The Gamer Generation Gap

While perusing gaming sites recently, I came across this interview with Aisha Tyler on GameInformer Online. While it was interesting to read about her experience as Ubisoft's go-to presenter for E3 the past couple of years and recording VO for Watch Dogs, it was her experience with being rejected as a gamer...by other gamers that really caught my attention.

I knew this has been something she's struggled with in the past. I don't regularly check Reddit, so I didn't see the post she referenced. However, just based on what she said in the interview, it got me thinking about my post-E3 blog post. While my initial disgust with general gamer decorum has decreased (the console war has changed significantly, and the flame war has died down as a direct result), Aisha's experience really made me revisit the whole debacle.

When I made the aforementioned post, I started to think about why gamers just don't seem to get along as they seemed to in the past. Then it hit me. Video games, and those who play them, have changed drastically over the years. Video Games were basically invented in the 1950's and 60's. It is now 2013. Video gamers are now in their 3rd (or 4th) generation. The second generation, those of us who grew up with Pong in the 70s and Atari and NES in the 80's (let's also not forget arcades) are now parents or even grandparents. There is now a full generation of gamers whose first console may have been an original Xbox or PS2 - or later - simply because they weren't born before then. But, it's not the games or the consoles that have created the generation gap, it's Time itself.

Before video games started to be considered "mainstream" in the mid-to-late 80's, anyone who frequently played video games were considered oustsiders and labeled as "nerds." While systems like Atarti 2600, NES and the rise of arcades certainly increased the overall number of gamers and their exposure to larger audiences, video games were still widely considered an anti-social activity. This led to gamers being persecuted by others. Likewise, video games also provided a safe outlet for many other adolescents who were cast out by society for whatever reason. Many gamers who grew up in this generation recall being bullied and shunned for loving their favorite hobby. As Aisha mentioned, this made many people - herself included - feel excluded by the majority of society.

Another celebrity from that generation is Raheem Jarbo, better known as Random or Mega Ran.


Personally, I feel the song speaks for itself and it has nearly brought me to tears on numerous occasions. 


In this song, he describes being a kid who didn't belong and struggling to make friends. At some point, his mother bought him an NES (a large investment for a single mother) because she felt it was safer than her son being on the streets with gangs. Raheem discovered a passion for video games. As an adult, he attempted to make a career out of hip-hop, but he found little success. He began to create songs that focused on his love of games, and video gamers embraced him wholeheartedly. His story is yet another of how a social outcast found acceptance among others who shared his passion for games and likely had similar backgrounds as his. His story shares elements that many gamers of his generation have related to.

As time marched on, video games became a larger industry and video gaming eventually became more socially acceptable. As the Internet expanded and permeated homes across the world, gamers and many other outlying subcultures found a way to connect with each other without the fear of further persecution. Many have referred to this as the beginning of the "rise of nerd culture." It was the history of persecution that unified these previously isolated individuals once there was a means of doing so over distance.

Fast forward several years. The Internet is now firmly entrenched in society as a source of information and culture. Video games tournaments are webcast (MLG, Twitch) and major annual events with their own subculture (EVO, etc). Online sessions of FPS games can total into the billions of hours invested by players. Video games have become much more than the escape of the downtrodden. Though still the subject to inquires toward their effect on the human psyche, gaming has become a vastly more acceptable pasttime.

Today, there is a new generation that has had access to a much larger community of gamers as well as the Internet. They have known nothing else. While I cannot confirm or deny the identities of anyone who claimed Aisha was not a "gamer," it speaks to a growing divide amongst gamers. Most gamers of the older generation to which Aisha and Raheem belong still view video games as a common ground for social outcasts to commiserate and forget their troubles. Alternately, the younger generation who has grown up with video games as an acceptable hobby and haven't been cast aside because of it have a completely different perspective. They do not see it as the refuge for the downtrodden. To me, this disparity is a contributing factor to much of the "cred" disputes I hear and see in gaming.

In addition, I feel this Generation Gap also contributes to the entitlement I spoke about back in August. Video games themselves have changed drastically since the days of the NES. During the age of cartridges and before online console services became a mainstay, video games contained many flaws, despite the best efforts of the developer. Gamers reveled in some of these flaws, which resulted in glitches, exploits, and cheats. Regardless, developers had no method to fix these flaws once their product was in the wild. As internet connectivity has gained momentum, developers can now issue hotfixes and patches to an imperfect game. While a certain level of quality is expected when a game ships, developers can now be more directly involved with the lifespan of a game. The newer generations of gamers, the same who never experienced the days of glitches and exploits as commonplace, now believe they are due any fixes to a game that they consider to be broken. Thus, we get gamers getting upset about a Day One patch for a game rather than appreciating the fact that a developer can now do this.

Sociologists often say people are products of their environment (which is part of a greater psychological debate about "Nature vs. Nurture"). The same applies to the video game community. As games change, the gamers change. This leads to a sort of culture clash, and results in friction. It's easy for someone like myself to sit back, observe, and say "Well, that's a shame these groups can't get along." It's something completely different to try to act upon this observation and make a change. I encourage you, as a gamer (probably), to read my words and try to accept where your fellow gamers have come from. Let's not dismiss others as "not really a gamer" simply because they don't think like you do. We call ourselves gamers because we share in a specific hobby, and we do so for our own reasons.

Share the love, not the hate.

Next-Gen Blues

Sorry for the delays in posts. To be honest...my heart wasn't in it after E3. It was really cool to see the PS4 and find out about the many awesome games we can expect when these consoles release this holiday season. But, sadly, it was my fellow gamers that sucked the fun out of the console race. Not all gamers, mind you. Of course, zealots are an exception to any rule, but that doesn't make it any less draining to listen to them.

I'm referring to the MASSIVE public relations debacle Microsoft had with the Xbox One. There were many controversies regarding some of the policies Microsoft had in place for the console, many of which would have probably been much much smaller issues if they had been handled more properly, or at least differently, from a PR standpoint. As such, the console war that usually exists became more hostile.

I mean, it really got out of hand fast.

I normally view the Console War of any burgeoning hardware generation as a healthy competition, and enjoy discussing the differences between the two, which one people plan to purchase, whether they plan to be exclusive to one or use both, etc.

"Yeah, you tell 'em!"

But this time around...it really felt different. All of a sudden, it seemed like EVERYONE knew EVERYTHING about each console. It was no longer about opinions, but "facts" (that hadn't even been confirmed nor denied at that point) and who was correct.

It illustrated a viewpoint I've had growing in my mind for several months. As time goes on, I've been seeing gamers as a community become more and more vocal and feeling entitled. The first clue to this was the controversy regarding Mass Effect 3. Granted, BioWare set some very lofty goals with the story of the series, and I admire them for their boldness. Disclaimer: I have not yet finished ME3, so I have no opinion on the ending at this time. But, when ME3 released and the online outcry over the ending opened up, I watched as petitions were signed to have BioWare change the ending. Yes, gamers thought that yelling at a company long and loudly enough would actually change the data that was printed on a physical disc. Eventually, BioWare caved and released a downloadable update that gave more "closure," I guess.

Then, it was Diablo 3. The initial server crash is an indisputable issue that happened, and there should have been more/larger stress tests before launch to help avoid it. The problem I saw afterward was the sheer amount of complaints about "I paid for this game, I should be able to play it!" amazed me. The server crashes happened for, what, 2 or 3 days? I can understand being annoyed that the game was not ready to be played immediately, but...YOU STILL GOT TO PLAY IT. Blizzard is not blameless, but the proportion of outrage seems to be weighed way too heavily against them. And, they fixed the issue pretty quickly, too. I personally call it a "net win" for everyone. It's not like the SimCity server issue...that, was truly a big issue.

Even before E3, I was feeling the fatigue in trying to figure out why my fellow gamers were so upset about everything all the time and felt like the gaming industry owned it to them to deliver the products they wanted. So, when the XB1/PS4 flaming began...I kinda gave up. I avoided articles about either console because I just couldn't stand to read the comments.

nope

All of a sudden I felt like the only person alive who wasn't gearing up for an all-out global conflict. I felt like one of the few people left who remembered that the video game industry is run by businesses who are out to make a profit. (Honestly, if you can't remember that, you should probably find a new hobby - or at least stop bitching about stuff and just not buy into or participate in products you don't support.)

I won't pretend that the Xbox One didn't/doesn't have issues. Microsoft has at least been intelligent enough to listen to the community to an extent and has changed some of their controversial policies for their next console. I strongly believe both consoles will ship, people will have issues with each of them, and things will get corrected. It's kind of how things are done anymore, as much as I miss the days of getting a product - warts and all (that is, after all, how we had fun finding exploits and glitches).

The tsunami has subsided recently, and only now have I felt like I've been brave enough to come out and start joining the community again.

I will not be going into detail about the Xbox One or PS4 until I have them in hand. It's not fair, and it's just a road I don't want to go down. I never review a game without having played it, so how I can I possibly pass judgement on something I've never been within 100 feet of? I just don't like this feeling:

 Now that I've said my piece, enjoy a sloth dropping da bass until my next post.

Where's My E3 Post?

E3 has be wild, and awesome, and crazy, and.....

It's been a lot to take in.

Stay posted. I'll be updating soon, once the dust has settled a bit.