Do toxic gamers even like video games? (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A reader is concerned that video games are so expensive, and require so much time, that most people never get to play more than a handful.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is uncomfortable with being called a gamer. Not because I’m ashamed of admitting I like video games but because I’m embarrassed of being associated with the sort of person that tends to embrace the word. Every time I read a story about games being review bombed or developers receiving death threats, I begin to worry about what I might have in common with such people. But I think it’s actually very little.

I don’t mean simply that I’m not an entitled sociopath but that these sort of people don’t really have that much interest in video games. They like calling themselves gamers because that makes them seem a part of something that’s still viewed as vaguely counter-culture but at most they tend to only like a handful of video games, usually very mainstream ones, and take no interest in the wider world of what games are.

In many cases they don’t seem to even go as far as that; they’re more in love with the culture of liking video games than the reality of playing them. They spend more time arguing about games, and attacking other people over them, than they do playing them, and for them the social rewards of that are much more exciting and obvious.

Whether you know people like this in real life or not we’ve all seen the stories of gamers acting antisocially but there is one aspect of this behaviour that I think is underappreciated. Part of the reason they’re so aggressive and irrational is that unlike most other hobbies it’s very difficult – and extremely expensive – to play all video games or have any kind of personal opinion about more than a small percentage of them.

For a small monthly fee you can listen to any music you like from anywhere in the world via Spotify. If you want to talk about movies and TVs it’s a little more complicated, but it’s still very easy, and relatively inexpensive, to see most of the big titles. When people argue about Marvel and Star Wars they probably have seen what they’re talking about, with games that’s not necessarily true.

Not only are there exclusives which require you to own specific consoles (or very expensive PCs) but games are both extremely costly and take a long time to play through. I could watch the entire works of most directors in a weekend, but it would take me months to play even just the top 10 Nintendo or Sony titles – and that’s assuming I could play every day for a number of hours, which I can’t and don’t even necessarily want to do.

The point I’m making, is that the vast majority of video game arguments take place from an unavoidable place of ignorance. Often made worse by people that convince themselves that watching someone else play a game, or playing something for a couple of hours, counts as having properly experienced a game. Like you could watch a movie for half an hour and consider yourself an expert.

I don’t want to absolve the death threat makers and other toxic gamers of any blame – all that is entirely their fault – but, unlike other media, video games make it almost impossible for people to be on a level playing field when discussing them.

Most gamers don’t like video games not only because they become more addicted to the online arguments but because they only get to see a tiny sliver of what video games are all about. There are massive limits on how many video games you can experience in your lifetime, based on both the time and money available to you.

More: Trending

It’s interesting to me that PS Plus and Game Pass haven’t really taken off in the way expected because even if the money side of things is less of an issue there’s nothing anyone can do about being time poor. I could be a billionaire layabout but there’d still only be 24 hours in a day.

Video games are one of my favourite things in the world but they’re the least accessible and least democratic art form in the world. If you’re not relatively rich, with plenty of spare time, you will always be limited in how much of it you can enjoy. Which, I think, is why so many so-called gamers get so invested in the arguments about video games rather than the joys of actaully playing them.

By Wickers

Video games demand a lot of time and money (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at [email protected] or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

MORE : Valve giving up being a developer is the greatest tragedy in video games – Reader’s Feature

MORE : Paying for GTA 6 per hour played is not such a bad idea – Reader’s Feature

MORE : I’m a huge Persona fan and I won’t be buying Persona 6 – Reader’s Feature

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

A reader is concerned that games are so expensive, and require so much time, that online discussions about them are always deeply flawed.