All Montco Students Are Gamers

By: Tom Sherkness

BLUE BELL, PA--Everyone at Montgomery County Community College are gamers by definition, but not everyone identifies as a gamer. 80% of students surveyed identified as gamers. The 20% that did not consider themselves gamers still often played games on their cellphone or mobile device, and half of them said they often played games like Call of Duty on their gaming console. These statistics create a new question – why does everyone game but not consider themselves gamers? 60% of people who said they were gamers primarily play on PC, 20% play on console, and 10% play on all three.

The trend is that gamers at Montco who dedicate time to being in front of a dedicated gaming machine are the ones who consider themselves gamers. Mobile, tablet, or casual gamers at Montco do not identify as gamers because they either do not have a dedicated gaming machine, the games they play are not as engaging, or they do not dedicate as much time to gaming as the true hardcore gamers. In an interview with Xbox Magazine, the primary Call of Duty developer said that their own fanbase of Call of Duty players are not “hardcore” gamers.

Montco students who call themselves gamers tend to have a passion behind their words when they describe their gaming experience. The students who didn't call themselves gamers seemed to not care and when asked if they played video games. Student and “non-gamer” Michael Ingram wasn't sure if Candy Crush was considered gaming. The 80% of self-proclaimed gamers adamantly responded with titles, consoles, genres...etc…

The term “gamer” has been redefined as the medium of gaming has become more widespread to those who would not usually identify as gamers. A gamer is anyone who engages in playing video games, therefore anyone who plays games even casually is a gamer.