Gamer

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about gamers - persons who play games. For the Japanese retail chain Gamers see BROCCOLI (company).

A gamer is, in a general sense, one who plays games. However, gamers are distinct from simple game players by their devotion to gaming as a hobby: they are game fans. The term is often self-assigned.

There are many communities of gamers around the world. Many of these exist in web rings, forums and other virtual communities such as GamerFaces.com, as well as college clubs. Stores specializing in games often serve as a meeting place to organize groups of players. Prior to the emergence of the Internet, many play-by-mail games developed communities similar to those that can be found among today's online games.

Video and computer gamers are stereotypically adolescent males. However, research has shown that females comprise more than 40% of the video game market, and females are playing more games than they have in the past.Template:Ref

Gaming for long hours is associated with the phenomena of gamer widows and gamer widowers.

1 Types of video gamers
2 Celebrities
3 See also
4 Other types of Gamers
5 References

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Types of video gamers

Hardcore gamers are gamers who have video gaming as one of their top priorities, There are many classes of Hardcore gamers (aka hard gamers or core gamers):

An old school gamer is a hardcore video game player who believes that older (pre-32-bit era) video games can be just as entertaining as today's video games. Old school gamers are partly responsible for the popularity of console emulation. Some collect old video games and prototypes, or are in the business of refurbishing old games, particularly arcade cabinets. Some even make their own arcade cabinets (see MAME arcade).

A competitive gamer better known mainstream as Cyberathlete primarily plays games in a certain genre for the enjoyment of competition with other gamers, and possibly simply for money or other extrinsic rewards. These types of gamers may not particuarly like a particular game within a genre but play it because others do or because there is a strong competitive support at that especific game. This type of gamer is most often found playing games of the fighting game, real-time strategy and first person shooter genres. Competitive gamers often join teams known as clans.

Import gamers, as the name implies, purchase video games from countries overseas. The most common imports are from Japan, although some European gamers purchase games from North America. Depending on the gaming platform involved, these gamers may use devices such as modchips, boot disks, and/or Gamesharks to bypass regional lockout protection on the software, though some prefer to purchase imported consoles.

In contrast, casual gamers are occasional video game players who might not even identify themselves as a gamer. What this group lacks in enthusiasm for the latest and greatest hardware and engrossing gameplay, they make up in sheer numbers. Some companies that specialize in casual games have become very successful just by making games that are easy to play, such as PopCap Games (makers of Bejeweled, Bookworm and Zuma). Several of the all-time bestselling computer games attracted the attention of casual gamers, such as Myst and The Sims.

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