Move over, soccer mom. Back off, NASCAR dad. There's a surprising new demographic in the voting masses that's still completely untouched and ready to be shamelessly pandered to: Gamers.
Where are the politicians scrambling for the gaming vote? Why don't we see John Kerry publicly logging a 96-hour marathon run on "Final Fantasy XI?" Why isn't George W. Bush reinforcing the American family one "Sims Online" couple at a time?
It's easy to underestimate the reach of the gaming community. They don't share any racial characteristics, except possibly for an aversion to direct lighting, and they rarely intermarry. The closest thing to ethnic foods gamers share is Skittles by the handful and soft drinks with enough caffeine per can to power a medium-sized town.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
quote:Heads up, special interests! Angered gamers are willing to mobilize, if they can do it sitting down.
Heh!
As a side note, I think you may have typoed (or un-typoed) your headline.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
That was great!
(The title refers to an old gamers joke.)
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I noticed that after I posted here -- hey, it's right! what gives? -- and I just fixed it. Forgot to include a note to my boss, who edits my columns.
I'm honestly surprised this one went through without many complaints. He did say it was directed at a pretty small audience, but personally I think it just bugs him because I keep writing about things he can't easily vet. Hee, hee...
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:The Republican National Committee Web site took the first halting steps towards courting gamers with "Kerry vs. Kerry," a Flash boxing "game" that pits the opinions of Senator John Kerry (D-Ma) vs. the opinions of Senator John Kerry (D-Ma) in a knockout brawl.
[ March 10, 2004, 09:02 AM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
quote: "I don't think there is much doubt that riding an ostrich is pretty gay, especially when done as some part of a renaissance festival gone
"horribly
"horribly
"wrong"
Wow, this is the best way I've ever heard Joust described.
Balloon Fight is SO much better.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
quote:You'll probably have to perfect online voting first, though. The direct sunlight thing. You know.
Ahhh....Wednesday is now my favorite day of the week because I get my fix of Chris_Bridges.
Thanks!!!
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
It's not "almost" musical... it IS musical.
quote:Square Enix U.S.A., Inc., the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, presents the first FINAL FANTASY® symphony concert in the U.S. featuring music from Square Enix’s world-renowned FINAL FANTASY video game series, performed by the acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Is he talking about the original "Joust"? I always wondered what those things were... So what is that other thing that kills the ostrich?
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Some sort of dragony thing? With the level of graphics then it was hard to tell.
Great book, though, better than I though it would be.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
The "dragony thing" was a pterydactyl (sp), I think.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Somebody posted a game where President Bush takes on Terrorists Rambo style. Now I understand that was part of the Republican marketing plan.
Thanks!
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
I linked this to the EverQuest community boards I call home in hopes of starting a more serious discussion about how gamers can effect change. There is an issue that is pretty hot right now on a lot of the different boards (as in, as hot as the gay marriage threads here) and I would like to see what people think about what we can do about it. The issue is the buying and selling of intellectual property, and who knows where gamers could go with this. It's kind of neat though...people who can barely get out a sentence in game (OMG joo KSed me mob dr00d!) are posting articulate and well thought out arguments about the effects of selling intellectual property on both the "RL" economy and the in-game economy.
Anyway, thanks for the column Chris .
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Thanks Chris.
But Gamers? Are we qualified to vote in the real world?
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Why not? Golfers are.
Posted by J T Stryker (Member # 6300) on :
Quote: how u were totally about to bunnyhop in this kewl FPS but some kill stealing, low pinging n00b ganked u during a lag spike and raped your base before you could respawn.
Which game is he reffering to, cause i think he missused his lingo. seriously, don't they want people who actually get out of their houses and venture out into society to vote. i mean i'm a gammer myself and i don't think that i've been out of the house for anything other than school and to see Raia in a week.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I'm waiting for the inevitable complaints about that paragraph. Not only is there gamer slang, it has dialects specific to each game. That paragraph would be the equivalent of writing out what you wanted to say and then translating individual words in French, German, and Navaho.
Also gamer slang goes in and out of style faster than pop stars. I knew anything I wrote would be considered lame by somebody, so I went for the gold Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Lady, what server you on?
Or did we have this discussion.
Chiahpetz, the monk--Terris Thule
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
Verileah the Shaman, Solusek Ro *grins*
Posted by JonnyNotSoBravo (Member # 5715) on :
I got everything in the paragraph but the FPS remark. The rest is pretty standard. What does FPS stand for?
Edit: PS I liked the reference to online voting. Good context! They were just talking about the imperfections of E-voting on CNN today.
[ March 10, 2004, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: JonnyNotSoBravo ]
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
First Person Shooter, which was, coincidentally enough, the only I knew before I started looking for them...
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
.