You gamer geeks are a bunch of fat, antisocial losers.......

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

At least according to the cover feature of the current issue of Time magazine.......

http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/q107-time-magazines-cover-feature-on-halo-3-draws-fire/

[Young Drachma]

But who reads Time anyway?

[st.cronin]

I resent that. There is no way I can possibly be considered fat.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I resent that. There is no way I can possibly be considered fat.

I personally prefer the phrase 'fully stocked for a nuclear winter'.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Oh, no, somebody thinks that gamers are fat, antisocial losers. Well, this is new and exciting.

[MikeVic]

...twice refers to gamers as residing in a ghetto.

We be hard azz hardkore, bitchezzzz!!!

[Passacaglia]

Dan Zuccarelli from Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites takes Grossman to task for what he feels is an ill-researched piece. It’s not hard to see where Zuccarelli is coming from. In the third paragraph the Time article calls Halo 2 an Xbox 360 exclusive and the inset graphic (reprinted on BBPS) shows a fan mod Xbox 360 featuring Halo 3 artwork rather than the actual Halo 3 Special Edition Xbox 360, not to mention mis-labeling the Heroclix Scarab as merely a “sculpture.”

Is that a parody?

[Honolulu_Blue]

I just read what I think was the allegedly "offensive" Time article. Maybe I need to read it again, but I didn't really get any anti-gamer bias from it.

[sabotai]

I just read what I think was the allegedly "offensive" Time article. Maybe I need to read it again, but I didn't really get any anti-gamer bias from it.

Me neither. The guy bitching about it is clearly reading way too much into the article. He doesn't say anything negative about the gamer community, he says that much of the world thinks negatively of the gamer community, and considering most of the mainstream media coverage about games comes up only when there is a school shooting, he's probably right.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Me neither. The guy bitching about it is clearly reading way too much into the article. He doesn't say anything negative about the gamer community, he says that much of the world thinks negatively of the gamer community, and considering most of the mainstream media coverage about games comes up only when there is a school shooting, he's probably right.

Good. I am glad I wasn't missing something.

The whole "ghetto" analogy didn't seem to imply that gamers are "ghetto" or live in a "ghetto", but rather Halo was trying to breakout of videogames (here, the "ghetto") and into more mainstream things like books, comics, movies, etc. I didn't see anything wrong with it.

[sabotai]

Good. I am glad I wasn't missing something.

The whole "ghetto" analogy didn't seem to imply that gamers are "ghetto" or live in a "ghetto", but rather Halo was trying to breakout of videogames (here, the "ghetto") and into more mainstream things like books, comics, movies, etc. I didn't see anything wrong with it.

Yeah, "ghetto" is clearly being used metaphorically. The list of quotes he provides is pretty laughable too.

“The Bungies bring a grinding, jeweler’s meticulousness to what most people consider an unhealthy amusement for children.“ (his emphasis)

Yeah, this is pretty much a factual statement. Most people do still think of video games as something for kids and most of them probably think it is unhealthy, again going by what you see in the mainstream media about video games.

“This devotion is fueled by a belief, not shared by the world at large, that video games are an art form with genuine emotional meaning and that Halo 3 will be the premier example of that art.” (his emphasis)

Most of the world doesn't consider games to be a form of art. But he's cherry picking a line here to make the guy look biased. Earlier in the article, the author said: "The action isn't nonstop; instead it includes dramatic beats and even moments of melancholy solitude, with Romantic weather effects and sublime vistas and soaring Gregorian chants. The game has a moody, Wagnerian quality--the Master Chief is dwarfed by towering alien architecture that recalls Piranesi. Halo takes itself seriously as, if not art, certainly a spectacle. But art seems more apt."

The guy pretty much states that Halo is a work of art. All he's saying is most people don't think of games as art, and he's right.

"“There’s an opportunity beyond video games, too, for Halo to break out of the ghetto and become a mainstream, mass-market, multimedia entertainment property.” " (his emphasis)

Seriously, how can anyone with a brain not know that the word "ghetto" is being used metaphorically in this sentence?

"“Not that the Bungies care. They don’t need to legitimize Halo by associating it with other, more respectable media. They sell enough units and make enough money. They’re happy in their invisible geek ghetto. But that’s the logic of the marketplace: it can’t leave subcultures alone; it has to turn them into cultures. It may be time for the Master Chief to come in from the cold and join the party, with the popular kids.” " (his emphasis)

Does this guy not understand the concept of metaphors? All three phrases he highlighted are clearly metaphors. "more respectable media" = mainstream media. "invisible geek ghetto" = niche subculture associated with geeks, much like comic books, role-playing games, etc. "with the popular kids" = Film and TV.

Yes, people can quote numbers of sales, and the amount of money that games bring in compared to TV and movies, but there is a clear perception issue in that most people still view game negatively and not on the same level as movies and TV in terms of entertainment. The argument that the author is making is that Halo could break that perception with a lot of people and, more importantly, the mainstream media.

And it's amazing to me that someone could misread such a clearly written article.

[Passacaglia]

And it's amazing to me that someone could misread such a clearly written article.

Me too. Unless the guy was a fat, antisocial, loser gaming geek!!!