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Topic: Are video games cool now?

Posts 1 to 9 of 9

allhailsanta

Growing up in the ’90s, I was cautious about bringing up video games with other kids. Plenty of us played, but talking about it at school could get you labeled a nerd. It was like watching Pokémon or Dragon Ball Z—lots of kids did it, but you had to pretend you didn’t.

These days, social norms feel much more accepting. Rappers reference Naruto, PS5s are in living rooms instead of basements, and I have no problem telling my wife I’m playing Elden Ring for a few hours.

Do you think gaming and “nerd culture” have become more mainstream, or is it just about growing up and becoming more confident?

allhailsanta

antdickens

@allhailsanta growing up in the 80s/90s I never felt it wasn't cool to talk about video games... maybe that was because all my friends played games too it wasn't a problem at all. Now in my 40s, some of my peers fell out of gaming in their 20s or 30s, so for them they probably haven't witnessed how grown up games can be these days. It's weird, I would say it is very much mainstream now, but still doesn't get talked about in the same way as movies/music.

Either way, we all have to be proud of what we love or find interesting and ignore those that disagree!

@antdickens
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allhailsanta

@antdickens
Very true. Many of my friends have stopped playing consoles but still have random games on their phones. Thanks to YouTube and the internet, though, there seems to be much more appreciation for games as an art form. The issue, I think, is that you still see news anchors on TV saying things like, "Apparently, there's this video game called Fortnite that's making a lot of money?! What the heck, a video game??"—despite being 30 years old and fully aware of what video games are.

allhailsanta

Servbot_EJ

At least in the places where I grew up, video games were fairly popular with most people. If anything, it was the one thing where we could share something in common with each other. Even Nintendo and Sega fans got along; maybe a jab here and there, but that's what made the 90's gaming scene kinda fun.

Servbot_EJ

NeonPizza

The Stigma is still there. It might not be as bad compared to being an adult playing video games in the 80's & 90's, but i generally like to keep it on the down low when I'm around certain people. These exact same people will trash video games, but they'll spend countless hours on their smart phones, Social Media, watch sports, stand up comedians, streaming services etc. It's all entertainment & Screen-time in the end. You're not better for liking one of the following above more than the other. It's not like we'll be getting a badge of honour in the afterlife for choosing one hobby over the other. lol

You just gotta do what brings you that bliss, joy and happyness in life wherever you can find it, as Charles Martinet said, and pursue whatever it is you're passionate about and ignore the haters. For anybody to sh** all over somebodie's hobby goes to show you just how unhappy and content they are with thier lives. People love what they love, that's what makes the world go around.

[Edited by NeonPizza]

NeonPizza

wakkawak

What once was considered 'nerd culture' has become massively mainstream. Just look at Marvel movies. They're as mainstream as they come, and yet comic books were once considered the purview of geeky teenage boys.

As part of that shift, I think gaming has become far, far more mainstream than it was in decades past. It's partly generational, I think. Most millennials grew up with some form of gaming or another and in this age group it's totally normal to have some level of gaming as part of your mix of home entertainment/home hobbies, along with the usual movies and TV.

With that said, even as a millennial, I still find myself reluctant to bring up or discuss gaming with people I don't know all that well. Partly that's because a lot of my gaming time is spent playing old ball fan translated retro games rather than something I'm probably going to be able to connect with a random coworker/friend of a friend over easily. And partly it's probably that yeah, it did have a bit more of a stigma in the 2000s and I got in the habit of not readily bringing it up.

wakkawak

NinChocolate

@wakkawak I’ve felt that awkwardness when hearing grown adults comfortably relate their streaming favorites and habits to others but then talking about their gaming takes on a more reserved and sheepish tone. It’s so weird but ya, that attached stigma is still out there

NinChocolate

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