Gamer - not a human, unlike an alcoholic
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Hello, friends. What would I like to say on this beautiful Monday morning?

Once again, I received this response from a potential advertiser: "Currently, no one is interested in gamers." A sad story: gamers in public consciousness (and consequently, in the minds of advertisers) are still regarded as a caste of miserable, poor, and incomprehensible individuals. They believe that gamers don't eat, drink, wear clothes, go to the movies, talk on the phone, buy hardware (mom gives it as gifts!), engage in sex, and certainly don't have children. In a word, they do nothing at all, and they need nothing in this life. This kind of attitude is not even afforded to alcoholics and drug addicts, who have long since been learned to profit from.

Many of my colleagues in the gaming industry have faced similar nonsense; many are extremely eager to break this stereotype: some - to attract a new audience to gamer circles (Mail, PlayStation, MS), others - to sell their audience to advertisers (media). At the same time - what’s surprising (actually, it’s not) - no one is striving to break this stereotype through any action, everyone just talks and talks... and then disperses.

In the country, there are, for the most part, only two events aimed at breaking the stereotype "gamers are not people": Miss Gamer and Gamer Live. It is at these events that you can see a living, real gamer: they are into sports, love paintball, and adore having fun with friends.

The industry supports these events (Miss Gamer and Gamer Live) reluctantly. There are pleasant exceptions, but the overall picture is bleak. Short-sighted gaming media are in no rush to write about these events because it, quote, "promotes the Gamer portal, and Gamer is our competitor." Short-sighted game publisher managers are not willing to do anything more complex than purchasing registrations cheaply. Everyone is pulling the blanket towards themselves, not thinking about what tomorrow will bring.

Let me tell you what will happen: the media will die from lack of funding. 90% of paper magazines about games have closed in the country, countless sites are in a coma. Publishers will go bankrupt since without specialized publications shaping the mindset, there will be no new wave of gaming audience. Games will remain a niche, almost marginal entertainment, as before. This is sad.

Today, I received a refusal to participate in Gamer Live from two main sponsors. To help you understand why sponsors are needed, and that it’s not as simple as it seems:

1. Accommodation, meals in a suburban boarding house for 2.5 days: 900,000 roubles, 150 people (with a 30% discount),

2. Round trip transfer (2 buses x 70 seats, 2 trips): 40,000 roubles,

3. Work of the auxiliary team (logistics, equipment installation, organizational issues for the event): 250,000 roubles,

4. Paintball: from 150,000 roubles, or laser tag from 50,000 roubles,

5. DJ/sound engineer: 20,000 roubles,

6. Printing (badges, program, branded wall): 20,000 roubles,

7. Volleyball, football, swimming pool: 50,000 roubles,

8. Work of the Gamer.ru team on weekends: 0 roubles (we are ready to work for you for free).

It is obvious that the money raised from tickets cannot cover all these expenses, even if the price is raised to the level of a tour in Egypt. It is also clear that with this arrangement, many would prefer Egypt.

So, I received a refusal from the sponsors. It’s a pity that the active and enthusiastic guys I saw at Gamer Live are of no interest to anyone. Once again: even alcoholics and loafers receive more attention from the outside world. For us, the Gamer.ru team, all this time it has been very difficult to swim against the disgusting current alone. We are tired, we are taking a vacation.

There will be no outgoing Gamer Live forum this year.