Chill out dude. I didn't say you were a bro gamer, I didn't say I agreed with the term. I tried to answer Caskain's question on "how did they alienate gamers", and yes, part of it is the sentiment of catering to bro gamers. But notice the usage of quotes. Follow your own advice.

Okay "hipster gamer". Notice the usage of quotes.

The point you're making is essentially that people that might enjoy popular franchises or particular genres of games aren't "real gamers" but a lower, subclass of gamers.

The point I'm making is that just because someone enjoys playing Madden (or football) does not mean that they don't also enjoy smaller, independent games ('yeah, most people have never heard of it'). We can be "gamers" too you know...

No your logic is just incorrect. This is simple propositional logic. If P -> Q does not imply If Q -> P. Bro gamers tend to like games like Madden & CoD. Because you like Madden & CoD does not make you a bro gamer.

What is the defining characteristic of a "bro gamer" then?

It's bros... that are gamers.

'bro gamer' is just a term used by some gamers to feel superior to the CoD demographic (which is everybody). It seems to me to be a kind of signaling used to mark themselves out as 'serious' gamers who think about 'serious' issues while they blow stuff up and shoot zombies.

It's not a a stretch to call FPS games low brow.

I don't play FPS games, but I know smart and sensitive people who do. They don't pretend it's not a badly justified gorefest though, just like smart people who listen to Manowar don't.

A lot of people are very let down by games that get reviews just gushing over the plot and the atmosphere and puzzles but end up being 90% gore and FPS (like Bioshock for example).

But the referent of the "bro gamer" slight is not the game as you seem to be arguing, but the gamer.

It's not everybody. CoD has a very large demographic and it encompasses a significant chunk of the console and hardcore PC gaming market, and they're better games than people give credit for, but they're far from universal appeal.

Well, if you only like Madden, you probably are. It's like if you collected art, but only art with football players in it.

You sir or madam have just given me my next startup idea.

It's true =\

I appreciate your honesty ;-)