stereotype
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The Soapbox: Meeting the 'Asian gamer' stereotype on common ground
I originally thought I would craft this Soapbox to discuss the differences between Western and Eastern gamers. But in my research, I ended up noticing the differences and the similarities between the two gaming cultures -- in fact, the similarities were more prominent. Yes, there are gamers who game in stereotypical ways; there are gamers from China, Korea, and Japan who are stereotypically "Asian." But Westerners can behave as stereotypes as well. The good news is that we're all blending together.
Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey
Angry at being lumped in with the stereotype of a gaming loser who can't make a friend for all the effort in the world? It turns out you probably have a right to be upset. According to a survey by Bigpoint, most gamers are actually balanced, social and fairly good-looking -- a far cry from the antisocial nerd who cannot understand this thing called "women." The Bigpoint Gamer Survey covered 6,663 gamers across the globe in its research before coming to this startling (or not-so-startling, depending on your perspective) conclusion. The survey also showed that gamers are just as active with their online friendships as those in real life. Yes, 55% of players under 20 years old said they had more online friends than offline, and a quarter of gamers mashed the two social spheres together -- 28% of those surveyed said that they eventually met their online friends in the real world. Bigpoint's Janine Griffel thinks that this survey paints a very positive picture for the gaming community: "Our study shows that online gamers are attractive individuals with healthy and active social lives. Social and casual games are very popular among our users for the reason that they emphasize being social. The trend's definitely moving away from single-player games to social-based experiences." You can read more about this fascinating survey at Game Politics.
The Daily Grind: Are you an MMO stereotype?
While stereotypes can be both offensive and unfair, depending on the situation, they can also be spot-on accurate. After all, stereotypes come from somewhere, whether it's a good place or New Jersey. Gamers seem to accumulate a great deal of stereotypes, perhaps more than any other hobby out there. Enjoy the hyperbole sandwich, it's the chef's special. According to all reports, we are a legion of unwashed, relationship-phobic nerds living in our parents' basements who converse entirely in binary. And, according to most educated news reports, we're also one frustrating session of Call of Duty away from snapping and taking out a Wal-Mart with a heavily modified Nerf gatling gun. So here's where the painful admission begins and the healing can finally take place. Do you actually fit into a MMO gamer stereotype? Are you a poor typist who communicates in barely legible gibberish? Have you missed work and family outings to pull an eight-hour raid? Is your gaming space littered with cans of Red Bull and the greasy wrappings of Hot Pockets? Have you never spoken to a member of the opposite sex in real life who isn't a parent? Have you -- and this is vital to admit, people -- have you ever used MMO lingo in your daily conversations without even realizing it? Are you a MMO stereotype? It's okay. You're among friends who would never, ever point and laugh.
iPhone user survey gives excuses to dump gadget-undesirable romantic partners
My beloved fiancé, It is with great sadness that I write you at home to your Gmail account to inform you that I am intending to sell your ring on Ebay and we will part ways. You see, ours was a mixed relationship to begin with. You have your Windows 7, your Linux, your original Android phone from T-Mobile in the UK. I have my iPhone, my iMac and everything good that's Apple (and even a few pieces that aren't). That's why I know it'll never work out between us. According to a recent study from Retrevo, iPhone owners believe that a "cool gadget" makes a person far more attractive than the measly doctorate you've spent years studying for. Every time we are together, I can't help but shudder over the fact that your Android phone is not of the latest generation. So forget the four years of history between us, the months of separation due to our being in two different countries, and the fact that you are a wonderful, kind, sweet, and intelligent man with a bright future ahead of you. I have someone else I think the world of, and it is my iPhone. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go watch adult material and post up an ad at Match.com for someone with a 3GS. Much love, Your dear departed Megan P.S. This letter is satire, I'm not dumping my fiance over his gadget preferences. Love you, honey!
Study: We're not all lonely, teenaged pariahs
We're fairly certain you don't need any convincing, but just in case someone's mom mistakenly stumbled across our website, it'll be nice for her to know that a recent study (all scientific-like!) cast the isolated gamer stereotype deep into question. Contrary to the belief that progress in Mario Bros. requires gamers to remain stationary, both on Cheeto-encrusted furniture and in their underdeveloped personal lives, a U.S. study, compiled by Ipsos MediaCT, concluded that 55% of game-playing folk are married, 48% have children and, of those who are parents, 57% play video games with their young ones.The study further indicates that gamers are 11% more likely to play "sports," and single gamers are twice as likely to go out on a date in any given month, with 9% being more likely to "go out" with their friends than people who do not play video games. A separate Canadian study is similarly enlightening, labeling one in two Canadians as a gamer, with half of those being women and the average age hovering around 40. Of course, neither study is very clear in distinguishing between casual and more serious gamers, but we'll leave that argument for another post.[Thanks, blerg]
Dr. Phil confronts WoW players
Yes, Oprah's psychologist (actually, I heard just the other day on Wait Wait that Dr. Phil was originally hired as a jury consultant on Oprah's beef slander case) has turned his mustachioed and Texas-accented attention to MMO gamers, and it's the usual rundown: someone's been playing the game way too much, and it's time for Dr. Phil to draw out the stereotype to anyone who finds a little fun in the online world of Azeroth.To be fair, I haven't seen the show itself, so maybe Phil does admit that millions of people around the world play these games in their free time, and that the vast majority of them have paying jobs, lead healthy lives and have happy relationships. But he doesn't feature any of those on his website -- instead, he's got the story of lives ruined over and over again because folks without self control took their game too far. And all the usual TV culprits are there -- flash cuts of chaotic keyboard and controller pressing, blurred video, and pictures of pasty gamers playing late into the night while the rest of their lives go ignored. Worried that you might be addicted? Dr. Phil's also got a "gaming behavior audit" that will let you know, in just ten questions, whether you're an addict or not. Here's a helpful question: do you feel you play online games to deal with anxiety or depression in your life? If so, you may have anxiety or depression in your life! Thanks, Dr. Phil!In all seriousness, sure, it's possible to play these games too much, and if you're playing the game even after you've lost a job or sacrificed a relationship, it's time to get help (or even better, just unplug the computer). But it would be nice to see a healthy gamer on these shows once in a while -- there's definitely plenty of them around, too.[via BlizzPlanet]
Forum post of the day: Idiots, children, and oldschoolers. Oh my!
At one point in time or another, most guilds face at least a little bit of drama, from loot distribution, to relationships, to guild bank robbery. Zeida of Tichondrius has created an list of guild member archetypes for folks she does not want in her guild. The list of stereotypes covers the first four posts in the thread so there is a considerable amount of reading. The list includes newbs, n00bs, trolls, elitists, and many more. The original poster went into detail on each of these archetypes. Here's the short version:
New report: Gamers are not lonely losers
Gamers seem to get a lot of bad press. From controversial episodes in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons to WoW addictions that are more shameful than online porn. Anyone who doesn't know us might actually believe that we're 10 million basement-dwelling social troglodytes. The American Medical Association is even considering the addition of video game addictions to their big book of mental problems (also known as the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). A new study by Victoria University found just the opposite. They found that about 15% of their 621 participants qualified as problem gamers, that is they spent more than 50 hours a week playing games. Even among that 15 percent, only one percent showed signs of poor social skills. While there are some who have a major problem gaming habit most of us are normal people who unwind with a video game.
All the World's a Stage: If looks could kill
All the World's a Stage is a column for inquisitive minds, playing with roles every Sunday evening. The media usually portrays WoW as a "boy's game." That's not to say girls don't play too, of course -- just that the game is basically about qualities such as aggressiveness and violence, and our culture expects males to be interested in that sort of thing. Whether such a designation is true or not, the "masculine equals violent" stereotype is very pervasive, and it is natural for many male players to begin the game with a powerful and intimidating character in mind. The player may imagine that his avatar is warm and kind-hearted inside, but outwardly, his character looks as though he could rip out your throat with a flick of his pinky finger.But there are many men out there who don't like such exaggerated manliness in their characters, just as there are many women who don't want their character to look like a dainty barbie doll. Being a person isn't just about just one gender attribute, after all. Indeed, female characters in WoW can achieve a full range of human attributes in their appearance; they can look friendly and intelligent, yet lightning quick and deadly at the same time. However, the appearance of male characters is often so filled to the brim with "strength and honor" that there's not much room left for any other human quality.
Mario & Peach can't shake gender stereotypes
Serious Games Source offers some heady insights into the designs of DS's Super Princess Peach and New Super Mario Bros. Despite North American and European marketing efforts to mask sexist overtones, it should be clear to anyone who's played Peach -- and succeeded using her emotions -- that the game perpetuates certain stereotypes about women. Gonzalo Frasca writes, "What is shocking is that from all the possible design options available, the creators of this game had to frame the princess as an emotionally unstable person."Digging deeper, Frasca discovers that Mario has also failed to avoid cultural imprints. Where Peach focuses on a woman's bursting emotions, NSMB follows a size-obsessed man searching for that "mega mushroom" to make himself ginormous; and thereby invincible.[Via GameSetWatch]
Snakes on a Plane gaming commentary
Alas, I don't work for the film blog Cinematical here in the Weblogs family, so I was hoping that I might see something in last night's advance screening of Snakes on a Plane that would allow me to speak of it in a gaming conext. Lo and behold, a major facet of the movie's plot actually revolved around a character's ability to play video games! How fortunate. Without giving too much away, Kenan Thompson's character Troy is shown throughout the movie as a video game junkie...how? He sports a black PSP model, yelling and screaming at the machine. Later, in a brief shot, an eight year-old is shown occupying himself idly with a (phat) Nintendo DS. Despite the success the DS has enjoyed throughout the industry, there still seems to be a very strong stigma that the PSP is for an older, urbanized culture, while Nintendo's offerings are for children. Further on, Samuel L. Jackson mentions both the Playstation and Xbox brand names, with no mention of the Gamecube or Wii. Exactly how real is this stereotype, and can Nintendo ever really overcome it? Okay, so this may have just been a thinly veiled attempt to bring up Snakes on a Plane. Since we're already here, I'll go ahead and deliver my review: see it. As soon as possible. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun in the movie theater; the over-the-top action and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek plot were absolutely brilliant. Best movie of the summer? Blast me if you dare...hell yes.
NY Times: Game stigma is industry's fault
New York Times reporter Seth Schiesel was one of a select few to attend Ziff Davis' Electronic Game Summit in the wine country of California. He used the opportunity to reflect on the "look at all the freaks" mainstream coverage of E3 and the game industry's image problemSchiesel argues that games are not yet something that most adults will admit to spending time on and that game companies have to market themselves differently to get over this stigma. He noted Nintendo's marketing strategy as a hopeful step, but warned the rest of the industry that they may end up like the comic book industry -- marginalized for decades as a childish diversion.Do you still notice a stigma about your video game playing, or do people treat playing games as just another form of entertainment now?
