So, gamers are stupid, huh?
Gamers are “stupid, ignorant, vile, and repulsive, and are the most horrible creatures to ever grace any entertainment outlet. [They] do not crave innovation, [they] do not praise the new blissful fields of [their] creative masters. [They] will take graphics over emotional meaning, technology over decent gameplay, and will just let it all soak in”.
Does that sound like you, Mr or Mrs Gamer? No? Do you feel insulted? Enraged, perhaps? Angered? Upset? I thought so. Just to clarify, the above definition is not my own. It is an extract taken from the opening paragraph of a fairly slanderous article entitled ‘Gamers Are Stupid’, written by Platform Nation’s Nathan Hardisty.
Now before I continue, let me be very clear. I have no desire to enter into a long-standing conflict with the said writer, or the website he represents. However, being an ardent gamer myself, I couldn’t help but be offended by the content of this defamatory piece of literature. Don’t get me wrong, in between his smug remarks and derogatory simplifications, Hardisty does make a few valid points. I for one wholly agree that the rude, arrogant ‘fanboys’ who bombard forums with abuse are giving us a bad name. Even so, to say that all gamers are stupid - that we are “mind-blowingly illiterate”, that “[we] can’t comment or articulate [our] opinions” and that we are “ugly in our commentary” - is unacceptable.
Where inarticulacy and illiteracy are concerned, a percentage of gamers out there could be considered less literate than others by academic standards. It isn’t hard to find a post or comment online that features confused syntax, spelling mistakes, parenthetical errors or other grammatical inconsistencies, but that does not mean we are all “mind-blowingly illiterate” (this coming from the chap who uses the word ‘stupidness’ in place of the stupidity, might I add).
During his rant, Hardisty alludes to a comment made about his review of Just Cause 2 to emphasise his point:
“just cause 2 is repedetive s**t”
Agreed, the spelling is poor, and Just Cause 2 is not capitalised as it should be. But consider this: what if the person who wrote this was Dyslexic? It’s not an unreasonable assumption. There are a lot of gamers in the United States, right? Let’s say, for argument's sake, there are 300,000,000 people in America today. Statistically, 15-20% of the US population is said to suffer from a language-based learning disability, of which Dyslexia is the most common. Providing the above statistic is accurate, as many as 60,000,000 could therefore be intellectually disabled by my reckoning. If we imagine only 30% of those 60,000,000 individuals to be gamers, Hardisty’s grammar-related generalisation has, potentially, snubbed 18,000,000 Dyslexic citizens. I’m curious to know how they would react to being called stupid...
Furthermore, Hardisty appears to have overlooked the fact that it isn’t just gamers who write poorly nowadays. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that Twitter, 'text talk' and, to some extent, those ubiquitous smileys are poisoning the English language, encouraging us to abbreviate, misspell or write alphanumerically to allow us to squeeze that all-important final word into our status update. As a result, such bad habits are naturally becoming more prevalent in written mediums. I’m by no means implying that we are all universally dim, but perhaps any reference to gamers being stupid is as much a commentary on the world’s subversion of proper writing practices. Sumfin 2 fink bout.
If being deemed literarily challenged wasn’t insult enough, “gamers who follow [printed] publications can be even stupider”, apparently. How do you feel about being branded stupid for taking a keen interest in your passion, and for wanting to read-up on what’s happening in the industry? According to Hardisty, videogame journalism is synonymous with “biased poddycock” (though I think the word he was actually looking for is ‘poppycock’) which we, out of utter idiocy, reference to argue why system X sucks and why system Y is better. This may very well be true of the rude, arrogant fanboys I mentioned earlier, but there is absolutely no justification for tarnishing all gamers with the same brush.
I could spend an eternity deconstructing and criticising Hardisty’s opinions, but I fear my defence of videogames enthusiasts will more than likely evolve into a vindictive attack if I go on much longer. My point is this: gamers, as a collective, are not stupid. I for one have been playing videogames for almost 20 years now. My first computer was an Amstrad CPC 464. I have a respectable Bachelors degree under my belt. When I’m not writing for PS3Vault, I head up a marketing team targeted with securing profitable opportunities for a world-renowned ICT company. I’m no Einstein, but I’m definitely not “stupid, ignorant, vile, and repulsive”.
Nor are any of you reading this.
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I came across your website while doing a search. I will bookmark it for future refrences.
Yup maybe so , but , I sure would love to see this nathan guy in a village outfit so I coUld blow his Resident Evil brain out and
then see if he could find it ?
my sister has dyslexia but she can live a very normal life eventhough she can't read that much":"
@ Nathan Hardisty:
:)
I look forward to your email. Thanks.
Thanks for replying to my reply that was a reply to... ughh.
Anyway, I'll drop my PSN ID in. I'm sorry if it was too personally direct but I honestly think that gamers have the chance to evolve more than any other entertainment follower.
Good that we're not bickering between one another, or between Platform Nation and PS3vault. This is a good website from what I've read so far.
I'll drop my PSN ID in.
Thanks.
Joe, if no one challenged or disagreed with the views of others the world would be boring.
You’re right, you cannot round up illiterate people as dyslexic, but that’s not what’s being said. It’s an example to encourage people who generalise to be more open-minded.
Both writers make good points - even if Nathan’s approach was a bit less tactful. The fact they have both taken the time to read each other’s articles, reply to each other amicably, and not start a slanging match is a rare thing. You should feel anything but embarrassed.
@ Nathan Hardisty:
And thank you, for taking the time to respond, professionally, to my response to your original article.
I'm not going to bore you with my rambling, but let me say this: the basis of your argument was good, and I do agree with you. Gamers do need to stop bickering. You have no idea how tired I am of hearing "Xbox is better than PS3" - and vice versa, even though I myself prefer the latter to the former. I guess I was just a little offended by the tone and format of your writing.
At the end of it all, both you and I are entitled to our opinions - that's why they call it freedom of speech/thought. As far as I'm concerned, this is now water under the bridge.
With all intended irony, it'd be good to game with you sometime. If you're interested, drop your PSN ID to csreynolds@ps3vault.com.
Great article Craig. Glad to see Nathan comment on it as well.
I personally think the guy makes a good argument. People are too quick to jump on the defensive when it comes to video games, as if it's something to be ashamed of. I am sure Hardisty is a avid and passionate gamer (he says so in a lot of his other work, and the fact that he writes about games says a bit), so he is "one of our own".
I think mentioning dyslexia is going straight for the worst case scenario. I know that there is dyslexic people online, but you cannot just round up illiterate people as dyslexic. Browse round IGN forums, or Gamespot forums, I think you'll find most of the user base are ignorant little brats, not people with dyslexia.
As a "hardcore" gamer, who clocks a fair hour gaming, following the gaming industry and whatnot, I cant help but feel embarrassed by the people who get so wound up by articles like this. The tit for tat between journalists is just silly. You don't see one news anchor going after another news anchor for opinions, do you?
Thank you for at least taking the time to take apart my post rather than the usual fodder of personal insults I get. I agree with some of your points, and my writing friends themselves have said I generalise way too much in the article.
"just cause 2 is repeditive ****" wasn't to point at the fact that some people can't create a coherent sentence, it's the fact that some gamers will just swear off coherent comment in the sake of getting their opinions heard.
I have read several studies that show a link between 'text language' and the use of complex language, and it's surprisingly positive. All I'm saying is that gamers need to stop bickering between one another and start giving reasons. By all means don't bother using capital letters or full stops etc. I won't rate your opinion higher than others.
To the others who've commented: it's always hard to come across as an elitist who just wants games to be what he wants. There's a line between being a general "games should be this/ gamers should act like this" and "games can be this/ gamers can be this."
If you want to further contact me to discuss this further, I've left my email in my name clicky thing but here it is anyway:
Hopskotch[at]live.co.uk
P.S I think I commented many times that I think I'm a terrible writer myself, and my vocabulary is a process rather than something that is constantly being added to.
As I mentioned, most of my interjections in the first few bits and battle were completely sarcastic.
I look forward to hearing from you all.
but , there a mostly guys here and you could be the kind of guy
who goes to far !
Hardisty (or whatever their name is, haven't had time to look up the article) sounds like one of those people who thinks video games have harmed the world and that if so removed would benefit everything/everyone greatly. First of all you have to take into consideration that many kids go online and post articles with no mind and start targeting other kids (sometimes adults), talking trash because they play X console. For instance you go online on certain games the players of that game will act differently. The LittleBigPlanet online players are kind and try to help out everyone there with, that is the games goal, working together to accomplish a task. With war games most users are pitted up against everyone else and start talking trash. Do players of that game actually mean that? No, it's part of the games fun (while it is on the darker side of fun), and if you are worried about kids, case it has "M MATURE 17+" marked blatantly on there twice in a black and white box, with a more detailed explanation on why it's rated like that on the back. Most of these kids wouldn't know a thing about WWI and WWII without games which provide accurate re-made (Sometimes real documentaries and footage) events. I'm sick of people treating gamers like trash. One of the most professional people I know who manages a large corporation here in Alaska (being vague to protect his identity) is one of the best Call of Duty Players I have ever seen. Talks some trash in-game and one of the nicest people you could ever meet out of game.
@ Anti-Flame:
I could reel off a list of reasons to justify my reaction to Hardisty’s article, but as far as I’m concerned I’ve said my piece, a line has been drawn in the sand, and all is well in the world. People are free to disagree with me or contest my opinion, but personally, as a gamer, I was not appreciative of being pigeon-holed – nor were many others, it appears.
I acknowledge very clearly in my article that Hardisty does make some good points, and being an English graduate (and an editor) nothing frustrates me more than bad spelling and poor grammar. However, generalisations are, as a rule, dangerous. This is a truism I've learned the hard way (that's right, I'm not perfect either). In all honesty, I could’ve been much harsher.
I may have burned him, but that’s what happens to people who play with fire.
I have craig at 1 minute 22 seconds in the third round !
I agree with what you're saying Craig, though I have to say that he was being sarcastic within his article, to an extent - and some of the points he alludes to are acceptable, valid things to point out. Plus, I have to say: why criticise someone who points out other spelling errors. Sure, there'll be a few dyslexic people out there but bad spelling pisses off a lot of people and he's perfectly within his right to point this out.
Sure, his article was poorly structured and poorly written, but I think you went a bit too over the top when you burned him here...
@s900540554/Sean:
I'm pleased to hear it! We're a humble little website, but we do have things to say that are worth a read. I hope you continue to enjoy our work.
@Craig
(This is Sean from above)
I quite enjoy this site, I am a first time visitor, but this article made me register. Great job sir.
Hi
I'm a gamer, I'm French, I read and write in English.
Am I stupid ??
@ Sean:
No harrassment needed; I happen to agree with you. Glad you liked my article. Thanks for commenting :)
I agree with everything you have said. You definitely took his article and flipped it. The one thing his article did get right though, in my opinion, in the new 'text chatting' that people do. Of course, this does not refer to gamers in general, and is much for efficient in some cases, but it seems that eventually everyone who wants to communicate on the internet will eventually have to learn this new 'language' to even understand what people are saying. I have no problem with this though because I see it everyday, and so does much of the population. I try to keep my grammar correct though since I am in college, but for the younger generation growing up may be a bit confused. This is only my opinion, don't harass me for it! Haha.
The guy mentioned is probably mad Just Cause he's was stuck
in a Disney game and his kid had to finish it for him !
good job , the guys is nothing but a ring around the bowl
at a state fair port-a-potty and probably kicks the puppy in the
morning !
your friend Sean Devlin
Great article. Way to put that douche in his place!
grate articel aboutt the subjekt!
like just becauze some cant spel woth shit and cus alot we aint stubid!
Seriously - that's like a creationist saying that all non-believers don't have any love in their hearts... or someone saying all Americans are fat. It's ignorant and offensive. I think that dude just wrote that article to get people mad so he'll get more traffic on his site.
Plus, hasn't he considered that a lot of people on the internet are NOT from an english speaking country???
Or that people in forums just don't care much about spelling and grammar?
The latter would make us lazy but not necessarily stupid.
;-) :) :D
:-P
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