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See the original image at arstechnica.com —

Being a Better Gamer

arstechnica.com — Video gamers are a violence-prone, anti-social lot who would be better off taking up a real hobby that would make them less of a menace to society, right? Wrong. Here's how gamers are a growing force for good.

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  • RyanBlack, on 07/31/2008, -3/+142Considering the amount of times I've been called a "*****" on Xbox Live, I have full faith in "gamers are a growing force for good".
    • protogenxl, on 07/31/2008, -0/+64You know the Live player base "can charitably described as lively and uncharitably described as a bunch of hooting dick-holes"
    • FredFredrickson, on 07/31/2008, -17/+4I've played on Live a LOT and I've never been called a "*****."
      • tm13lke, on 07/31/2008, -1/+31Are you sure you were on Live?
      • FredFredrickson, on 07/31/2008, -4/+3Yes... Come on, acting like the moment you jump on XBL you get called every name in the book is stupid. It's utter *****.
      • InfernoX, on 07/31/2008, -2/+1THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

      • coyote1284, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2Are you playing Uno or CoD? Your experience will vary depending on the game you play.
    • KaiUno, on 07/31/2008, -0/+28Haven't heard ***** myself. But fag, ***** and gay are rampant in every online gaming community. I switch off the voice on live and I close down OOC channels in MMO's.

      Sorry, but we all know how it goes. Anonimity + audience = Internet *****. Some people can't help themselves.


      • OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 07/31/2008, -4/+1Well that would explain why you haven't heard it.
      • Spartyon, on 07/31/2008, -5/+1i mean are you black?
      • poiuytrewq44, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2From my experience, the best online userbase is Final Fantasy XI, they're generally very kind people, who only shun those who don't want to be a beneficial member of the (for lack of a better word) "society".
      • dronkmunk, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1You don't even have to be black.

        On the plus side: I hear it so much the word doesn't personally offend me anymore.
      • KaiUno, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1Perhaps. But I happen to be gay, and hearing the words ***** and gay refer to negative things all the frelling time makes me not want to have any interaction with most other gamers. I bring my own friends to the games I play.
    • Tyrghast, on 07/31/2008, -3/+22XBL != gamer.
      What most people consider a 'gamer' is really the hardcore people, not the ones who play Halo whenever their parents aren't home.
      • Iztikeit, on 07/31/2008, -5/+1So the even nerdier ones?
      • coyote1284, on 08/01/2008, -0/+3"gamer" gets thrown around quite liberally these days
    • supaklaw, on 07/31/2008, -6/+21XBL = babysitter for redneck toddlers.
    • atarijedi, on 07/31/2008, -3/+0Does Live have the ability to vote-kick or vote-ban?
    • nosamesame, on 07/31/2008, -1/+4I guess it depends on whether they were "calling you" a *****, or just saying *****.

      Isnt that how it goes these days or is the benign "*****" still owned by the black population only?
      • coyote1284, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2It is "still owned by the black population", but licensed for use by suburbufoons when behind a veil of anonymity. If a middle-class suburbanite white boy utters the word in any context in RL within earshot of someone who is not a close friend, he just may get his lilly white ass beat the ***** down.
      • Optiks, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1@coyote

        'suburbafoon' - classic, man.... simply classic...
    • Bane4, on 07/31/2008, -1/+2Sir....please.

      The fact that racial slurs are used on Xbox live does not mean the gaming community as a whole is bad.
      However, if you still feel the need to get attention, please send all your comments to this link, www.imafreakingidiot.com
      • insinuate, on 07/31/2008, -3/+2Or you should go check out www.*****.imadouchebag.net
      • FredFredrickson, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1How about
        www.creedthoughts.gov.wwwcreedthoughts?
    • Iztikeit, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1I thought most hardcore gamers were angsty teens/young adults who waste countless hours in front of a screen accomplishing little more than pupil dilation.
      • FredFredrickson, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1The average age of gamers is 35.
      • Iztikeit, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1I don't believe that.
      • kbreezy04, on 08/01/2008, -0/+0I made $15k playing video games in my free time(I'm also in the Army) so I wouldnt say I accomplished little more than pupil dilation.
    • TokenBlack, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2I hear ya Ryan, I hear ya.
    • Varfy, on 08/04/2008, -0/+0Xbox live has to know a way to sequester gamers that just want to have a good time from the foul mouthed racists and homophobes. I am not a bleeding heart liberal, but I do not find it entertaining to hear these people talk like this, and I am definitely not going to ever let my children be exposed to it.
  • skewl, on 07/31/2008, -10/+11I think gaming is still largely a youth culture thing, at least in the sense of the most involved gamers.
    • inajeep, on 07/31/2008, -0/+12That isn't true anymore. The average age is increasing every year because strangely we keep getting older. Who is buying these $60 games and expensive consoles? Adults who play Atari, Commodore and Nintendo growing up who are in their 30s and 40s now.
      • Spire3660, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5Im in my mid 30s, all my friends are a mix of beach bums, corporate VPs, engineers, artists, waiters, etc. We ALL play video games, and most of us have the majority of the 4 major gaming platforms, plus the handhelds. (PC, PS3, Xbox360, Wii + DS, PSP)
      • mt4055, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5 .. or 50s.
        As soon as the kids grew up and left home I bought an Xbox 360. :)
    • Freetime000, on 07/31/2008, -0/+12youth culture? DID YOU READ THE ARTICLE? The average age of the typical gamer is 35. As the guy above me hinted, the kids from the Atari 2600, NES and C64 era are still playing.

      More stats from earlier this year:
      http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/03/38-percent-of- ...
    • iWANTmySNback, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5In the true definition of a video game, this is inaccurate. Sure xbox and ps3 with FPS's and Madden are dominated by the teen to young adults, but you have to realize online poker, bedazzeled, digital sudoku, and all of those other lame games are still video games. just because the super "gamer" culture doesn't recognize them doesn't mean they aren't being played.
    • InfernoX, on 07/31/2008, -10/+240% of gamers are women? 2 words: *****. As someone whose played all sorts of online games for years and tons of PC and playstation games, I have not met more than 20 women that play anything beyond Rock band or Sims. And 4 of those are family members.

      To be considered a gamer imo you have to play either fps,rts,rpg or mmo's on a regular basis.
      • poiuytrewq44, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2Or you just haven't asked them/assumed that they were guys because they've assimilated into the gamer culture...
    • Rosco, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5I'm 44 and a gamer, I'll kick your ass in UT'99 and then take my little dog for a walk.

      Ha ha ha!
      Oh Yea!
      You like that?
      • DJMattB241, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1Oh man. I love everything about this post.
        I played UT99 for like five years straight on UMXtreme's servers.

        Awesome.
  • hhalpin, on 07/31/2008, -7/+7I'd go so far as to say that this article is one of the most important pieces penned for gamers, period. It clearly lays out the landscape and shows readers precisely what they can do to change the situation. It's comprehensive, and therefore long, but worth reading every word... twice. Really nicely done.
  • CollapseControl, on 07/31/2008, -7/+8I don't consider gamers to be anti-social anymore, especially with a service like XBL that encourages you to get your friends to play with you. And i'm glad the developers are seeing this as well, i'm pumped for all the games coming out that will have a co-op experience to play with friends. (Too Human, Mercs 2, Fable 2, Saints Row 2, COD:WaW, Gears of War 2, LEFT 4 DEAD)
    • nthitz, on 07/31/2008, -1/+4Saints Row 2? Seriously?!
      • CollapseControl, on 07/31/2008, -2/+3I'm not sure what you are asking, but Saints Row 2 will have a 2 player Co-op Campaign. Play through the whole story with a friend? Sign me up!
    • santasing, on 07/31/2008, -2/+6God man, do you ever stop plugging XBL, seriously! Are you being paid to do this or something.
      We play games, we know we are not anti-social, just stop with the MS ad campaign.
      • CollapseControl, on 08/01/2008, -4/+1lol, just because you can't brag about PSN doesn't mean you need to start crying about XBL.

        Don't start your crying campaign again, I can type whatever I feel like in the comments, be it about XBL or the games on the 360. If you don't like it digg me down and go about your little fanboy way.
  • justgable, on 07/31/2008, -0/+34Even if I show these statistics to my wife I doubt she'll stop trying to convince me that video games at my age isn't "normal".
    • bitterbug, on 07/31/2008, -6/+33Point out to her that adultery at your age is quite normal and maybe the harpy will shut her trap :)
    • jarjarwang, on 07/31/2008, -1/+9Ditch her and play games full time.
    • supaklaw, on 07/31/2008, -0/+9I'll trade you Ninja Gaidan 2 and a couple dusty controllers for her.
  • Tophillious, on 07/31/2008, -2/+16I think that exposing young kids to violent games could cause them to be a little ***** up, but that's why parent should read the letter on the back of cases. If it's M rated, don't buy them the game. Simple as that. The first game that comes to mind is Halo, an M rated game. Every time I hear some brat trash talking, I blame their parents. I like to believe in Tabula rasa.

    This is just my two cents...
    • Shogi, on 07/31/2008, -1/+7Exposing them without any sort of guidance or strong moral basis could cause a problem yes, which is why parents need to do their damn job, not just drop their kid in front of a tv.

      Violent games also attract people who are already ***** in the head.
    • Belittle82, on 07/31/2008, -7/+0I don't believe Halo had an M rating
    • Scrappy1850, on 07/31/2008, -1/+4the rating is on the front of the box
      • coyote1284, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2It's all over the damn thing. Front, back, booklet, the disk, load screen.
    • phorden, on 07/31/2008, -1/+6Actually blaming violent TV and video games is just a scapegoat because violent crimes are the lowest they have been in 30 years. Also this is a lot like what rock and roll was 40-50 years ago. Supposedly it caused people to be violent and immoral.
    • ngmcs8203, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4I'm going to sound like a broken record that we've all heard, but I think parents should make decisions based on the ability of their children to discern a fictitious video game from real life when it comes to introducing them to violent games. When I first started "gaming" I was a pre-teen and played doom, doom2, quake, GTA etc regularly. I'm no more messed up than any other guy my age. I understand the level of violence is higher now, but I would expect any parent who's paying attention to the things their kids play will not go out and buy their child a copy of GTAIV for their 11th birthday present. So the blame needs to be directly placed on parents.
  • shlinky, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2There has always been resistance to new ides and new forms of media. Gaming is just the FOTM for the righteous crusaders of society. We have a voice folks, its time for us to take 5 minutes away from raiding/fragging/chatting, join groups like the ECA and stand up for our rights as gamers before the politicos ninja them from under our noses.
  • dha07030, on 07/31/2008, -1/+41Why can't I just be a good person who likes to play games? We need some type of movement?
  • kds405, on 07/31/2008, -0/+17Good for what? The sale of Hot Pockets?
    • punkcat, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4when you want a good meal with out a big deal what are you supposed to do?
    • Scrappy1850, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2HOT POCKETS!!!
    • sideburns, on 07/31/2008, -1/+2Ahhh Jim Gaffigan...
      www.youtube.com/watch?v=zewDAa99Ns8
  • digital0verdose, on 07/31/2008, -1/+14What the ***** makes you think we're anti-social, asshat?
    • tehcobra, on 07/31/2008, -1/+12How do you expect to make new friends with that mouth?
    • candafilm, on 07/31/2008, -1/+5No, not anti-social at all.
    • venomoushealer, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1we're anti-social because we're on digg.
    • davidkeithjones, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1Shut up! Fuc*****************************mother.
  • Aros, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3Nice Game Gear donation!
  • galvo, on 07/31/2008, -1/+14I'm the only black person that plays on XBL.
    • Scrappy1850, on 07/31/2008, -0/+7if thats how you feel, then you dont play Madden
    • SpectralSounds, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4Do you play UNO?
  • LZeppelinJ0, on 07/31/2008, -1/+9Ugh I can't stand looking at Digg anymore, somebody really needs to take down those Stop. Stare. FLIRT! Ads, Glossygrrl is so ***** hideous... especially when she starts laughing and then can't get up from the bed.

    Yep thats my contribution to this article.
  • Chrino, on 07/31/2008, -4/+3"...for every 16-year-old kid there's a 50-year-old guy to average out to 33..."

    I haven't had a math class in awhile, but wouldn't that be the median (actually it would be 34), not the average?
    The article says the average age of a gamer is 35. I thought this was very surprising until I saw how they got their "average" statistic.
    • KniteWulf, on 07/31/2008, -1/+6Instead of digging you down, I'll attempt to educated you. A median number in a range of numbers is the one that is in the middle. The average number is the total sum of all the numbers added together and then divided by the amount of numbers that were added.

      Get it?
    • trpnblies7, on 07/31/2008, -0/+450 + 16 = 66
      66 / 2 = 33
    • Gizza, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1"I haven't had a math class in awhile"

      ..or at all...
  • konartis90cs, on 07/31/2008, -0/+8"Apathy is for losers." Well thats fine but I just don't care.
  • eraofk00l, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1026% of gamers are 50+?
    Not being ageist or anything, but that's awfully high, considering that 25% of gamers are 18 and under...
    • davidkeithjones, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1A lot of my buddies dads play games. Seems like the new thing for the 50+ crowd to do, after all, who wants to play bridge?
    • scratend0788, on 07/31/2008, -0/+0maybe by gamer they mean someone who once played pong back in the 70's or has been tempted into clicking on one of those interactive flash addverts
    • thestranger, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1A lot of friends' dads started playing a lot of games when all their kids moved out to go to college.

  • cheese06, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2Get the video game lobby to donate PAC money and fundraise for these politicians. Result? No protests over video games.
  • DeFex, on 07/31/2008, -3/+12Consoles are great because they keep some of the obnoxious and rude people away from pc game servers.
    • phorden, on 07/31/2008, -0/+7That was one of the best comments I've heard in a long time. Hats off to you good sir.
    • saar, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5+1 to you for speaking the absolute truth. *applause*
    • Gizza, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1And the rest are on CS servers.
  • pinniger, on 07/31/2008, -5/+0This is BS. They made up these stats so people dont feel bad about playing games at their age.

    // coming from a 28 year old gamer.
  • f4nt0m4s, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3I wish people would get over gaming. It's not like it's a new thing...the NES debuted in the United States over 20 years ago, life still goes on. It has been shown that there is no more of a correlation between violent video games and violent behavior than there is between violent movies and violent behavior. If parents would do their jobs and the major news sources would report real news no one would be talking about video games anymore.

    These articles are stupid. You don't have to remind us every day that millions of people game and it is normal. In other news, the sky is blue.
    • tlow, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1Its been shown? Do you have a source? Have you ever considered that violent people tend to play video games more... correlation doesn't mean causation.
  • Howland07, on 07/31/2008, -1/+0Here's a link to the ECA T-shirt shown in the article:

    http://www.zazzle.com/untitled_t_shirt-23517004224 ...
  • finn, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2be VARY wary of using sarcasm or rhetorical statements in text, vary rarely does it come across as intended and so backfires; it can only really be carried over in real life (where body language and speech emphasis can be related) and in all circumstances, it takes some intelligence to 'decipher', and we all know intelligence is far from being the average.
  • mavranos, on 07/31/2008, -0/+9Yeah- I'm not sure about those numbers. Every time I play XboxLive 90% of the people I get stuck with are 12 year-old racists with Tourette's syndrome.
  • ChinezePanda, on 07/31/2008, -0/+9People seem to think that if they play 1 game... repeatedly.... till the end f time (im looking at you halo crowd...) that they are "gamers"

    No sir this is not how it works.

    You are right down there with the whole myspace crowd.... ugh...

    Question... Why is it that everytime I play on live i have to mute the mics of nearly everyone in the game?
    • coyote1284, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2"I don't play one game repeatedly, I always get the new NCAA and Madden when it comes out" thinks he's a gamer.
      • ChinezePanda, on 08/01/2008, -0/+2exactly... ***** exactly.. goddamnit

        Oh.. and playing WoW FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS doesnt make you one either.
  • 808ethan, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3As we learned from politics, the number of people doesn't matter for *****, only how vocal people are.

    18+ women gamers - silent
    18 - boys - spend 10 hours a day posting on every game and tech site in existance.
    • Nicksname1, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1I played against this girl the other night her name was Miss Gat0r G1rl and she was a total bitch. Right out of the box she just starts making fun of peoples names and then starts just yelling out racist terms and the most ridiculous things I have ever heard come out of a girls mouth.
      Needless to say she sucked alot and got Teabagged a ***** that game. But don't make the claim girls are silent because this one was far from it.

      http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Halo3/Default.aspx?pla ...
  • forcedfx, on 07/31/2008, -1/+5I played video games when I was 11 through the age of 17. I put the controller down for a while and started playing again when I was 29. I just turned 30 and am addicted to COD4. It's the only game I play and the only one I own.
  • grapeape25, on 07/31/2008, -1/+2I doubt the age statistics are accurate, most people say they are 18 (or older) to avoid the restrictions from being under 18.
  • jonshipman, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2DIg for the GameGear on page 3
  • Slybri, on 07/31/2008, -0/+6The media perpetuates the "violent gamer" thing because people who play videogames don't watch TV commercials. That's what they are afraid of.
  • Ethervoid, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1Non-gamers are the freak ones never otherwise
    • poiuytrewq44, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1The virginia tech guy wasn't a gamer. He just played counterstrike on occasion. And they all sold that commodity until it would sell no more.
  • scratend0788, on 07/31/2008, -0/+0whatever the case it is hard to argue that playing games isen't a waste of time
  • tekproxy, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3In another 40 or 50 years, almost all adults will have grown up in a video game rich environment. Maybe the senate will have a LAN party.
  • Methuselah4869, on 07/31/2008, -0/+0I can hardly say it's not the case when we are talking about MMORPG's.. I'm not directing to WOW intirely, but the free MMORPG games like Rappelz or Brave New World. The gaming mechanic demands an extremely strict gameplay system, slow gameplay, and harsh leveling system. I never liked the idea of grinding one monster at a time for 6 hours a day like my older sibling. It is after quitting the game where I completely regret wasting hours of my social day time to the game. Also it was when I found out that people outside are not so sensitive as people behind those moniters playing those games. I vow to never play such 1-kill-at a time RPG and wait for something like Diablo III to come out. (I missed those days of Diablo II with my godly items *tears)
  • OzzieAlThor, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3If I didn't think "Toggle Mute" for CoD 4 online wasn't the greatest invention in the history of the XBox 360, I'd agree with the article.
  • M724, on 08/02/2008, -0/+1A few gamers with reach, voice, influence and resources could push to an even more dramatic shift in mainstream perception of games.

    Those hater gamers should be taught to shut the hell up before they cause some permanent damage.

    I've been actively playing on XBL lately, and I've seen people say a lot of crap, and even one who sends me nasty pictures of butts. I mute/block them as they come along, and I urge everybody who encounters them to do the same. If we do so, we'll either drive them offline, or get them to actually behave once they see there is nobody willing to take their crap.
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