Redefining Gamer.

Video games have been around for a few decades, and their popularity increases every year in spite of their negative portrayal in the news and the stereotypes that they're associated with. Fortunately,these stereotypes are disappearing as the industry becomes more mainstream.

Video games are the fastest growing entertainment industry, and statistics show that 60% of Americans play video games, while 95% of teenage boys and 90% of teenage girls partake in some type of gaming. (Source arstechnica and Grabtstats.)

The term “gamer” cannot be limited to any demographic, and to refer to someone as a gamer would be akin to labeling them a movie watcher, or a music listener. Yes, I’m exaggerating, but gamers are quickly becoming the vast majority of the population, and the impact that this relatively young sub-culture has on our society becomes more palpable by the day. However, numbers alone do not give a group any substantial authority. It is the ability to form a strong and cooperative community that truly determines a group’s influence in society.

Gamers have formed vast online communities and are adept at utilizing all types of media to communicate and coordinate their actions. A group with these characteristics can significantly influence the world around them. When gamers mobilize in support of a cause, the outcome is usually impressive, if not record breaking. These causes can be entrepreneurial, charitable, political, or just for the sake of entertainment.

The purpose of Gamer Babel is to report, analyze, and explore the gaming community’s remarkable ability to make a difference in a range of fields, to promote the growth of this community, and to increase the participation of gamers by informing them of the many worthy causes that the community has taken up.


In my next blog, I will break down the aspects of an effective community, and how they apply to gamers.

Some recent examples of the gaming community in action can be seen at Kotaku.com