Well we have been through three posts of bitching, moaning, and overall scattered ranting about the relationship between pro and casual gamers, but what does it all mean? Did we learn anything? Did these articles amount to anything other than giving my fingers a workout? Well, let’s look over the facts.

What is a pro gamer?

A pro gamer is…
1. Someone who enjoys a particular game enough to want to be good at it.
2. Someone who uses every game they play as an excuse to learn more and increase their skills.
3. Someone who always plays their hardest, just to see how far they can push themselves.
4. Someone who treats the games they play as a sport, complete with all the rules of good sportsmanship and polite competition.
5. Someone who wants to share their gaming passion with others, especially their friends and other likeminded individuals.

On the flip side, a casual gamer is…
1. Someone who doesn’t particularly care about being good at a game, even if they enjoy it.
2. Someone who only looks for fun and gratification without asking why the games they play are fun or gratifying.
3. Someone who plays only hard enough so that they don’t have to spend any sort of effort.
4. Someone who treats the games they play as a random distraction, rather than a forum for skill and competition.
5. Someone who is totally willing to shun their friends who are better than them, to the extent of not playing games with them at all, simply due to a gap in skill.

Well when you look at it that way it sure seems like the pro gamer, has the better values doesn’t it. That’s not necessarily true though. You can spin anyone’s likes and dislikes into something that can be either loved or hated. In fact, it is the negative spin on the pro gaming point of view that labeled pro gamers as assholes in the first place. In short, these lists, and the entirety of my article, pretty much mean nothing. It is not better to be a pro gamer or a casual gamer. Games will always mean different things to different people.

There are some pro gamers that are real assholes out there. They will smack talk you, even if you are just a casual observer, look down on you if you make any sort of mistake, and generally act like pretentious assholes when all you are trying to do is have fun, but these guys are just dicks and dicks exist in any sort of social group. Most pro gamers through, are not trying to make you feel bad when they stomp you in your favorite game, they are just trying to play the best they can. Before you go spitting at a pro’s shoes the next time you are in an arcade, imagine if you were in them, and people became made at you, just because you were good at something.

Pro and casual gamers probably won’t ever find a middle ground that will allow both to exist in harmony, but there is hope. Pro gamers of the world, there is one role that you are best suited for, the role of the teacher. There are many people out there that are willing to hear your tips, tricks, and strategies, so that they might become better and one day challenge you. Have patience, and teach them without looking down on them and you might find your gaming circle increasing in size. Consequently, casual gamers, you also would fit well in the role of the student. Don’t scoff at people who try to give you advice. Don’t get frustrated and scream about how “the move isn’t working” or “the controller is broken.” When a pro is trying to teach you something, it is not because he is showing off, it is because he finds some joy in making another gamer better.

In conclusion, the reason why pro gamers are assholes, is because we think they are assholes. Get good enough, and you’ll end up being the asshole too. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to the arcade to teach some kids how to play Tager in BlazBlue Continuum Shift. Go Go Gadget Finger!!!