I feel inadequate as a gamer. :(

[Agent Proto]

I am behind in terms of gaming. I don't own any current gen consoles, and I haven't played any major console games for the past several months. I feel as if my lack of gaming has made me feel lesser of a gamer than I feel I should be. How can I fix this? I can watch games and enjoy them, but it's not the same as playing them, and lack of playing games has made me feel less of a true gamer than I was before.

What do?

[Pike]

Get a bunch of games and play them. It doesn't matter if they are current gen or not, you can catch up on some old ones.

Make time for gaming like you would make time for TV, movies, or other hobbies. I haven't watched TV in years and I see maybe one movie every four months. Gaming is my hobby, and I'm very happy about that fact!

[Madame Adequate]

Pike is right. If gaming is just one thing you do among many then you're not going to spend that much time on it. You need to prioritize games just as people do for any other activity they enjoy, and make time for it in your life.

[KentaRawr!]

Get a dreamcast and collect some old games. No one can say you aren't a gamer if your dreamcast is still hooked up. Pretend you got it when it came out.

[Del Murder]

Being behind has its advantages. You have the benefit of hindsight in determining which games were actually the most revered and they are likely now available at a discounted price, new or used.

[Agent Proto]

That is true, Del. But all the local Gamestops stopped selling Gamecube games for some reason.

[DMKA]

That's what eBay is for.

Seriously, I wish I was behind. Games I paid $60 less than a year ago go for $10 on eBay now.

[Del Murder]

That is true, Del. But all the local Gamestops stopped selling Gamecube games for some reason.
Wow. You're really behind.

[Sephex]

The only solution to feel better about stuff like this is to get blackout drunk and beat Mega Man 2.

[Jiro]

Stop reading all the posts by people who you deem more adequate as gamers :jess:

[Agent Proto]

Stop reading all the posts by people who you deem more adequate as gamers :jess:
My god, you're right Jiro! I better ignore everyone who are making me feel less of a gamer! Best idea yet xD

[Slothy]

Go to the July gaming competition and play some Ghosts 'N Goblins. It won't make you feel any less adequate as a gamer. Actually, your sense of inadequacy will probably increase. But at least you won't be worried about these new fangled modern contraptions anymore.

[Old Manus]

I remember the days when to be a gamer was to feel inadequate.

[Madame Adequate]

That is true, Del. But all the local Gamestops stopped selling Gamecube games for some reason.

First lesson: There were no good games on the Gamecube.

There were actually, but Pikmin and Pikmin 2 isn't exactly a world-shattering corpus.

[Jiro]

Super Smash Bros. Melee is baller though. And Tales of Symphonia is pretty okay.

Old Manus brings up a good point though.

[Del Murder]

I remember the days when to be a gamer was to feel inadequate.
I guess that's why Proto is 20% cooler than us.

(Metroid Prime and Wind Waker are good games. Mario Sunshine is the devil though)

[Pete for President]

Stop being a gamer and pick up an extreme sport. Makes you 40% cooler.

[Jiro]

Says the man who jumps out of helicopters and goes snowboarding. You're insane.

[Old Manus]

I suppose snowboarding does make you literally cooler

[GhandiOwnsYou]

To be a true gamer is to be eternally behind the times. Quite frankly, there's too much stuff out there to be a "true gamer" and be anywhere near caught up. Who honestly has time to really beat three or four open world RPGs, master 5 fighting games, learn the physics to a half dozen racing games, and platform your way to roughly 6 trillion gold *insert trivial gold colored collectable item here*s over a down platformers per year.

If you're up to date, you skipped about 3/4 of the games that other gamers will swear you deserve to die for not playing. I've long since given up trying to be a true gamer, it's nigh impossible without being an author for IGN or EGM.

[Slothy]

I've long since given up trying to be a true gamer, it's nigh impossible without being an author for IGN or EGM.

Worth noting that if you are working for either IGN or EGM, then odds are you aren't a true gamer regardless of how many you play so I guess we can call it flat out impossible unless you're MILF.

[Jiro]

Wolf Kanno gives it a damn good shot though.

[Pike]

You all are forgetting who won Most Hardcore Gamer this last time! /smug

And yes, I am legitimately bragging about being voted the biggest neckbeard basement-dweller on a forum full of neckbeard basement-dwellers.

[G13]

Hey! My beard is completely on my face, thankyouverymuch!

[escobert]

Everyone just needs to get with the times and play PC games :p

[Jiro]

You all are forgetting who won Most Hardcore Gamer this last time! /smug

And yes, I am legitimately bragging about being voted the biggest neckbeard basement-dweller on a forum full of neckbeard basement-dwellers.

You're the best of us all.

[Wolf Kanno]

Good god you are behind... Then again, I'm using my Wii to play all the Gamecube I missed out on so I can technically say I'm in the same boat but I tend to juggle several games from different generations at a time. I just don't want to ever feel like a pretty package is a core requirement to a good game.

Honestly, just make time in your day to play some games and don't worry about whether you are behind or even if you need to finish every game you have. I don't necessarily feel being it's such a filthy word anyway...along with "true gamers" they are both silly elitist terms that kind of overlooks what it means to be a gamer, simply someone who plays video games. Okay I'm ending me mini-rant... means you have to be playing 24/7. Maybe having a finger on what's going on in the industry and being willing to try out new regardless if it didn't receive some arbitrary high score from some gaming critic. I think actually playing Threads of Fate, Vagrant Story, Hydlide, Comix Zone, SMAC, Gitaroo Man, and other low key titles is better credentials than just playing the next Call of Duty or whatever Bethseda and Bioware is releasing. Even then, as long as you are playing one or two games that you enjoy and want to finish, does it really matter how much others view your "gaming skillz"? Just have fun and don't get sucked into the total idiocy of "gaming culture".

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Proto, I have a PS3. I also have a 360 and a Wii easily at my disposal if I want. I haven't bought a brand new game for my PS3 since the last FF. You can see why I'm bitter.

Right now I'm using my PS3 to play Suikoden 2. Sometimes the most hardcore gamers are the ones that simply play games for the quality, not how current it is. Get on your old system and track down those old games you never had a chance to play! :D

Another example. Not too long ago, rubah and kishi went through and played the whole metal gear series starting from the NES days.

[Bubba]

The only solution to feel better about stuff like this is to get blackout drunk and beat Mega Man 2.

These are two of my favourite things... I can't believe I've never tried combining them before!

It sounds like it could by the solution to most things.

[Madame Adequate]

Everyone just needs to get with the times and play PC games :p

The big problem with PC games is you're liable to find one that you just cannot stop playing and, whilst 15000 hours of Victoria 2 might do good things for your hardcore credentials, it's not so good if you want to actually play a good spread of games.

[Pike]

I don't necessarily feel being it's such a filthy word anyway...along with "true gamers" they are both silly elitist terms that kind of overlooks what it means to be a gamer, simply someone who plays video games. Okay I'm ending me mini-rant... means you have to be playing 24/7.

I don't want to derail the thread but I do sort of want to expand on this a little. I agree that terms like "casual" and "hardcore", when they apply to games, are somewhat "floaty" in that they mean different things to different people. A lot of people might agree that something like Farmville is "casual", but then where is the line where games hop from being so to being "hardcore"? Furthermore, what makes a gamer "hardcore"? Is it the type of games he plays? The hours he puts in? Both?

Different people will say different things, but in fairness, different people will define "gamer" differently, as well.

I've come up with a sort of personal definition for myself. I don't usually refer to myself as a "gamer". Partially because the word has developed negative connotations with your stereotypical 14-year-old kid screaming profanities into his Xbox headset whilst playing Cowadooty, and partially because I feel that I aim higher than that. At the risk of sounding exceptionally silly/geeky/whathaveyou, I self-identify as a "video game enthusiast". I read about games, I write about games, I dedicate most of my free time to playing them or learning about them via history books or blogs, and I take care to play as many classics as I can get my little paws on. I feel that just as there are book buffs, music buffs, and film buffs-- I am a video game buff.

If I had the time, I would explain this to anyone who asked if I was a "gamer". But I don't, so sometimes I just use the much shorter term "hardcore". It's not a very good replacement term, but at least it hopefully gets the point across that I try to play games the way a wine connoisseur might taste his wine.

And that, my friends, is possibly the nerdiest post I've ever written on this forum, which is saying a lot.

[Agent Proto]

That post of yours changed my perspective of what defines a "gamer", Pike. I want to feel the same way, but I just don't have the source of income to invest in gaming, and whatever money I do get, usually ends up going elsewhere more important than gaming. My priorities in gaming is just not as high as yours is, Pike.

[Pike]

My advice, then, is not to worry about how "far behind" you are and just play some games! There are great games from every generation and soon enough you'll find one that absolutely captivates you and that you can't stop playing :jess:

[Sylvie]

I don't think I could convince myself to rationalize giving a tit about how authentic my "gamer" persona is. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto. Just relax and be cool, Proto.

[GhandiOwnsYou]

You all are forgetting who won Most Hardcore Gamer this last time! /smug

And yes, I am legitimately bragging about being voted the biggest neckbeard basement-dweller on a forum full of neckbeard basement-dwellers.


That feel when you're scratching your neck as you read this. The shame...