Is the Real Gamer a Dying Breed?

As a gamer, I remember playing every single game that I could get my hands on. I would stay up for the very early hours of the morning playing games to try and finish a game in a single run. It didn’t matter the type of game I played, as long as I was playing games. Even now, I play a fair number of genres of video games. I give as many games I can a try and see if I can find good points with the game. What I find with “gamers” now days, is they play one type of game or even just one game series. Where is the passion for games in general? Where has the true gamer gone? Is the real gamer a dying breed?

I sit back and think to myself: What is a gamer? Is it just a person that just plays games? Is it a person that enjoys games? Well my answer isn’t that simple. A core gamer is a person who loves to play games. This is the real gamer. I’m not talking about just playing a one or two titles a year, I’m talking about the guys that play just about every genre of game out there. This is the type of person that will put a hundred hours into four or five games a year, and that’s only counting major game releases. So that doesn’t include any casual titles.

There are many hardcore gamers that put a few hundred hours into a single game a year. I think that’s fantastic, but do they count as a real gamer? I don’t think so. They enjoy a single title and not gaming as a whole. Do I still have a ton of respect for these people as gamers? Yes I do. Does that make them a real gamer in my eyes though? No, at least I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong that is hardcore, but it does not define a real gamer who just loves games.

I am not trying to be elitist or snobbish, but many of the gamers now days just don’t understand. I think the mass adaption of video games as a mainstream form of entertainment has watered down the term “gamer” for many people. I can play most games well. While I do better in some genres, I can hold my own in almost any game situation you put me in. I don’t think that many self proclaimed “gamers” can say that.

I play games, I enjoy games, and being a gamer defines who I am. If you look at my current game library, you will find many shooters. But I do have a nice variety of games. Action, racing, RPG, and action sports are just a few genres that I have in my 360 collection on disk. That doesn’t include the party, fighting, and strategy games that I have downloaded. Nor does it include the old school games that I have on my older systems. I enjoy all of these and played the absolute crap out of them. I still try to put about 15 hours into my core gaming a week and still more into casual and mobile games. I spend countless hours reading, thinking, and talking about games.

I am a real gamer, and many of my friends are real gamers. I have met a lot of people that call themselves gamers, but often fail to live up to the expectations. They are often not gamers, but players. They’re a WoW Player, a CoD Player, a Madden Player, but almost never a real gamer. Players can become real gamers if they are willing to expand what they do and gain experiences. Play the games that look interesting, the games that you might not normally play, or the plain weird looking games. Expand the gaming horizons and become a real gamer. I call people to be real gamers. Play games, enjoy games, live games. Let the real gamer live on and continue to play as many games as they can. Do not let the real gamer die out.