<![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?" - Kotaku Comments]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?" - Kotaku Comments]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Of course I read i wouldn't be a gamer otherwise
because you need to read sometimes in games just in case your deaf (which I am not)

Reyes937

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> she probably thinks she's way better than geeks, i think she's fat in real life.

ohayou_kun

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> there's really nothing i can say that hasn't been already been said.

oh well, i guess i better throw away my shelves full of books, seeing as how i obviously don't read.

TiberianViper

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I guess all those books I've read for pleasure since I was 4 don't count. Nor the countless texts and articles that have comprised my almost-complete college education. Damn you NPR for pointing out my un-enriched, shoot-em-up filled life!

jmb8504

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> jay-sus!, those questions just made me cringe!

its just the old paradigm of the book, along with many other second-wave-ish paradigms...

jtraveller

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I'm a freelance journalist, fiction writer and gamer.

I'm honestly not sure what part of me is more appalled and insulted. As a journalist you have to respect your audience and your interviewee. She does the exact opposite. I have no problem being called a geek (I personally consider it a compliment), but to allude that gamers are illiterate gore-mongers in such a blatant and condescending tone is wrong on so many levels.

If I was her editor, she would have been fired on the spot. I know I would have been.

PsycheDiver

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I didn't find it necissarily offensive, merely condescending and a bit snobbish. Maybe my skin has got a bit hard but after over a decade of being told how games were toys, amusements for children, immature and deeply mastubatory acts, I've grown hard to the sneers of our more 'mature' peers.

We don't need to bother ourselves with things like this, it's a none story; "Journalist sneers at gamer community" isn't a headline anymore, it's just another example of snobbery and I for one have long since stopped caring.

Degreeless

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Pffft, what? Most people I know that read books for entertainment are the biggest geeks I've met.

Demaar

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Bah. NPR has been going downhill for a long time. That being said this drives at the very heart of why gamers are so misunderstood. What I find myself constantly explaining to people is that all gaming is simply an evolution of storytelling. As a student of mythology I admire storytelling of all kinds. They are an incredibly dynamic and immersive medium for the Monomyth. It's true that games such as BioShock, MassEffect and, in my opinion even more-so, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus demonstrate the medium's ability better than other games, but it is true of all games. Even multiplayer FPSs like Team Fortress are about writing a collective story of triumph. I firmly believe that one day the interactive medium will be as respected as say movies or even books. Until then I would invite her to look at some of the wordcounts on a lot of games like KOTOR and any FF and then she can ask if we read. Heck, even game like Halo have a large amount of written backstory and in game documents describing them. She should take a look at how many gamers got the marathon man achievement on Halo. We are a subculture of people who crave exciting and beautiful narratives, not a subculture who craves violence.

ConstantCupcake

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> The gaming community is accustomed to a diversity of opinions in daily blog wars. Even we can respect that there is not one type of gamer. It's a shame that NPR can so willingly stereotype gamers, and consider it permissible to insult and dismiss the culture. I guess it's okay to be prejudiced against a group of people only until someone calls it out.

gojirah

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Garro: Right on Brother!

DaiMacculate

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> As a "geek," I'm surprised that someone could think this when I thought I was one of maybe three in my school who reads for enjoyment rather than grades. I always thought it was inexcusable when someone said they "couldn't" read unless they were forced to and when asked why they respond with "books are boring" or "books sux! ADD lol!" They don't all have to be Byron. I've read everything from Steinbeck and Salinger to Hunter S. Thompson and Sarah Vowell and, yes, all the Halo novels (except for Staten's, I have it but it's still on the list). I just find it funny that the "Geeks" apparently the ones who don't read now. And nice quip Staten.
By the way Weasel3689, I always thought Lord of the Flies was overrated, although I did like how they lit a fire with Piggy's lenses even though they were concave and the bit of irony at the end.

Erwin

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: I shucks now here I was thinking you mentioned something you had actually picked up. Regardless, I stand by the point I made.

Garro

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Talk about clich'e so to say... Well, I've just finished reading the FairTax Book, and am now reading through Bottomfeeder.. I have two more books on the way thanks to Amazon.com and overstock "The America we Deserve" and "Deep Survival" Was reading the Dark Tower Series..(on book three) but got side tracked...

Over all listening to the Article, I felt she was a bit patronizing. At least she sounded like it..

I don't take it personally.. but it would be nice if people could get on the same page so to say.. or at least near it.

--Core--

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yeah, we'ere all illiterate. Wait, how did I just write this comment?

tmanflys

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Maybe we should question if she reads, considerin g it is obvious she did no research whatsoever into the gaming community. I mean look at kotalu, ign, and all these other high profile gaming sites that are read daily. Also, look at how much reading is required in games, hell every ds game I play is the equivalent of an at least 200 page novel as well as text based adventures and RPGs (zork ftw!). If that is not enough look at Bioshock, I have never experienced anything remotely thematically equivalent of Bioshock since Fahrenheit 451 or Golding's Lord of the Flies. Hell, there even the hundreds of massively read books on games out there. I think gamers read more and in fact experience more reading than the majority of other people. I would also say that 70% or more of gamers explore storylines more and YES WE HAVE DISCOVERED STORYLINES YOU MORON! Non-gamers are often so condescending about games and gamers without even exploring their world accurately. All they do is read about Manhunt 2 and other violent games from whatever news source out there> Remember the time that BBC confused Halo 3 with Killzone 2! I wouldn't go and write a piece about wine tasting and say they are all drunks or rich snobs without exploring and living in their culture as well as trying wine-testing myself. Yet she has the audacity to say that we are simplistic morons and geeks who can't read! I can't wait for the day when there are finally some intelligent people in mainstream media that can actually accurately describe the majority of gamers.

Weasel3689

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @jayntampa:

Ah, well the article doesn't appear to be that bad then. That geek comment still stings though.

KiySeph

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Games have stories?! Well golly gee, I just play them for "teh EXPLOSIONS" and "hawt b00bies".

KiySeph

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Garro: Wow.

You're right. I mean, I was going to read it next week, but I guess I better know deeper level analysis of the book before I even read it.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> This is such a ridiculous stereotype. I play games probably an average of two or three hours a day. I also have a library of over four hundred volumes with everything from Star Wars novels to Shakespeare, and I've read them all. Doing one does not necessarily rule out the other.

moutski

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Oh NPR, not you! With all my extra time after graduating last year (with a degree in English, actually) I find gaming eats up the hours that I used to spend reading. Go figure. Still, as a particularly geeky bunch, I'd guess gamers read more than the average American. I'd like to see a survey on that point, actually. Anywho, one lousy reporter won't turn my opinion of NPR, and I'll still listen to "All Songs Considered" regularly.

monkeysaresilly

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @budash2: it means "even im acknowledging this, its not a crazy right wing statement."

TheIrishNinja

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> To be honest, I think most gamers read way more than the average person.

Emphasizer

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> KIRBYTHESLAYER: PROUD NORWEGIAN DEFENSE FORCE SUPPORTER : I actually listen to NPR regularly, and am myself a far-left leaning person, and I have to agree with others, it's a left station.

- and thank goodness for that - a tiny island in the vast ocean of bullshit.

rivalpinkbunny

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> No I don't read. I read a shitton. I've only 300+ books in my short 23 year existence.

Sollus

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Kotaku maybe you should listen to the NPR story because even as a ill informed lady on video games she brings up the fact that halos story sucks. Sucks so much the story guy had to write a book to get all the narrative Bungie left out.

Garcian-Smith

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I sure as hell hope that we read. Or else I've been hallucinating all of those letters!
Well that is always a possibility, now that I think about it.

brainless

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Are books those little plastic boxes you put in that thing in my Dad's old car?

I could really see this as the type of person to tell a man in a mario T-shirt reading to stop being a poser.

Narb copied that floppy

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Course Gamers Read!.....

Mass Effect counts, right? I mean, theres like 10,000,000 pieces of dialogue and text in that!

HaXard

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @CK20XX: NPR? Intelligent?

NPR is for journalists who couldn't cut it in the real world and hence draw a nifty government paycheck to sit back and voice their ill-informed opinions while hosting guests who seem consistently annoyed by the stupidity of their interviewees.

Though I do listen to NPR every day. And I love PHC... And I don't know what I'd do without NPR because I love it so very very much. And yes, it leans to the left. Significantly. Whether or not that's a bad thing is another point entirely.

Tsaketh

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @hikkifan1986: Well, some of us alternate our free time between gaming and reading? But I agree that "alternative" forms of reading are not really literary satiety through the eyes of someone like her.

rhinestonedarling

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> i don't read if i don't have to. i would rather see shiny explosions and guns and such than have to use my imagination. maybe im just lazy, but a picture says a thousand words, and with some games rendering 60 frames per second, thats a helluvalotta words.
that doesn't mean im illiterate, though (though my proper grammar and punctuation tend to go out the window whenever i start typing).

Crawl to China

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I've been looking at the pictures on this site for a long time but felt I needed to sign up to respond to this. I read, I actually read allot. I'll read anything from Eric Nylund to Ayn Rand.

JKilla77

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @BornToFlail: Of course Halo 3's story wasn't up to the standard expected of a sci-fi novel, or even other games with better storytelling, such as Bioshock. But I think that's just a product of the genre Halo is a part of. FPS games don't present many great opportunities for storytelling, unless the storytelling takes place within the environment (as with Bioshock using Rapture itself as a mode of storytelling to convey the fall of the utopia), through contrivances such as the computer modules in Halo 3 or the recordings in Bioshock, or outside of the game (such as through books). People who are interested in Halo 3's story can read the information presented in modules, or better yet, go out and buy the books, which is the point of the NPR news story. While the narrator of the piece doesn't grasp that not all games are like Halo, I think Joseph Staten is hitting on the issue that it's hard to convey story in a game like Halo, and that's why the books are written, in order to present all the of the background that is a part of the Halo world that most gamers are not privy to.
For my part, I can honestly say that I became interested enough in the Halo world to read the first few books that came out, but was really let down by Halo 3. But what can you do? When you've got a game that is primarily played online for the action aspects, that's what developers are going to focus on. Different games have different goals and standards - Halo is no Bioshock. If you want a more literate experience, you can go play other games that are more involving in the story department.

shadowmonster

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> And it turns out that s Chana Joffe-Walt is nothing more than a coffee-shop pseudo-intellectual. See what I did there? I can make generalizing statements about others as well.

WhoreofSpamylon

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I read about 2-3 books a month.

dead_red_eyes

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Cruithne: Yeah, my reading has drastically been reduced as I game more. Why, I rarely get through more than a book a week now!

Gort23

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> for NPR news I'm yet another confused luddite desperately cleaving to my hallucinatory superiority

tetracycloide

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> By the way.. if any of you have actually seen what she looks like... she's one to call any of us "geeks".

goddessakasha

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I'd like to slam her upside the head with my PS3 and then let her know how much I like to read.

Geek this, bitch.

goddessakasha

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I read about 2-3 books a week. I don't read Harry Potter either, more like Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, Herman Hesse, Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Umberto Eco, the Dune series, Orson Scott-Card, etc... I read tons, and I go to my local library about once a week. Oh, I also play about 50 hours of games a week.

COLDBLOODED_BMC

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> another elitist npr bitch with a hyphenated name.

firesign

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> To those who defend the reporter - she is writing from a naive point of view and did a fairly honest piece, though she did it from a derrogatory, belittling and arrogant perspective.

Tho those who criticize her - go to npr.org and write a letter.

The real story here is that the Halo book showed up on the NY Times best-seller list and it isn't a book that your typical "literati" would pick up. The piece itself is a wasted opportunity to reach into the gaming community and bring to light how writing is becoming more and more important in the video game publishing world.

That alone is more insulting than being a called a "geek".

foamking

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> This stupid bitch doesn't even realize that there are different types of video games. She probably thinks all games are first person shooters. Have her sit down with the xenosaga trilogy or mass effect and it might enlighten her a little bit. Why do they have people so obviously ignorant to the subject matter do stories on video games?

ninjadoom

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Gosh...NPR is a very respectable organization and it's sad that somehow this ...very naive reporter and bad reporting got past the producers and gatekeepers.

Also...look at the rest of her pieces and reviews.
[www.prx.org]
No business doing a game review. Sigh. Maybe I'll write a letter.

MasterSauce

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Irresponsible journalism at its finest!

ThisCharmingMan

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Wei: You can defend that she left her questions in as a good thing, but the issue most people have taken is that she asked dumb questions to begin with.

I would think a bit more research could have alleviated her sounding like a literary superior, and maybe paying a touch more respect to a guy who landed himself on the NYT and USA Today best seller list.

eleventeen

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I read. Is that what the article was about?

EdogLost

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Wow, what a retard. I read for like 1 hour Monday to Friday on the train when I'm heading home from work, and some every now and then at home. I've finished so many 200-1000 page books it's not even funny. Besides, a lot of games, mainly RPGs, have a LOT of reading in them. Most of my gaming friends and cousins read. This lady's retarded.

dgonchild

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I listened to the interview, and it was like they purposefully extracted the parts that made the interviewer sound condescending.

What kind of an idiot asks if gamers read?

Why do you need story, she asks... ugh.

And it hasn't been called a joystick for a really long time. Someone should mention that to her.

eleventeen

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yea, She is very uneducated and just needs a story to cover, video games are a hot topic now. Something else she is very uneducated on is the state of gamers. I still have no idea why people think gamers are "geeks". Do they not know the demographic of gamers? Very diverse actually.

AnonUserAnonymous

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @jayntampa: THANK YOU! it seems we came here too late....

Wei

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I work for NPR (I'm at the office right now actually) and I think everyone should go ahead and give the story a listen. I bristled a little too when she asked that question, but the answer from her guest is that we gamers need more than just bullets and blood, and that it's hard to convey that mid-game. Not to mention gamers get upset if you pull them out of the character too many times to tell your story, so books like Contact Harvest are necessary to get the scope of the story.

It's not like she interviewed him live. She would have known his answers would make her questions seem ignorant when she edited the story, and she included them anyway to get the message across that gamers need more than pretty lights.

Wei

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> NPR for the win.

WaterMedia

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @jayntampa: Oh, well I take it back then. I didn't actually listen to the thing, I just read the article.

Misleading!

IrisMR

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Heh, I can't help but laugh at this woman's assertions. I'm a literature major and have been gaming all my life.

Eliwood

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> If you listen to the story, she's playing the part of the majority of the audience that doesn't know about gaming, so I think she did a relatively good job. The story would broaden what a non-gamer thinks about games -- by showing a fully developed mythos and some actual thinking goes on.

BTW, when you ask something with the preface, "Which brings me to another frank and ridiculous question," it means that she knows the answer already ... usually, an answer that is misrepresented by others. So, while she knew gamers read, many people assume we don't.

It's an interview style that some people don't understand ... just like you have different acting methods. So, while gamers think she sounds like a moron, a listened with no real knowledge of gaming is thinking, "Yeah, why does a game need a story?"

I actually listened to the story when it aired, and the only thing that was really insulting was the whole geek part.

jayntampa

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> what an ignorant bitch. I guess there are no better words for this.

Gosh I bet her kids are sad at christmas.

IrisMR

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: lmao

Norellicus

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> This woman needs to take some speech classes. Her tone phrasing is completely out of whack, bugs the hell out of me...

Norellicus

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Hmmm. I guess Asimov never read either, being that total nerd that he was.

I guess I must have imagined myself reading the dark materials trilogy and all those terry pratchett books. :(

EdwinJ

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> NPR's reporters have really slid into the cesspool of douche baggery over the last few years. Their infotainment revolution has pushed this loyal listener away. I used to send them money every year, now they aren't even on my dial.

doubtful

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> how many achievement points do i get for reading a book?

evilkoala

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I used to read books all the time. I used to spend my days curled up in a chair reading with my mother pleading at me to go outside. Now I spend my time sitting in a chair gaming with my mother pleading at me to go outside.

I think one thing books has missing is music. I don't know why but I find music to be one of the most important parts of storytelling and sitting in silence reading just feels odd to me.

A funny thing about this little tale. Since I started gaming I have probably spent more time outside as I became more adventurous and starting shooting terrinble short films.

LeFishy

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> How insulting.
As a law student I probably read more every day than she reads in a month.

P.S. I also listen to NPR faithfully, so it's unfortunate that they're the source of such ignorant, condescending blather.

aesquire

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yeah... you're dealing with geeks. Geeks don't read! How silly!
Let's hand Chana a copy of UNIX for dummies and watch their (his? her?) head explode.

I read games... so far I've played three "days" of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and haven't done anything but read. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku is so far reading and conversation... Ok, so I don't find much text in Western games, but it's out there too. But it's all beside the point - thinking geeks just play games and never read is beyond missing the point, it's failing on the basic concepts! Heard of Wikipedia?

*sigh* I shouldn't even be wasting time responding to this. *snip*

fuchikoma

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I've read two novels in the past two weeks, 5 since Christmas. But I don't know how to read, so I guess I'm lying. :D

Morte

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I have a friend who works at NPR, I'll ask him about her.

Godstar

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @AppleTamer57:

Woohoo! They broadcast 'This American Life'! Great show!

DCSimian

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I'd love to make a smart comment on this article, but due to my playing games I'm a stupid geek that can't read...

...wait- isn't that a contradiction?

JGab

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yeah, I gotta say this is a pretty embarrassing piece of reporting. This last semester I got turned on to NPR (90.9 Philadelphia), and usually I'll catch parts of Morning Edition on my drive down to the college and then All Things Considered on my way home. Usually, if the reporters want to sound interesting or candid, they'll go the "ooh, this is something new and interesting, let's find out more about it" instead of...this. I mean, I could see one of the Big Three or Fox using this angle but not NPR.
I don't know. Perhaps it's her tone and delivery. I think if it had been Mo Rocca (I've heard him a couple of times on ATC doing a "man on the street" type piece) it could've been funny. But then he's Mo Rocca, funny is part of his job.
Perhaps, if it had been "Gamers are quite literate" instead of "Gamers read? NO WAY." it would have not quite raise a few hackles

not_tom_brokaw

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I still haven't read the original -- maybe she's being tongue-in-cheek? Follow those statements with a "wink, wink; nudge nudge"?

GhaleonUnlimited

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yeah we don't read, because we play video games. Right now I'm reading Moll Flanders (no easy task considering the time it was written) and playing The Orange Box. However, according to Joffe-Walt, I must be some freak of nature, just staring at the pages of Moll Flanders while I shoot random baddies in that FPS Portal. Oh, wait...

corner

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Hell, games got me into reading! Specifically, three little games called Transylvania, Oo-Topos and Talisman. That games still rock.

smitty1123

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I have to say, that after listening to the interview it isn't as offensive as the article implies. The quotes above make more sense when in the context of the segment, and the point of the piece is to bring awareness to the fact that more gamers are demanding deeper stories, and giving attention to the person helping to create that story for one game universe.

elmaxximo

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Can we find the woman's email and blast it with angry rants?

Prove to her we all right as g00d as we reed?

Cpryd001

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @UnnDunn:

Poor show, Mr. Ashcraft. I didn't expect sensationalism from you.

Really? I'm surprised that you were surprised.

Atrahasis

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> It seems not many people actually bothered listening to the clip. It wasn't really that bad. When she asked "Do gamers read?" -- after calling her own question ridiculous -- she proceeds to answer the question herself. The only thing that was a bit grating was the "geeks" comment, but this interview clearly was directed at her "fellow non-gaming Luddites", not at us. If you asked a non-gamer what they thought about Halo, the answer wouldn't be too far from "pew-pew-pew". It's not surprising that they don't know there's a story.

Cathl

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Only one question remains:

"Is our gamers reading?"

fanty

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I don't read anything but SF novels, and I make no apologies. Stand on Zanzibar was amazing, as was Earth Abides and the 50 others before that. The Demolished man is shaping up to be another gem.

PJK

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> "I think to understand why stories are important in games, you need to actually play them."
Needless to say more...

Still, her arguements are not very different from other non-gamers.
And the thing is: hardcore gamers probably don't have that much time to read books... it's a valid point.

Doesn't justify the generalization, but still, something to think about...

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> SOMEONE MADE A JOKE AT GAMERS' EXPENSE! EVERYONE GET YOUR BACKS UP! FIGHT! DEFEND! BE MAD! SHAKE YOUR FIST!

The average person listening to NPR does not know that Halo has a story. Count yourselves lucky that you got coverage on a show often dedicated solely to politics and world events.

pressatostop

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> "Geeks, you're dealing with geeks."

This comment is OK with me, hey I'm reading Kotaku here!

retronaut

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I'm a gamer but I actually spend more time reading than I do gaming. I read 2 or 3 books a week. From biographies to non-fiction to satire to the "geek" stuff like sci-fi and fantasy.

@Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter:

No. It really isn't. It's right in the middle, occasionally leaning to the right (their coverage of both NAFTA and WTO consisted of two people on the same side "debating" the issue -- both saying how great world trade would be for the U.S. economy and U.S. workers). Not to mention for every Marketplace (Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace and Marketplace Money) aired for Wall Street and the upper-class shareholder there is exactly 0 programs aired from the side of Labor.

Sloopydrew

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I kind of feel sorry for the woman. She was taking a nice nap in NPR's cryogenic vault (where they also keep Garrison Keillor)and suddenly finds herself unthawed in the mid-2000's. NPR didn't give her time to read the book or anything, or even time to get over cryo-sleep sickness. They just told her that video games make more money now than moving pictures and sent her on into the broadcasting booth. Poor woman.

Mommas Marine

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @phinehas: Win.

Also, that gamers don't read is only indicative that many people in general are forgoing "reading for fun". Don't know about other countries, but that pastime is fading to the back in the u.s.

They don't switch to video games, they go watch jeopardy, play bingo, or whatever it is old people do (I can make baseless blanket statements about certain demographics too! Make me a journalist.)

rdj

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> *holds up her birthday presents to herself: One game, 5 books, and Heros season 1*

*Looks at her shelves: has room for the game and the mvies, but wonders where she will find room for the books*

Oh yeah, I'm a total bibliophile.

EmeraldDragon

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Last time I checked most people I know who listen to NPR are geeks. Me included.

jchasse

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Aww, I guess I better stop reading The Master & Martguerita then, and I should probably throw out that copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I just started too.

Rikka

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Hmm, no clue...I'm currently reading Candide, recently finished Watership Down...I usually read about 2-3 books a week, and my house has three bookshelves...and that's not nearly enough space for all of my books.

But of course, if you play a video game you must be illiterate. Guess I should get rid of all those books, then.

FYI: I hate ignorance masquerading as reporting.

sj4iy

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> man, this is just wrong. Reading has always been a passion of mine.

schizorogue

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> cjoffewalt@kplu.org might be a good email address to send your intelligent comments to.

nrvg

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> The only thing that comes to mind is: I'm really f'ing insulted! Talk about a journalist with a mountain of bias and preconceptions.

melvin22

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @HIKKIFAN1986:
Actually, based on my own experience, the grand majority of people interested in classical literature also enjoy gaming. And when I say classical literature, I'm NOT talking about Isaac Asimov's Foundation series or some game/space opera based novelette. No, I'm talking about genuine, Tolstoy-level shit.

And, as an aside, Brian's misspelling of "Luddite" (not sure what you're talking about here) doesn't make him sub-literate. It makes him someone who doesn't use asshole words like "Luddite". Shit, you probably start arguments with "ceteris paribus".

rick.

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I don't believe this article does justice in simulating the tone of the actual interview. Yeah, Chana Joffe-Walt was condescending, but not malicious. Her statements didn't rile me up nearly as much as Staten's excuse for why Halo games have such flimsy narrative, and why I have to search elsewhere in order to obtain proper understanding of the plot.

So she called Halo mythology obsessed gamers geeks, and insinuated they don't read. Boo Hoo. Every word your reading at this very moment proves her wrong, but then again, why should the ignorant opinion of others matter in the first place?

KeroseneClimax

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> You know what, I was getting ready to write a scathing comment blasting this reporter for yet another irresponsible and inaccurate hit job on gamers and gaming culture.

Luckily I actually listened to the report first. And frankly, Bashcraft, I'm disappointed. Her report is nowhere near as insulting or inaccurate as you make it sound with your selective quotes.

Yes, Joffe-Walt is clearly somewhat ignorant about gaming. Yes, she brings her inaccurate preconceptions (I wouldn't call them prejudices) to the interview. But if you actually listen and comprehend, she's actually quite respectful of gamers, and one gets the sense that she developed a new appreciation for gaming culture as she was compiling this report.

Poor show, Mr. Ashcraft. I didn't expect sensationalism from you.

UnnDunn

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I know she is a dumb bitch, but in this case she has a point... Halo has a storyline?

Toprem

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @shadowmonster: @shadowmonster: True. I did not mean to assume anything about the general gaming populous. I really do come off as condescending... but someone has to! I'm sure most of the people who play these games are quite intelligent when they want to be. As I've posted later, I'm not sure game developers think that.
Honestly if you need 3 or 4 books, on the side, to create any real interest in your plot then something is fundamentally wrong. I honestly believe all of these people are far more intelligent than the shit that is being fed to us now.
Can you really say the plot to Halo 3 was good?

BornToFlail

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> "I think to understand why stories are important in games, you need to actually play them." - zing!

jackusaralious

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> And that, boys and girls, is what "condescension" means.

erlik

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> FFVII was intense

DELETED

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I wonder how many people commenting here actually listened to this interview? You have to keep in mind NPR's usual audience and who they are catering the interview for. Most people listening to this probably DON'T think gamers read, and by asking such a question she is giving him a chance to retort that notion. But then again, maybe I just think that gamers responding so viciously to this "prejudice" is ridiculous. You are not a down-trodden group of individuals. You are hobbyists who apparently would love the opportunity to be stereotyped so you can bite back. And despite these few gems of "ignorance," the rest of the interview isn't actually so bad.

Between this and a couple of other recent articles by kotaku, I am disappointed in both the writers and the commenters.

walrusbrown

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Geeez the forums I look at and here... What is with all the hate today.... I hope this isn't an omen on how my work day is going to be.

That Girl Hates You

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I am completely baffled how being a gamer means you're a geek and how it would honestly have anything to do with reading. That's like asking me if I like the color pink and iced tea. The two don't connect in my mind.

Ajh

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Screw that! I'm an RPG fan. I'm a SLAVE to the written word!

Zen Grenadier

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I understand the knee-jerk need for kotaku to hate on anyone pointing out flaws in the video game industry's big-money storylines. BUT Her interview is kind of funny because as plot goes... Halo is quite honestly some of the worst storytelling ever. As a gamer I don't think we should let that stand. Honestly, Halo 3 takes many times longer to play through than reading the fifteen page storyline would take. Now that wouldn't be a problem if this was a game introducing me to new ways to experience the genre... but it is Halo. It hasn't changed. Same damn thing one more time.

I think we SHOULD hold developers responsible for storytelling. I don't know about you, but I would like to see a better use out of my gaming experience than that which I can have reading 15 year old Sci-Fi novels.(which are awesome)

BornToFlail

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Forgot to mention one thing.

Remember people you can send in comments to NPR and such things are read at rather a decent rate.
As long as of course it's a good comment sent to them, not one full of insults, swear words, or spelling like that of a crack addict with one eye shut.

Kenofthedead

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Luckily the rest of NPR is still quite good despite this one reporter.

Though PRI and APM are far better in the long run. Except for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, which is one of the best radios shows out of the Americas.

Still, all this is quite sad and it's a shame such a stigma still exists. Especially as the first real game worlds, MUDS, were nothing but text adventures.

Lucky for us all, gamers are becoming main stream and soon gamers will outnumber non-gamers.

Kenofthedead

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I listened to the whole thing, and while it's not anywhere near as bad as bashcraft puts it, it's subpar for NPR.

Akin

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> As a social science student, I can say pretty definitively that I do a lot of goddamn reading. I have about 110 pages to read over the weekend, and that's only for one class...

Stormrider

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Ker-riste. I thought they didn't allow backwards h'ignorants to write for respectable papers anymore.

Pombar

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @dunetiger: Can I be your friend? XD

Furious_Liver

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @okenny :): Really? The scripts of 5 games are a lot of reading for you? No.. No... honestly when that dude had to carry a weapon/burden to the end of the game and defeat some bosses that was some heavy shit. Really. Well written original stuff. bravo.

BornToFlail

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I don't think that she's suggesting that gamers never read anything, ever. Just that people who play video games might not read as much as their non-gaming friends.

I know I used to read a ton when I was a kid, but then the number of books I finished dropped off sharply when I started playing video games every night.

SRyoma

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I sure as hell don't read. Hell, beyond Kotaku, I hardly ever use modern communication because I'm a human-animalist. That means I walk around all day long with a giant club and just whack the stuffing out of things that I may want/refuse/love/hate/miscomprehend. That poor girl... I only wanted to tell her I loved her...

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: ??? Are you serious? They're two simple paragrahps. The first is aimed at you, the second is commenting on the article. I didn't wander on any point.

Dude, are you... are you serious? The Great Gatsby? Wow. You can quote classics but you don't know jack about 'em. I wasn't throwing in random facts to sound smart, I was emphasizing a point.

This is exactly what I'm talking about - you act big but don't even have the depth to analyze the classics you're reading for what they are. Then you turn around and undercut a bunch of scifi for improper grammer. Reading purely for entertainment isn't wrong, and that's what I've been pulling for, forever. You start talking about being a literary 'aficionado,' but don't analyze or think critically about what you read (apparently). Gatsby was about the roaring 20's and the level of corruption in society because of it's 'party hard' nature.

What I'm saying is, you're so quick to judge due to yoru self-proclaimed status as a novel buff, but only take your reading so far, then talk crap about novels that don't meet your personal standards. I'm not saying they're perfect, I'm not saying they couldn't be better. It's just, if you're going to start picking apart science fiction then get off the soap box, and take off the mask. You constantly grandstand about how well read you are and that everything but the classics are at middle school level (exageration), but you don't look deeply enough into these books to be on the high horse you are.

I'm just trying to make this clear: It's like saying I'm a whine connoisseur, but drink fine whines only for their taste, and complain about cheap whine for it's bouqet and texture. It's clear hypocrisy because I'm openly claiming a level of expertise I don't possess, and denounce the low level stuff from that vantage point.

Garro

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Intellectualdiot: Bingo, the "do gamers read" line was nothing more than an attempt at humor. And folks get all offended. Give the piece a listen - it is obvious that she is being light-hearted and having fun with the interview.

McBonk

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Does my BSc Hons count?

edhe (xbl)

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Put your big girl panties on and deal. Her piece is VERY respectful to gamers, and quite a fun listen. Seeing all of Kotaku surround this non-story like hornets simply proves her point... you know, the one about the geeks.

McBonk

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Pah, net based responses would just validate her opinion. A letter writing campaign would say it much more eloquently

And she's helpfully left her contact details up: [www.airmedia.org]

DrMekon

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> i'm not even going to pretend like i read BOOKS at all. i fuck with poems and lyrics, essays and short stories. but i really doubt the halo books are a worthy contribution to all that literature has to offer.

also. just want to through this out there: lemons and fanfics or whatever the f they're called are usually really disgustingly terrible. just because you can sit through hours of love triangle-infested text doesn't mean you create a thought provoking or rich alternate adventure for Vincent Valentine and company.
@Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: you bring up a good point. since i don't read, i don't know much about what a modern writer is like. i don't know all the conventions and typical storytelling tricks they use. maybe it's just not my style.


anyone ever read any of the books in Oblivion? i really appreciated that aspect of the game.

8cott

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> She is confused. Geeks which she calls gamers obviously read. They are the "losers" who sit in the library and read LOTR.

Shouldn't she be talking about the other stereotypical gamer? The college attending, Mountain Dew chugging, Madden/GTA/Halo player?

She obviously just hates anyone who plays games.

Cartman86

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> No one is a bigger defender of alternate forms of literature. My final paper for a lit class was essentially a defense of romance novels. However, to be an educated person is to be a well-rounded person. Choosing romance or sci-fi or whatever genre fiction over high-brow literature is fine, but don't expect people who are well-rounded to hold you in high esteem. Rest assured, this NPR journalist has her "guilty" pleasures for which she should not feel guilty because we all have them. The difference is that she also likely satisfies the upper reaches of her intellectual curiosity with high-brow culture, while we only explore popular culture, which few would argue is as intellectual as the highest forms of art. You can argue that it's all the same or the difference is illusory, but find me a pop song as great as Beethoven's Ninth or a Stephen King novel as great as Shakespeare's Macbeth. Or find me a literature professor that would agree with you because they dedicate their lives to qualifying these differences. So, please stop arguing that the type of reading that we do 'counts' as the type of reading that would satisfy an intellectual like her. It won't. Also stop arguing that we DO read literature on a regular basis. We don't. We play video games on a regular basis.

hikkifan1986

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Haha, she's very funny, then again people making fools of themselves always are =)

Malmer

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> There is a trend in gaming today that very much shows that many gamers demand strong stories. Bioshock, Mass Effect (maybe the up coming Too Human, which alludes to Nietzsche's All Too Human) and many more all rely on the quality of their writing. I catch literary and higher intellectual references in games all the time, a reward for those more scholarly types.

BUT, after a night of some Halo 3 online, I can see how people would assume the squandered literacy of gamers.

EdRoivas333

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @BornToFlail: It's really condescending to assume that gamers aren't readers. I'd assume that many of us are students who read a lot of literature. I'd also assume that a large majority of us do enjoy reading, seeing as how we're not mindless dumbasses, but pretty intelligent people.

shadowmonster

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Garro: I lost track of who you were talking to.
You kind of wandered back and forth, and I really didn't understand who your message was directed to for 3/4 of it.

Though I'm not sure what you mean about sitting through a book about the decay of society in the 20's.
Is that just some random thing you threw in there? I don't think I've ever read anything like that.
I pretty much read primarily for entertainment, but I only bother with books that bother to use proper grammar and sentence structure(In non-dialog situations).

If that's pretentious, I'm fine with being pretentious.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> You have to listen to the entire story to understand the quotes in context. The comment about games being about "shoot 'em up" is really a jumping off point for the entire story - it gives Joseph Staten a chance to explain why story is important in games, so you can't really fault her for that one. It could've been thought out better, but it was a good way to jump into the point of the story. The same goes for the second comment. The last one is less defensible, and is really condescending, as are other parts of the story after that point, so if you wanna fault the journalist for anything, it's that characterizing gamers as people with no lives who are interested in something with no importance.

shadowmonster

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> if i was labelling a person or group of people 'nerds', i'd assume they read a whole fucktonne of books. seems a stereotypically nerdish thing to do.

xbulletholes

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> She's right. Kotaku readers? OMG! They all play games! Insanity! That right there is some crack reporting Kotaku!
"DO THEY READ?" is a much more interesting question.
Do they read actual well written pieces of fiction that have been published in say... the past 10 years? Answer is "Maybe." Welcome Halo and Gears of War fan fiction, game over kids. We make such a huge deal out of these games, yet they are following a set of fantasy rules that have been in place for 30+ years. I am thoroughly pissed off at you. That's right you, the completely indifferent person reading this article because lo and behold your faithful 360 will pull through the destruction while entertaining you with the appropriate amount of explosions. But have you really helped the gaming community in any way?

Honestly I miss the days of PC gaming when it took people to alter a game and not marketing predictions.

BornToFlail

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Garro: It could be that he doesn't like BSG. I don't. I think it's a Soap Opera combined with a Political Drama that happens to take place in outer space. Seriously, just because a baby's a "hybrid" doesn't mean I don't notice the "Will the mother ever learn that the child she thought died at birth in fact lived? STAY TUNED!" bits.

Maldron

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> This was insulting and inflammitory. I rarely write letters of complaints about things like this, but stupidity like this really prompted me to speak my mind. I hope enough gamers will do the same, and write intelligent complaints (no death threats or leetspeak, that's counter-intuitive) which will show her that not all gamers are gibbering lunatics.

Then again, her bias might already be settled in solidly. At least NPR might start assigning knowledgable people to the gaming assignments from now on.

mattigus

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: Kirby you're about as pretentious as the woman interviewing Staten. You can sit through a book designed to pick apart the decay of society of the 20's, and you can't sit through a single episode of Battlestar Galactica? It's like, I don't know what drives you to read all these classics and shit on large portions of the geek culture you embroil yourself in because they're not up to your standards, but it's really, really arrogant.

That woman was a complete ass who needs to do her research before talking. Shit, when was the last time she played a game, in an arcade with Galaga? Games are a lot more than shooting, dodging, and getting points these days, I wish more people would even pretend to try and learn/understand that. Ironic though, "time to put down the joystick, and pick up a book," and yet shes so blind to the storytelling evident in games today. I think it's time you put down your little reporter badge and went and learned about your topic before coming back and ripping a decent person a new asshole.

Garro

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @AznDevil: Ah yes... comments like yours go a long to dispelling the myth that gamers aren't socially adept... oh wait.

SimianJones

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Maybe they went to the GameFAQs boards for their source research. I mean, I go there of my own free will and I often wonder if any of the other people that post there can actually read.

Revenge_of_Nekojin

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Could someone tell me what this article is about? You know, 'cause I can't read and all...

@Corey:
Jordan died with, by all accounts, one book left to go to finish the series. He reportedly left notes in the hope that someone else could pick up the final novel and see things through to completion, but I've not heard of anyone actually signing on for this.

@hikkifan1986:
Literature, as you define it, is subjective. My experience has been that much of so-called classic literature is deemed to be such based solely on writing style, technique, and imagery, in spite of having fairly tedious stories. Try reading Greg Keyes, C.S. Friedman, or Parke Godwin if you don't think paperbacks can be counted as literature.

The primary purpose of fictional literature is to entertain, regardless of how high-brow the style is. In this regard, the Harry Potter series (which I have never actually read) wins bigtime because it has been cited as inspiring a massive number of teens and pre-teens to start reading when they previously avoided it like the plague (ironically, including the guy who plays Potter in the movies).

@WiggyDee:
Watch the movies. The story's pretty solid, and the books are passable, but his writing style is piss-poor. He spendt far too much of the story having the characters themselves describe the action instead of just doing it himself. Where any other author would tell you that Gimli walks to the other side of the room, he'll instead have Gimli announce to the world that he's going to do so, and explian _why_ he's doing so.

Purple Dave

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @budash2: Most people believe NPR to be left-leaning simply by a process of flawed logic; since most right-wing radio stations tend to be very aggressive, narrow focused and highly biased if a station *isn't* that way then it must be left-leaning. It's similar to the broken logic that if you're against the war then you're a terrorist sympathizer. Sadly some people only see things in a polarized fashion.

Here in Denver during the last round of local elections they covered both parties and asked them the same questions, treated them with the same respect and presented both perspectives with an un-biased quality, it was quite impressive really. Personally I'm an independent so I vote on the issues, not the parties or emotions and have always found NPR to be the most balanced.

SimianJones

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> What a stupid ignorant bastard. People like that should just stfu cuz if they open their mouths everyone knows their a dumb ass not to mention a bitch.

AznDevil

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Horrible interview. Editing Staten's comments down to a few seconds while she adds in her smart ass responses that were recorded at a later date. At one point she actually sounds excited and interested in the game, probably from the actual interview, so I'm guessing that she put on an act in front of Staten.

That reading question was probably something closer to, "Do you think gamers will read this book?"

Trog13

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Uninformed stereotypes FTW.

暇人

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Cruithne: Good point about do gamers today actually read considering how glued most are to blogs or txt. It's also a good question because the definition of a "gamer" is broadening to include some very non-geek/nerd types that weren't weened on sci-fi and social ineptitude.

A better question for her to ask would be do gamers read books based on gaming franchises? I'll admit that I consider books based on movies or games to be marketing fodder and of lesser quality, probably written at an elementary school level with little real literary merit.

I know some quality authors have lent their skills to franchises, such as Timothy Zahn for some Star Wars books, but honestly I still can't bring myself to buy one.

SimianJones

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Intellectualdiot: I typed out a pretty long response (by my standards at least) toward this comment showing my disagreement by saying that the story does affect gameplay, but then by the end of the comment I realize its more the setting of the game that affects how the game is played. However I still will add something from what I was going to say before:

If there were no story or dialogue, I'd be pretty confused as to why my character suddenly gained/lost special ability X. (then again I'd be pretty confused about why I was chopping giant robots in half anyway)

Furious_Liver

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> :rolleyes:

Draconis

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Unfortunately it's true: I hardly read books. My average is about one book a year. I often start reading them but mostly fail reading to the end. I often feel like books are too "slow" and get bored. Most books stories just don't unroll themselfs quickly enough for me. It might just have to do with not having found an author yet who writes the way I'd enjoy reading. I do however read tons online. I have a huge consumption rate of text over the internet. I read several blogs and news sites on a daily basis. And as an extra bonus: I mostly read english websites which is not my native language but has almost come to be in the process.

platinum

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> P.S. How does leaning to the left make anyone's claim of NPR's "lean" and more qualified? I don't see anyone connection there.

budash2

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Can anyone give me examples? Anyone? Please? NPR was accused of supporting the invasion of Iraq too. So they must also be right-leaning. I'm just waiting for some solid examples here. Anyone?

No, because Americans often just let shite go in one ear and then take it as fact.

budash2

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: true, i didnt think of that.
also, id like to second the notion of being clearly left of the center, but even so, NPR's left leaning.

on the subject of books, was the mass effect one any good? im enjoying the game so far.

TheIrishNinja

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Intellectualdiot:

Erm, some of us honed our reading skills with,
I, n,s,e,w,use and get.

Weirdwolf

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I loves me some NPR (WBEZ 91.5 Chicago REPRESENT) but whenever they talk about video games, it's usually terrible. Very few reporters on NPR ask good questions when they have to interview people on anything related video games, mainly due to lack of interest without the common courtesy of doing a little research. It'd be like me having to interview someone who just bought a very expensive Victorian house. Without research, my go-to questions would be:

"This house is big. Why do you think you like big houses?"

"Do you think other people who wanted to buy the house and didn't have money to buy it would be disappointed that you own it now?"

"Do house buyers read?"

Regardless, reading about Bioshock got me to read the Fountainhead, which got me to read about Individualism, which got me to read philosophy textbooks.

In conclusion, that bitch can suck a big fat one.

AppleTamer57

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> You're crazy. It's like saying the Washington Post leans to the right. Yes, on one page they do. It's called Op/Ed. But as far as journalistic integrity goes, NPR (Or the Washington Post, Economist, Atlantic) have it in spades. Why? Because any underlying politics of owners/managers/writers don't push their way into news stories. Witz, come on. Are you seriously going to tell me, and back it up with any evidence that NPR is left-leaning? I mean, Fox News is on the edge of slander every freakin' day. Fox News leans. NPR? Not so much. You can't possibly say those two have anything in common. And I don't care if it's leaning to the left or to the right...it just shouldn't lean when your covering objective stories. I mean, NPR has been given Peabody's in mountains, not to mention countless other awards for journalistic integrity. Dude.

budash2

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I really like the halo books. The books written by Eric Nylund are especially good. People think it strange if I read a halo book but First Strike or the Ghosts of Onyx are amazing reads.

Airborn

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Boy did she pick the wrong people to piss off.... Seeing as how we control the internet and all :)

K-Squad! (Badass Edition)

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> At the end she mention to put down our joystick....

Joystick? Who uses a joystick?? Unless she's talking about .. >_>.... yea..

R1co281

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Oh dear. We may be be geeks, we may be gamers but we are also people, some of us will never pick up a book some of us may devour the written word with the passion of the most avid bibliophile.
What we should be focusing on in this terribly misguided interview is not just the "gamers don't read" comment and the stereotyping of gamers as male,un-educated geeks but the lack of understanding of our hobby.
I rather gather that NPR is viewed as a more cerebral radio station that doesn't try to pander to the lowest common denominator by jumping onto the nearest bandwagon (of course I could be mistaken,I only listen to APHC). If they cannot understand what it is that we do something is going wrong and dismissing this woman as a "douche" and "bitch" isn't going to help.
At least nobody has claimed "the very hungry caterpillar" as their favourite and the pinnacle of literature.

Weirdwolf

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @TheIrishNinja (PSN), IrishNinja2099 (XBL): He watches Fox.
They're fair and balanced.

@budash2: I actually listen to NPR regularly, and am myself a far-left leaning person, and I have to agree with others, it's a left station.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> What a joke.

Jomi294

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Yeah i dont like to be insulted as a gamer. I read books but.. ihave nothing everything has been said for me ugh.. i fail.

FP Shindokie

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> People who say that NPR totally leans to the left are usually just ignorant. And have never actually listened to NPR.

Like people who say video games are terrible yet have never played them. Hmmm.

budash2

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Intellectualdiot: by the by, im dying to know your sources of non-partisan coverage.
im not even being sarcastic, i dont know of any, unless youve got robot sources.

TheIrishNinja

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I hate reading. I don't read at all. Especially not right now.

BPMΣ

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> At least she knows her questions are rediculous?

Hmm, so why keep asking them?

Aflack: feels sick to his stomach

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @RawSteelUT: @KaneTaker: The issue is not with the writers.
Like I've said multiple times, Gaiman and Clevinger are two examples of something fascinating: Excellent writing from modern writers.

The reason that Star Trek novels are looked down upon is not because they're not "classics", it's simply because they're poorly written. For the most part, there's little to no editing. The writers are essentially paid to write as many words as they can, as fast as they can. They also use limited and non-inspiring vocabulary in the majority of their work. Finding a Star Trek or Star Wars novel that you can sit back and say "Not only was the plot excellent, but the writer was able to express the story and ideas in an intelligent and cohesive manner." is an impossibility.
The stories and plots may be good, but the writing is at the level of a middle school student.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @Grave: haha, class.

@Kirbytheslayer: Proud Norwegian Defense Force Supporter: you as well sir. and yes, i see what you did with your name there.

i know they were trying to be cadid, but yeah, it came off weak. I expect better from NPR, as often, im a fan.

TheIrishNinja

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Ok, I'm sorry for being Mr Defenso of NPR...and I know no one attacked NPR, just Joffe-Walt but ok. Here goes.

@RawSteelUT: NPR has an average of 20 million listeners a week. That's, ya know, a lot. Or so the Washington Post says. How many people play Halo 3 a week? Hrm.

Oh, and she sounded like a snob. "what a total bitch" Geesh.

budash2

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> Chana Joffe-Walt O'Reilly, it seems like.

mmx

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> I don't regularly listen to NPR, but then again I don't regularly listen (or watch) ANY partisan coverage. I like to keep my mind as filtered from bile and immersed in credible and critical information as is possible in contemporary times. (Which is to say, perhaps not very possible at all) But, I'll say the following - it would seem stories generally DON'T matter in games. They move you from point A to B, but I would weary of suggesting that this implies any sort of relevance. However the question of whether or not gamers read is almost laughable enough to make me hope that this was an attempt at humor on Joffe-Walt's part. We spent the better part of the 90s and early 00s honing our reading skills before voice acting became the standard, and, god bless us, we did it while some developers were shoveling terrible engrish down our throats. We've taken way too many bullets for team literacy for this to be taken seriously.

It's just a shame that video games, in many situations, still aren't something to be taken seriously as a form of expression and entertainment in themselves.

Intellectualdiot

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @RawSteelUT: NPR is left-winged?

Are you serious?

How could a publicly sponsored radio station that relies on the donations of charitable people possibly be liberal?

You're just making stuff up now.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

]]> <![CDATA["Do Gamers Read?"]]> @KaneTaker: Here here! I hate stuffy types who think that the only authors who matter are the ones that have been dead for 100 or so years. He can have his literary prejudice, I'll take the Star Trek novel.

RawSteelUT

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