Despite this, there is one thing that is helping gamers become more welcomed to the society. Marketing and merchandise has opened the bridge between gamers and the common public with T-shirts depicting game characters, cool knick-knacks of unique items found in games, and even household appliances and office items to display. Merchandise has found a way to make others question if gamers are what media has stereotyped them out to be. An example of this would be children and adults wearing shirts depicting games like Minecraft and Super Mario Bros. While they are in different age groups, they show that these games are for all ages.
The internet has also helped get these fandoms out into the world by video sites such as Youtube and Twitch. Due to these sites, gamers can entertain the public by playing specific games with comedic commentary. These “Let’s Play’s” have become a video genre of their own and have shaped the gaming community even more by their charity broadcasts and have even shown it is possible to get a job doing what they enjoy. With “let’s players” reaching millions of people on the web, more websites such as CafePress, Spread Shirt, and Redbubble have been created to sell their merchandise.
Local stores such as Books a Million, Target, Hot Topic, and even Walmart, sell gaming merchandise to the public. While buying gaming merchandise online is discrete to the consumer, it can sometimes be costly. Local stores, on the other hand, while not discrete can be easier on the wallet. Either online or at a local store gamers have multiple outlets to get the items that they crave.
Marketing these products hasn’t only helped gamers get out to the community, but movie and music lovers as well. Movie and band merchandise have also been sold to help let these individuals show off their love for the silver screen and their music playlists.
While the gaming community grows every day, there will still be people who are against it, think that it is a waste of time, and creates lazy individuals. What some may call laziness, others call creativity. Gaming provides experiences that go beyond reality and instill the player with a sense of adventure and wonderment that normally cannot be found in modern day life. So if you are a gamer, movie junkie, or band geek, don’t hide yourself from society, embrace your interests and show them who you are. You might even find that there are more like you than you think.
