And why it’s inaccurate

By now, no doubt you will have read an article stating that “Gamers are Dead”. From this one on Gamasutra, to Kotaku’s “We might be witnessing the death of an identity” ironically tagged as “Social Justice Warriors” and everything in between, all of them peddle the idea that gaming is dead as an identity.

Why are they claiming this? Because of a recent set of statistics around who plays video games.

These statistics, released by the Electronic Software Association show that 59% of Americans buy video games and that women over 18 are a greater percentage of gamers (32%) than boys under 18 (17%).

But the same thing was said about Digital SLR cameras in 2011, and yet while an alleged 90% of us have only used a phone to take a photo and not a dedicated camera, we would not make the claim that these people are photographers, though they are by definition.

Why is that? Because there are connotations that society puts on the term “photographer”. The Google definition adds that the person is usually doing it for their job. I count myself as a photographer, and the image at the top of this piece is one of mine, taken at the Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, yet I do not do it for money, nor any form of recompense.

So how do we draw a line between a photographer and someone who takes photos?

The vast majority of people would agree, I think, that a photographer takes their photography seriously. Not in a dour way, as it’s entirely possible to take it seriously and still enjoy it. Photographers will usually assess lighting, composition and what settings they might wish to use to acheive the image they desire. They don’t usually restrict their photography to selfies and images of their food to post on social media.

“OK,” I hear you say, “But what does any of that have to do with gaming?”. Just this: That there is a difference between someone who plays video games and a gamer, and I would say the difference is not so dissimilar to that of the photographer and the person who takes photos.

So no. Gamers aren’t dead. There is not a death of our identity going on any more than there is in photography because people have camera phones.