I told the OP (and was tempted to tell Yancakes) to go fuck themselves with this stereotyping bullshit, but I think the topic deserves a bit more attention than a pissy rebuttal, so I thought I'd start a thread...Yancakes wrote: They're a pretty new phenomenon, they're the "cool" people that got in to games recently as they've gained more and more mainstream appeal.
They pop collars, call each other bro incessantly...and only play Halo, Call of Duty and sports games.
Obviously, this is a huuuge generalization. But I like it, it tends to hold pretty true.
Frankly I think it is a very destructive and ungrounded term.
For one, it is a discriminating and insulting term - it suggests a sense of intellectual and social division between people who play a variety of genres and those who play only a few different kinds genres. It is along the same lines as calling someone an "emofag" or "shitkicker" because of their musical preference - it ascribes an identity and behavior for an individual that is unfairly rooted solely in the media they choose to consume.
Additionally, this particular term is one that forecloses people from expanding their gaming interests. I can certainly imagine some hypothetical 15 year old kid who plays a ton of sports games and FPS titles or some 25 year old guy who starts getting nostalgic for old games who, when they get curious about checking out some other genre or games of a different gen, encounter this very insulting depiction of themselves and their current habits in those same communities where they should otherwise be finding guidance and making new connections.
Another reason I hate the term is because it also creates an unwarranted hierarchy in game genres, placing some genres as "more sophisticated" or "smarter" than others - which is certainly not true. I sometimes think people use the term to discount those genres which stress a lot of online competition because they don't enjoy that kind of experience, so it is easier to deride those games and those who play them than to recognize that accomplishing a nice kill/death ratio or winning a league is, perhaps, just as significant and challenging as reaching a level cap or finding all the hidden stars.
I think it is fair to say that I wouldn't post a thread like this on any other kind of gaming community message board, but I've always thought of racketboy as a place that is better than other boards - the kind of place where we don't discriminate and stratify people based on their gaming preferences. Over the past year or so I've seen more derision for "brogamers," casuals," "retro hipsters," etc. than I have ever seen on the site, and it saddens me. So think of this post as a friendly call to be a bit more considerate with your language choices when posting and a bit more inclusive when thinking about who "we are," because i fear that running with and perpetuating these ridiculous labels and stereotypes (even if we know of some people who fit the profile) does more harm than good and is beneath us.
