymore, probably thanks to the rise of indie games, but I can tell some still look down on others based on that. Not me tho. I know enough about the technical stuff to tell their game is shit and mine is good without giving them the chance to talk back (even if it's not actually true... but only if the person deserves a slap in the face).

MisterXiado posted...

Video games were for "losers" until about 2007, when it suddenly became profitable.

Which is ironically close to when the average released game quality started to slowly decay.

JoanOfArcade posted...

I'm not in highschool so I do the think about it nor give a heck

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Seems a variety of answers. Anyway, glad some of you never had to worry about it. When I was a kid and we found an adult who played video games, it was like finding a long lost relative who was a pariah and we had to keep it all secret and huddle up to talk about how they liked Zelda. It was so rare do an adult to play Nintendo and have and console and play a long game like Zelda.

Plus, because an adult did it, for that moment you felt protected from any stigma from being a gamer and could just be yourself. Im being a bit hyperbolic, but thats how I felt as a little kid in the library when I found out our PE/Health teacher lady played Zelda. She was wearing a shirt I think. I remember me and my friend going up to her on the side and being all like, You like Zelda?

This was in 1993 by the way.
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^ Heh, my grandpa had a SNES. That's how I played Super Mario World back in the day.

More recently, prior to the release of the Wii U, I found a 70-something Sunday school teacher who owned every Nintendo console released to that date.
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I went to a sleepy lil' religious private school and, like, the douchier kids would give me shit for liking Nintendo once in a while (not often) but in general most other kids didn't care, and the teachers especially didn't since the house of Mario's so much squeakier and cleaner than the viiiiile GTA.

I say as I drape a blanket over my copy of Bayonetta 2.
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Not really? I dont actually know. I dont play video games, and none of my friends play video games, so the topic doesnt come up often. I dont think its seen as dorky or nerdy though. I see people walking around with a DS every so often.

Unless its Pokmon Go. Everyone loves Pokmon Go.
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Not really.

My mom has been the only person I can recall whom I've personally heard speak against it.
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