I've been called many things, but weirdo is one of the most common.
I think some people even though they enjoyed the dawn of arcade gaming and enjoyed modern gaming still chose to do something else with their time leaving the rest to look a little funny. I worked with a middle aged guy a few years ago who was a big FPS guy now he doesn't game at all.
Indeed. And it doesn't shock me. Alternatively I started gaming back in the early 80s on the ZX Spectrum and haven't stopped since. Between consoles, a decade of arcades and computer games, I've done it all. At the age of 41, turning 42, married, with a job and 2 daughters, I don't see myself stopping either. Coincidentally, my wife and daughters look healthy too. So, despite the comments of those... engaging personages, it seems having a mind for games doesn't mean I don't worry with... adult, kosher and responsible stuff.
What I'd like to know is how playing video games differs from being a hobby. If you don't play in the competitive gaming leagues, it's a hobby. Something that you do during downtime that you enjoy and do for fun.
Indeed. What some of these people don't seem to understand is that video gaming made its way into the western world culture and lifestyle. We all belong to successive generations that were born into, or experienced very early the rise of computer video games. It's an intrinsic part of our lifestyle, a hobby for many, and a job for others.
As new generations arrive, the number of old-timers still playing video games in their 60s and 70s will keep rising. It's just not going to go away. On the contrary. While many of us will still appreciate more traditional entertainment (I'm a particular fan of puzzles and modelling), video games made their into our lives and occupy an as important role in our entertainment patterns as any other activity.
So people like these on that piece are a clear example of sociologically inept commentators (and interviewers) with very little grasp of what makes our societies tick and what constitutes new behavioral patterns that are progressing into a new Culture. They represent the type of uninformed and ignorant mentality of morning and afternoon shows that populate our generic TV stations and that do more harm than good into informing the population about the world around them.
