<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Malstrom's Articles News]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[seanmalstrom]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/author/seanmalstrom/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Email: SOE president says only gamers should be in the&nbsp;business]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><em>Hello Master Malstrom.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.edge-online.com/news/soe-president-john-smedley-people-that-dont-play-games-have-no-business-in-this-business/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.edge-online.com/news/soe-president-john-smedley-people-that-dont-play-games-have-no-business-in-this-business/</a></em></p>
<p><em>I think this Edge article is interesting, as I am currently playing my first game with SOE, Planetside 2. Now, I know you are not big fan of the genre, and that is cool, but what what SOE is doing with Planetside 2 is amazing in regards to developer listening to feedback. He actually gets on the game and plays it, which is kind of neat when you can see him (I have not).</em></p>
<p><em>Anyway, keep up the good work fighting against &#8220;creativity&#8221;.</em></p>
<p><em>PS. Have you heard of Mount and Blade Warband? It is like a modern Sid Meiers Pirates! set in the medieval age with very good arcade combat. Some of my friends have played the multi-player for thousands of hours, though the single player is my favorite.</em></p>
<p>I&#8217;m taking a break from MMO type games. I&#8217;ll check out Mount and Blade Warband.</p>
<p>I think the context the SOE president was saying was not that gamers should be in the game business but that &#8216;people who don&#8217;t like gaming&#8217; shouldn&#8217;t be in the game business. Regardless, we should ask him, &#8220;What is a gamer?&#8221; And who gets to be a gamer? Do I get to be called a gamer?</p>
<p>Before the Wii came out, I was playing PC games and old game consoles. At one point, someone I knew came in while I was playing Super Mario Brothers 3. He was a fan of the new Xbox FPS games like Halo 2. He told me, &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you play a REAL game?&#8221;Apparently, Super Mario Brothers 3 was not a real game to him.</p>
<p>The games I like to play are considered &#8216;not real games&#8217; apparently. I like Wii Sports. I like NSMB Wii. I loved the Virtual Consoles. But apparently I&#8217;m not a real gamer.</p>
<p>Lately, I&#8217;ve been really enjoying GoG and their games. I suppose playing those games doesn&#8217;t qualify me as a &#8216;gamer&#8217;. When I publish this post, I am going to turn on Rollercoaster Tycoon and play that (since I bought it during the sale that is on). Am I a gamer? People keep telling me I&#8217;m not. 😦</p>
<p>So apparently a &#8216;gamer&#8217; means only &#8216;games-that-game-developers-like&#8217;. If you were a fan of Wii Sports or NSMB or even Mario Kart, you&#8217;re not a &#8216;gamer&#8217; because people in the Game Industry don&#8217;t like those games.</p>
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