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Miyamoto Concerned About Gamer Image Stereotype
kukyfrope writes "In a recent interview with MTV News, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto voiced his concern for the stereotypical image of gamers as kids alone in a dark room. He says that Nintendo wishes to change that image with the Wii, a sentiment made obvious by the wide array of people shown playing Wii in Nintendo's recent promotional videos." From the article: "I think it's time to break free from that stereotypical definition of what a gamer is, because until we do, we'll never truly be part of the national or worldwide culture."
All well and good for him to say that, but at least here in the US, part of the very typical group dynamic is an exclusive sense of elitism even if the group is relatively 'low' on the social dominance scale.
/.ers at people who find Windows XP perfectly adequate. The 'geek hierarchy' writ large.
Thus rather than saying "OK, we need to broaden our appeal, let's try to get lots of people gaming!" (a message that would of course appeal to a BUSINESS selling good to the identified market segment), the members of the group behave rudely, and reject any broadening of the franchise to "outsiders".
Look, for example, at the level of scorn directed at casual players of World of Warcraft by 'hardcore' players in-game. Or (for a broader, but similar example) the sneers of derision by
Sure, it's a defensive reaction based entirely on protecting the ego. The lame geek KNOWS he lives in his parents' basement, KNOWS that while spending 12 hours a day playing a video game he's missing out on other social activities that are widely considered to be more constructive, KNOWS that virtual wish-fulfillment might be very satisfying, but really doesn't compare to actually accomplishing anything.
But to welcome in the unwashed masses into his 'world'? That would be to at least partially accept their 'yardstick' of normalcy, against which his self-image would measure smaller. Who would welcome that?
-Styopa