This was the response of the author of science fiction’s longest ode to the passing of gas to this simple observation on Twitter: “If you are anti-#GamerGate, you are no longer a gamer. You may play games, but you are not a part of gaming culture. You have rejected it.” Never forget, these are the individuals in the SF/F community who genuinely believe themselves to be our moral and intellectual superiors.
John Scalzi @scalzi
If anyone tells you who gets to be a “real” gamer or not, they are stompy whiny little babies throwing a tantrum and you can ignore them.Tiffany Reisz @tiffanyreisz
If you game, you’re a gamer. If you write, you’re a writer. If you fart, you’re a farter and maybe slow down with the beans, okay.Trinity Bergman @TrinityBergman
How did you know about the beans??Tiffany Reisz ?@tiffanyreisz
I made chili today. I KNOW ALL ABOUT THE BEANS.richfletcher @richfletcher
And: if you hate, you’re a hater.D L Owens @keikomushi
I hate beans.Tiffany Reisz @tiffanyreisz
#fartsDangerIck @RangerRick
I am *at least* one of these things. Disclaimer: I had Thai for dinner.Tiffany Reisz @tiffanyreisz
I had chili. You’re in a safe space. No one judges you here.Duncan Ellis @DunxIsWriting
“Luke, I am your farter.”Tiffany Reisz @tiffanyreisz
Butt Solo #starfartsMarcos Astorga @GMarcos69
I fart more than i game or read so I guess that makes me a member of #Fartgate.Tiffany Reisz @tiffanyreisz
It’s about ethics in farting.Marilyn Holt @merlintheholt
beans, beans, the magical fruit…D L Owens ?@keikomushi
One of the easiest ways to make new friends is to discuss bodily functions. We all appreciate it on some level.D L Owens ?@keikomushi
In this regard, farts bring people together. 😀
Brilliant. While McRapey claims anyone who classifies gamers is to be ignored, genuine gaming professionals and executives in industries that sell into the games market are constantly analyzing who is a real gamer or not, because if you are going to make a high-powered CPU or an expensive graphics chip, you are not going to sell very many of them to the Farmville and Candy Crush Saga aficionados, regardless of how much they play those games.
It’s not that one can’t make money on casual games, it’s that the people who play them don’t consist of a market that a) spends much money per person or b) consists of a coherent and identifiable culture. This is why, despite its popularity, we are unlikely to see Tor Books publishing a line of Farmville novels any time soon, Rovio’s success in turning Angry Birds into a brand notwithstanding.
Gamasutra notes 15 Factors of Classification distinguishing hardcore gamers from non-gamers: “Hardcore gamers are clearly different from casual gamers, and the characteristics of hardcore and casual gamers will also be different from those who are generally uninterested in interactive entertainment.”
One could usefully define a “real gamer” as a player of games who plays 20+ hours of PC/console games per week and spends or consumes more than $500 on games and game-related products in a year. For example, the NPD Group describes “core gamers” in a similar manner: The NPD Group describes “core gamers” as any individuals who spend more than five hours a week playing games on a home console such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, a Windows PC or a Mac. By these standards, there are currently over 34 million core gamers in the United States, and they are playing video games for an average of 22 hours every week.