The lights are on
There are many 'problems' going around these days concerning games. From 'gamer girls' not being 'treated fairly', GameStop Employees trying to 'rip-off' buyers, and GI magazine not delivering the 'right review scores' . I'm going to set it straight for those of you who got mislead in your side missions to truly see the big picture of things. I will also try do it in a fairly easy way to understand (so you get the point) while also adding in symbolism (to reward the educated reader) here and there. If the length of this is daunting to you, I apologize.
First of all, you must understand that playing videogames (I shall use this phrase to appease those who do not like the phrase 'gaming') has moved from a hobby back when arcades were the place to be, to an entire community. What this means, as in any community, is that everyone isn't so different from each other. You have those who make games, those who play games, those who sell games and those who buy games. Chances are, you are more than one of these people. Chances are, so is everyone else in this community. With that stated, let us move on.
Communities are based on societal rules. This is because no matter how involved you are with gaming, you still live in the real world. There is a definite reason I say this. If you haven't noticed, society has major issues. Now, if the gaming community has to follow those rules (which is does), then that means that the problematic issues such as racism and sexism will and do occur. Can you stop it? Yes, read on.
First of all, stop posting whiney blogs. All that does is generate more anger, hatred and confusion. You should address the problem, if it IS a problem, but don't be biased or seem one sided. Post the issue as is, and try to ask for or propose a solution. If your posting the problem because you experienced it without openly accepting opinions and answers, then you yourself are part of the problem. On a lighter note, no matter how much of a problem you are, cookies are still good.
Gaming, however, is only as good as experience as you let it be. If everyone is taunting you and you don't like it, maybe you should have chosen a less competative game. Don't blame others for actions that you walk into. It's like jumping into an monkey cage at the zoo and complaining when crap gets thrown at you. Whether you like it or not, it was bound to happen sooner or later. If you don't like the competative nature of some games, then don't play them with other people, and you will find yourself alot happier (and maybe even discover your a different type of player than you thought you were!). Don't worry though, this still doesn't affect the deliciousness of cookies.
Yum. Let us make a quick recap before we continue. 1-Everyone that is part of the community is involved with videogames, just like you. 2- Problems exist in the videogame world because problems exist in the real world. 3. Most people know of these 'problems' because they are as real as you are. 4. Gaming can be competative. Now that your memory is refreshed, we can move on to the next 'problem'. GameStop is a massive corporate fiend that only cares about your wallet.
If you didn't find that phrase last sentence ridiculous, you might not be getting the message. Let me break it down for you. GameStop employees are not trying to rip you off, because if they were, you'd be ripped off whether you like it or not. Secondly, because GameStop requires salespeople to know about the market, the employees themselves play videogames (agan, just like you). The reason they ask about pre-ordering or try to press it upon a person is because they themselves have been pressed for numbers. That means they aren't always doing it because they want to, but because they HAVE to. Which makes the GameStop corporation the bad guy right?
Settle down, kittens. GameStop isn't the bad guy here. GameStop is a business, and just like any other business, they have rules to follow. These rules have been labeled as 'rules of economics.' For those of you that do not know what economics are, it is the science and study of how an economy works. The economic rule that GameStop follows is: Supply and Demand. This does not mean that they set the prices for the new games coming out, however. I believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) that the publishers are the one's that grant access to pricing. If you want to know more about what you can do about that issue altogether, you can click on this link to read my other post. Supply and Demand consists of maximizing profits based upon prices and quantity. Its basically how alot of markets work. Maximizing profits, so thats whats GameStop is about?
Yes, and no. Yes, because ANY business should ethically seek to maximize profit. No, because GameStop is a major part of the gaming industry. You can't say that GameStop doesn't like its market of buyers who play videogames because: 1. They NEED the buyers in order to stay afloat. 2. Their slogan is 'Power to the Players.' 3. They offer services such as allowing pre-ordering for convenience, providing fan merchandise, giving free gaming advice (this would be the knowledgeable employee), and they even have an Edge Card for the frequent game players and a section of themselves that is the GameInformer Magazine that we all know and love. This was done, although it does generate revenue, mainly for players of videogames.
Now, there has to be a solution here, right? Yes! Yes there is! The answer is tolerance of the videogame world. You must realize that in order to fix a community problem in the gaming world, you need to fix the societal problem in the real world. By fixing, I do not mean posting whiney blogs, reporting every little thing, or even trying to single handedly solve everything. I mean fixing by taking action (or no action). If there is sexism and racism, don't be a part of it! Don't get involved, and encourage others to stay away from it. It only lives through those who use it for aggression or complain about it happening to them. GameStop is a crucial part of a video game player's life, so don't think they are out to get you or even that decisions are soley thiers. If everyone works together to better the gaming community, then the gaming community will get better! Its so simple, after all we are the type of people that reach our goals by going through many checkpoints and saving here and there.
Thank you my fellow video game players, for reading this. I am doing what I can to educate. Now do your part, comment on what YOU feel of these issues?
Also, I wanted to address something specially for the girls:
The Gaming Community is comprised mainly of males, but don't feel like your being targeted because your lacking a Y chromosome, its because your unique and uncommon. Don't like it? Then you better start getting your female friends to start playing and even out the numbers a bit.
Thoughtful and insightful. Well done.
Thank You. I think that one of these is needed once in awhile to bring things somewhat into perspective. I wish I could get more people to read them though, lol.
Can't go wrong with the cookies.
Thank you very much for this blog. I'd say its one of the better blogs I've read on this site not written by a GI editor. Thank you very much for this
This blog was fantastic. Please write more.
I agree completely with this blog. People always whine about things that people have no control of. Nagging is not going to get you anywhere so cut it out.
By the way I just love cookies and that picture makes me want to make some cookies right now.
I feel like I just got reprimanded by HR after reading that D:
I like some of the general messages you try to get across, the importance of tolerance, and knowing what you're walking into. And the bickering of one player can, in fact, be the source of a lot of problems down a long enough time line.
I found the inclusion of the whole GameStop thing unnecessary though... retail electronics are what they are. You pay their (the stores) prices, or you look for it cheaper online.. end of story.
@ Lyon- Thanks! I figured it was well needed. It may not stop all the bickering and misunderstandings, but its nice assurance that not everyone out there is just finding negativity in things they cannot control.
@TJ- Preorders may not seem to affect Supply and Demand directly, but a game can hit record sales before it even comes out. If there was no option to pre-order, that $60 may have been spent on another game that was already out (may or may not have been on a game of different aspects). We the buyers are the one's that send signals to the producers of what we want. So it does affect supply and demand, but I do agree that supply and demand curves for pricing isn't as big a factor as it should be. I will take a dozen of your cookies.
@Gaby- Cookies are really good, so I had to use an enticing picture :P
@Eryos- The GameStop thing may be unnecessary to you, but the main reason for that is because you understand the way things work already. I didn't include all these issues because I think they are the main points in the community, its just what I have been seeing alot lately in terms of complaining and misunderstanding.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this! (that means you, nameless protagonist.)
@TheDarkestReign
Cookies are all now $100. Demand suddenly sky-rocketed. You all saw it!
I'm going to need to cancel my preorder. :P
I agree with this blog, but with the whining and nagging in the community you need to remember whose involved in the community, particularly at the ages and sex...unfortunately the great all knowing sex that is male is full of people who believe that they can never be wrong, and that they must be right because in high school you know oh so much about how the world operates, they are the entire community, but they are the most vocal...
GIO is also to blame in this we get points for doing stuff...this post is worth points...and of course with points comes levels...you need to be the highest level so you can prove just how great you are...it's a competition and you have to win...win or lose, fight or die...
So in order to get points we need something to talk about, but rational intellectual discussion is too difficult sometimes and it's easier to get points by giving shallow comments, shallow comments require further posts to explain, and further frustration from those involved...
The problem with the community is that there is too much competition involved everyone wants to be better than everyone else, either be "hardcore" or go play the Wii seems to be a common thought pattern...
Yeah I really can't stand the community it's better to just look back shrug your shoulders and go "gamers" and shake your head in disbelief...
@ Nick- I agree, but I can't help argue too on the GIO part. Its somewhat comparable to taking diarrhea medicine that constipates you. With an issue like this, there may not be a viable solution except education and enforcement. Making the ranking system? Great idea. Making the ranking system for a community of gamers, who usually in nature are extermely competative? Well...
I certainly do see problems with it, but I believe the reason it is in place is to prevent brand new users from creating profiles, cluttering up forums and blogs with useless and random crap, getting kicked out, and just signing up under another username with the same access privilages. I do believe that having the points method is better than not, but I do believe that there are better ways out there. As I said earlier, education and enforcement is the only thing we can do at this point. Since I am no moderator, staff, or faculty of Game Informer Online, I try do my part through the education, enlightenment, and reflections of issues and the TYPE of (rather than specific)person that is needed to prevent these issues from happening further.
Thank you for writing this, especially the Gamestop part. I work at Gamestop and when I ask people to pre order something they sometimes look at me like I'm asking them to buy a car. I'm only trying to help them as a gamer in the long run, not to mention it improves the numbers of me and my store. So thanks for fending of the accusatory fingers.