Cracked on the Stigma of Being a Gamer

by News | posted at 2010-08-12 01:44:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Gaming, Cracked, Cracked.com, Stigma, Gamer

It is a situation most gamers can relate to: that cold pit in one's stomach when a non-gamer social group unintentionally discovers your nerdiest past time. Top Magic players, particularly those enjoying a half dozen all-expenses paid vacations all over the world each year as high performing Pro Tour players, have worked against this stigma publicly sharing their tales of unabashedly discussing their exploits as professional gamers. But internet time sink Cracked.com is taking a deeper look into the subject. An article by David Wong entitled "5 Reasons It's Still Not Cool to Admit You're a Gamer" outlines the main reasons gaming (and gamers) still carry a giant stigma.

The article ranges from the obvious (gamer stereotypes) to the surprising (video game storytelling is at the level of B movies). While the article certainly puts the focus on games in the digital pantheon, there are certainly elements of the argument that hold sway for more traditional tabletop games (like Magic: The Gathering). And on top of that, an analysis of gamer entitlement reveals some shocking statistics. From the article:

But then you have the Humble Indie Bundle. That was a bundle of DRM-free independent games that, combined, would normally sell for $80. The makers offered the bundle as a direct download to the consumer--no corporate middle men--and let customers pay whatever they wanted, down to a penny.

"Yeah, that seems fair."

It wasn't free, you still had to pay. But you could set the price.

If ever there was a measure of the gaming community's sense of entitlement, this was it. All of the rationale for piracy--high prices, hatred of corporations, annoying DRM--was stripped away. Here we would find what we gamers think game creators owe us, and what we think we owe in return. The results:

The average downloader offered to pay $9.18, giving themselves a nice 87 percent discount off the retail price.

More than a quarter of the downloaders stole it outright.

Magic players have been known to whine over similar minor perceived slights, constantly predicting the death of Magic after the Sixth Edition rules changes, the printing of Mythic rares, the birth of the Pro Tour, the Magic 2010 rules changes, and more.

The true question the article raises, however, is what can be done to reduce the stigma of gaming and gamer culture in general? Share your thoughts on the matter in our forums using the link below.

Read the full article from Cracked.com here.

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