Start thinking.

[iloveannie]

Hi,

I keep reading posts and replies that constantly focus on issues concerning we as gamers. However, for so many issues that present themselves I cannot help but to apply them to areas outside of our chosen pastime.

For instance, the current "Why do we buy mags" post from seiken. Go have a look at the ABC figures for newspapers. Millions sold everyday yet all the information is available online or better still at very regular intervals throughout the day on TV. Heck, we even have BBC News 24. But still they sell.

Each and every month the Edge/GamesTM reviews come under fire. Opinion with a score. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you spend as much time critically analysing film reviews, TV listings, book ratings, AA hotel awards, etc? I thought not. Just as we consider the 'massmarket Playstation generation' to be uneducated, at least as far as AAA titles are concerned, aren't we also subject to the derision of other hobbyists/enthusiasts? Is this fair? Are they being arrogant? Elitist even?

Personally I feel our outlook has been insular for far too long. We are no longer part of the underground. Our 'other' friends are buying consoles. And all we do is wrap ourselves in a cloak of 'eilitist, import-buying mystery', attempting to keep ourselves to ourselves, as if gaming were the only select club in the world.

So let's start thinking about how the issues that affect us, that also apply to other areas of our lives, are handled. And then let's think before we post.

[jethro jazz]

of course its not the only select club in the world, but the was people here and general serious gamers approach the medium is very different to that of our other friends who are buying consoles. this does apply to other enthusiasts, we just dont really see that because this is our elitist club.

[Manta Ray vs Guitar]

I'd like to see some in-depth gameplay discussion. I have never, ever seen any on any gaming forum. You sometimes get people talking about linearity vs. open-endedness, a lot about genre and difficulty balance, and some vague references to 'depth' (which nobody seems to be able to explain) but never actual risk vs. reward gameplay arguments.

[charlesr]

Start a thread dude!

[charlesr]

Our 'other' friends are buying consoles. And all we do is wrap ourselves in a cloak of 'eilitist, import-buying mystery'

Actually I try and educate my friends at work and show them that there is no mystery to it whatsoever. I've never seen myself as elitist, just lucky to be able to afford import consoles and to know where to get the games cheap. I guess there are lots of people that do think they are the elite, but most of the people here just want to talk about games as soon as they come out, which means ntsc versions, thus seeming elitist. Dunno what my point is really

[nips]

I don't quite see how we can be cloaking ourselves in mystery and keeping ourselves to ourselves. Anyone can read this forum, or the web site. Anyone can choose to import should they have the funds. I don't see how we can really be separating ourselves in anything but our opinion, which is different from person to person.

Gaming isn't a select club, and this fourm is simply a reflection of a part of gaming in which certain people wish in indulge, yet we have a large amount of people who choose to buy only PAL on this forum equally.

I believe your point is arguable.

[iloveannie]

I obviously chose the wrong words (very much like my last post ). My point was not to say we are ALL closing ranks to the outside world, it was to highlight that many of our conversations about gaming can be applied to other areas, and in doing so we can see that our arguments are proven invalid.

For instance 'the purchasing of magazines should now be pointless due to the wealth of informed web sites' set against the fact that 'newspapers still sell by their millions every day despite dedicated TV programmes and Internet sites'.

It is when we take our point of opinion, and look to see where else in society similar principles apply, that we can then focus on how we/others deal with them. These findings may then (if relevant) be applied to our own arguments/thoughts to see whether our topic is indeed justified.

A good point in question would be the "Quite Mad" thread. If I had looked inward to my first experience of purchasing a car I would have seen my answer immediately. Myself and my wife were in the position to purchase a new car and, with it being our first, were fairly naive about the whole process. From video games I new about rallying and from rallying I knew about 206s. At the time (3 years ago) the 206 was newly released, silver was the millennium colour, and there were adverts everywhere. My wife was smitten by the shape, the car was selling like hot cakes, all my mates had one (I lied about that bit), and, well...you get my point.

Could we have bought a better car? Very likey. Ours was new, meaning extra cost, the garage wasn't the best, we chose not to have a cd player, the engine is sometimes too slow, the sales staff after-service was poor, you get the picture.

But, and this is the big but, this was the car we wanted. So, like my PS2 purchasing buddies, we bought the car. And I'll tell you something else, we're still quite happy with it. Despite the fact I want an upgrade, it's look is dated, Top Gear rated it as a gay car and the laser has died