Okay, before I get going on this, I just want to set the record straight: This is not directed at anyone specifically. This isn't about individual personalities, it is about a group of people. A trend. A disposition, if you will. A particular trait that has been popping up more and more. Again, this is not about you (singular) it is about us (plural). And, before someone points it out, yes, I am as guilty of this as anyone. Okay, with that out of the way, here goes...

Why do gamers whine so much?

That might seem like an unfair question. Like I'm making a sweeping generalization, and maybe I am. But if you look really closely at any of the millions of forums, blogs, or groups dedicated to the discussion of gaming, the overwhelming majority of the comments and articles you come across are made by, for lack of a better term, haters.

"What do you mean they dropped the PS3 price?!?!" 

We whine when game release dates get pushed back. We grouse about the price of games. We bitch that the games are too short/too buggy/too easy. We moan about the supposed abusive treatment we get from developers, publishers, retailers, and just about anyone else even tangentially involved in gaming.

And our whining is not good-natured. We are not attempting to gain any resolution when we complain. We don't offer solutions; we can't. Since we don't make the games ourselves, we can't actually affect any outcomes. The truth of the matter is that we can be right mean bastards when we want to be. And that part I get: by and large, we tend to be an intelligent, well-read and well-spoken demographic. 

The real question is: why the hell are we so miserable?

Although most games ship with a couple of faults, for the most part, this is a golden era for video games. Graphics have never been as good (and keep getting better), there has never been such diversity, not only in the games that can be played, but also in the systems we can play them on. Today is the greatest day to be a gamer, until tomorrow comes along. But to look at the way we talk, you'd think the sky was falling.  

So I put it to all of you: what is our problem? Why are we reduced to petulant children at even slightest rumor attached to gaming? Why do we think we're entitled to something more than what we get?

Is this what the world sees when they see gamers? 

Again, since I am a gamer, I have no solutions. I could sit here and tell you all to suck it up, to quit your bitching and to enjoy the ride. But we all know that it would be useless. You're going to do what you're going to do. In fact, I have already prepared myself for the inevitable backlash that's coming. You will attempt to tell me that I'm the one who's wrong, that we are being abused, that the games aren't that great, and blah blah blah.

But remember as you ready your flames to this post: you will be proving my point.