Most gamers don't enjoy playing video games.

Do toxic gamers even like video games? This is the question that the reader has raised, concerned that video games are so expensive and require so much time, that most people never get to play more than a handful. I understand why they are uncomfortable with the term 'gamer', as it can often be associated with those who have made terrible decisions in the name of gaming.

I don't believe these people have any real interest in video games. They like the idea of being a part of something that is still considered counter-culture, but they don't take any interest in the wider world of video games. It's not just that they are not entitled sociopaths, but that they rarely have a passion for more than a few mainstream titles, and don't take an interest in the nuances of the gaming world.

In many cases, they don't even go so far as that. They are more in love with the idea of being a gamer than actually playing video games. They spend more time arguing about games and attacking other people over them than they do playing them. The social rewards of this behaviour are much more exciting to them.

The reason these people can be so aggressive and irrational is that, unlike most other hobbies, it's very difficult - and expensive - to play all of the video games, or to have an opinion about more than a small percentage of them. It's easy and relatively inexpensive to watch most movies or listen to music, but playing a full game can take weeks or even months, and that's assuming you can play every day for a few hours.

I'm not trying to absolve these toxic gamers of any blame - it's all their fault - but it's important to acknowledge that they are limited in how much they can experience when it come to video games. They only get to see a small slice of the gaming world, and this can lead to dangerous and toxic behaviour.

Video games are one of my favourite things in the world, but they are the least accessible and least democratic art form out there. Unless you are quite wealthy and have a lot of free time, you will never be able to experience a wide variety of video games. This is why so many gamers become obsessed with online arguments instead of the joys of actually playing games.

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