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[Tschumi]

No.. unless it was something hideously lucrative like the NFL i don't think i would have tried to do any professional sport, you pay for it in so many ways~

And, like with game reviewers, I'm really not sure i would love a game if i had to play it day after day, year on year...

Ahh wait a second, i raided in vanilla wow for like 6 years all up i should stfu

 

[belteshazzar]

No, I love gaming but I think it kinda defeats its purpose if it becomes my job.

 

[Vawn]

Sure, why not. But, I'd choose other things first. I'd rather be Patrick Mahomes or Bryce Harper than Ninja, for example.

 

[quickwhips]

You guys are crazy. I am a professional gamer! I just don’t make much money doing it. Its a labor of live.

 

[OptimistPrime]

The number of pro gamers that could retire from their winnings/advertising is very small. The window of relevance you will have in the field is very small, if anything because of waning reaction time with age.

This means there's a good chance that a moderately successful pro gamer will find themselves at age 35 without any marketable skill set and without much money.

 

[Yumi]

Nope. But I would have liked to learn how to write music for video games (and other mediums). Or sound design. Being popular on the internet, especially in the gaming community seems like a pain in the ass.

 

[Chromata]

I wouldn't. I'm not passionate about it in a 'career/life's purpose' sense, I'm passionate about it in a 'hobby' sense.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Nope because I'm not a pedophile

 

[The Fartist]

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

Nope because I'm not a pedophile

Twitch Prime causes paedophilia.

 

[TaySan]

Nah im terrible at multiplayer and generally prefer single player experience s.

 

[nkarafo]

No, i like playing games for fun whenever i feel like it. I wouldn't want to wake up and think stuff like "oh, i have to play this particular game for at least that amount of time today". Especially considering i will have to play multiplayer games mostly and i never like those.

Though, if i could make as much money in one day as i do now in one month, i would just do a couple of streams per month and be done with it.

 

[frogger]

Absolutely no.

 

[Blond]

If I made millions yeah, because then I could bounce out of there.

 

[Belmonte]

I don't think there is any cringe in being a professional gamer, but it is not for me.

Pro player: I love too much genres to play only one game/genre. You can't be a professional Street Fighter player and have the time to finish all those snes JRPGs.

Streamer: I would not like to spoil my gaming experience trying to entertain the viewers.

Gaming is more than a hobby for me. But I want to contribute to gaming as a developer.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

I don't think there is any cringe in being a professional gamer, but it is not for me.

Pro player: I love too much genres to play only one game/genre. You can't be a professional Street Fighter player and have the time to finish all those snes JRPGs.

I don't know if that's entirely true. ZeRO the pedophile was at one point the best smash bros player bit he still had time for JRPGs,

 

[Investor9872]

Nope! If I had a chance to pick any profession I want, I would definitely pick.....being a pornstar! Wait. Still can.

 

[Belmonte]

I don't know if that's entirely true. ZeRO the pedophile was at one point the best smash bros player bit he still had time for JRPGs,

Well... after 6-8 hours practicing per day, I'm not sure I would enjoy playing more, even if from a different genre.

 

[Happosai]

Everywhere you look today, it's quite impressive that playing video games is now taken seriously as an actual job profession. Like yeah, we always had people who played in tournaments or tested games as part of development, but it's actually spawned an entire genre where people can make millions just streaming their content to the internet now.

But for all the boomers on Neogaf who were born before this stuff took off, would you have gone down this path and made playing video games your career or would you pass?

For me, I remember back in 2004-2005 I was actually a heavy Starcraft player. So much so, I had the idea to go to my Middle School principal and tried to pitch to him an idea I wanted to form a Starcraft Gaming Club.
Back then, the idea was turned down because the school didn't really want to promote playing video games, however, I was allowed to start a separate club that allowed board games instead.

In retrospect, had I been really serious about it, I could have still gone ahead with my idea, especially since I learned there are professional Starcraft tournaments still being held today. I could have even created the first Canadian E-Sports Team. Ooof.

My wife loves playing video games. However, I can't imagine coming home and saying, "Honey, just finished a hard day of boss battles." I think something more ambitious like studying to become a game developer, artist, etc might garner more respect and less cringe.

 

[Ikutachi]

Only as a small supplement to a dead-end job.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Only for the attention. I turned into Justin.TV before they were Twitch and watched that. Then I saw Twitch become all about subs, premium subs to the site, and then all the celebs that came with it. I have nothing against what it is, but I'm not big into doing whatever that is.

I use to get so bored watching a friend play Halo 2 for 10 hours a day. Now a days streamers get paid to play that long, sometimes they get early access, and it just feels strange to me. I use to care about my friends playing and now its all about someone who makes over a million a year doing it. People get played to play games I don't like and they don't exactly have the talent of a hollywood actor. Its a bunch of jokes, drama, and often times the person has nothing of real value to add to your own game time.

I would rather tell you to go play a game versus watch someone else play it for you.

Playing a game for that long, for those reasons is boring to me. Its an easy way to get burned out on a genre.

 

[deriks]

I kinda thought way back in the Need for Speed Most Wanted, because there was going to be a championship in the state, and I was very good at it, but I got sick or something and didn't went to.

I'm still good at racing games, and a fierce Mario Kart player, but I'd rather play for the fun

 

[idrago01]

I only really follow the fighting game community, but I wouldn't simply because eventually it becomes your job and the people you associate and collaborate with will most likely either be SJW's or losers/criminals (take a look at all of those smash pedos and scammers for proof) at least that's true here in America. Elsewhere it might be different and playing video games for a living isn't as looked down upon, Japan and Korea for instance seem to have higher character e-sport pros who get genuine endorsements and mainstream respect.

 

[Strider311]

Negative. Gaming is a hobby. Sure it is one I am passionate about, but I’d prefer my REAL life to be worth something. To have meaning.

 

[Fuz]

No. It's stupid.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Best way to destroy a hobby you love is to do it as a profession.

 

[JordanN]

No. It's stupid.

Playing games is stupid?

Sounds like something the jealous sibling would say. There's definitely some skill involved when you look at professional fighting game or strategy game tournaments.
Like watch the timestamp and tell me you could do this.

 

[Sejan]

Professional gaming is a job that requires insane hours with very little chance of making enough money to make the time investment worthwhile. Most professional gamers whether they are YouTube creators, twitch steamers, or competitors often describe a feeling of not being able to take even a short vacation without losing ground in their field. I’d much rather do other work and enjoy gaming as a hobby.

 

[Gravemind]

No, I dont think so. I cant play a game for 4 hours straight before feeling like a peice of shit, let alone for ~8 hours a day, every day. At the end of it I'd just feel like I wasted my life inside, staring at a screen, trying to entertain 12 year olds.

Dont get me wrong, it would be nice to be a multi millionaire from just playing games, but me and my wife already both have great jobs with rock solid job security, pensions, etc. We can pretty much do whatever we want money wise anyway, and have most of what we want. If I was making millions playing games, i would just be spending it on more dumb shit.

 

[MisterBrimstone]

Lol I would pick any career if it guaranteed me Shroud amounts of money.

 

[anab0lic36]

Already have done in the past, first as a game tester for a big well know older studio, not long after I left school. Which I thought would be a dream Job,...who wouldn't wanna get paid to play games all day right? Turned out to not be what I had hoped for, long hours playing the same unfinished levels over and over and over and over trying to break the game, ... to make matters worse it was a game that I didn't really care for. Looking back I probably could have used that opportunity to work my way up within the company, but I was young and impatient and have never really been the sort of person that likes to work under others, I prefer to be in control.

Then years later I got into competitive esports. However, this was back when esports was in its early infancy and the prize for winning a Lan event barely covered your cost of travel and hotel stay. No regrets with that though, it was for the love of the game and wanting to be the best at something that was by no means easy to be good at, more so than the financial gain. The growth and experience from that endeavour was priceless.

I don't think I could do the whole streaming thing. It seems that those who make anything from that, are the sort that put on this fake persona where they over react to everything and become this dancing monkey to amuse their audience. Just the thought of doing that all day long sounds more exhausting and soul destroying than some of the most brutal manual labour jobs i subjected myself when I was younger.

If I were to get back into the industry professionally again it would be creatively. Id like to try my hand at some game design, though I would want full creative freedom over its design, so it would be some small indie project of sorts.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Not unless I knew for sure I could pull in Ninja money or something. It's not a long-term career and would be very hard to turn yourself into any other kind of "celebrity." You also won't gain many skills that would be transferrable to another career, so unless you really make the big bucks and invest it so you can live off passive income for the rest of your life, you're not going to have a very good time after you turn 35 or so.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Even when I was a teenager I thought Pro-gamers is so cringe. Its good if its making you awesome cash but most of them look like virgin morons. The only cool pro-gamer I rememeber is FATAL1TY.

 

[anab0lic36]

Even when I was a teenager I thought Pro-gamers is so cringe. Its good if its making you awesome cash but most of them look like virgin morons. The only cool pro-gamer I rememeber is FATAL1TY.

That guy is actually still around... streams on twitch sometimes. The guy who was one of the OG pioneers in turning esports into what it is today... averages around 20 or so viewers....

 

[idrago01]

Playing games is stupid?

Sounds like something the jealous sibling would say. There's definitely some skill involved when you look at professional fighting game or strategy game tournaments.
Like watch the timestamp and tell me you could do this.

I mean you and I know how difficult that is mentally and coordination wise to parry that super in a championship tournament setting with justin mashing like a mad monkey next to you and the crowd going crazy. But the reality is that most people probably just see someone pressing buttons. It's kind of sad in a way because you dedicate your life into the game and really only a few people can truly appreciate what you're doing and everyone else you know just thinks you're wasting your life playing a video game. That's the the sad reality of being a pro. The way it is now there's very little money and prestige outside your video game circle, I think most pros just do it because they love competition.

 

[idrago01]

Even when I was a teenager I thought Pro-gamers is so cringe. Its good if its making you awesome cash but most of them look like virgin morons. The only cool pro-gamer I rememeber is FATAL1TY.

It may be so, but I always respect someone having the courage to go after their passion or dream irregardless of how it is perceived.

 

[Bonfires Down]

If I could do it like Robbaz and put out one 10 minute video a week - Fuck yes.

Streaming 8 hours a day? Fuck no.

 

[fran.fernandez]

No way, as a hobby ok. And if it start making money as a hobby then maybe ...

Need to have some base before deciding a career, if u sucks as gamer there’s not much you can do later on...

 

[Kagey K]

When I was a kid, hell yeah. It was my dream.

As an adult, fuck no, it seems like I would have been sexually assaulted , had my kid dreams comes true.

 

[JordanN]

When I was a kid, hell yeah. It was my dream.

Your post reminded me,

I use to watch a show called "Video and Arcade Top 10" as a kid.

It was the first time I saw people playing video games and winning prizes. Although the prizes wasn't money, but like, tickets to go see Medieval Times. Or Bop-it.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

It may be so, but I always respect someone having the courage to go after their passion or dream irregardless of how it is perceived.

I didnt say it was a bad dream but lets be honest, all of us would of wanted to make money out of gaming. Its not like they went to this specific college to reach their goals. It literally came down to you having actual skill and your parents being the ones supporting your gaming addiction which we all had as kids or even now. I dont think their dream was any bigger then your or mine, they were just gamers that made money playing games. A teenager will gladly forfeit college in order to play games, I highly doubt any of these guys had a difficult decision of choosing school or begging their mom to let them play longer. Being a graffitti painter or a martial artist and making it..thats following your dream. A boy gamer...all of us were/are gamers so I cant say they followed their dream, they just stayed more nerdy.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

That guy is actually still around... streams on twitch sometimes. The guy who was one of the OG pioneers in turning esports into what it is today... averages around 20 or so viewers....

I know, its sad. But his time has come and gone and unfortunately the whole arena shooter genre. But I remember his as this guy and if im not wrong one of the first pro gamers to earn 100.000+ USD per match. Now we have people play in Korea for a million lol. But FATAL1TY was the first dude that had his own merch as well. He really marketed himself well and as you said pioneered esports gaming we know today.

 

[Mr.ODST]

No, I am an esports consultant and the amount of times I have to deal with gamers who realize their careers have only lasted for 1 or 2 years to then crashing out and becoming either jobless or irrelevant.

Only a good 0.8 - 1% of people make it professional and even then a short career path these days

 

[Martinski43]

Would’ve probably more fun than any normal jobs I’ve had. But I’m not good enough and video games to be a ‘pro’

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Would not have changed a single thing how my life has gone to this point.