Professional gamer

Professional gamers generally play video games for prize money or salaries. Usually, such individuals deeply study
the game in order to master it and usually to play in competitions like esports.[42] A pro gamer may also be another
type of gamer, such as a hardcore gamer, if he or she meets the additional criteria for that gamer type. In countries of
Asia, particularly South Korea and China, professional gamers and teams are sponsored by large companies and
can earn more than US$100,000 a year.[43] In 2006, Major League Gaming contracted several Halo 2 players
including Tom "Tsquared" Taylor and members of Team Final Boss with $250,000 yearly deals.[44] Many
professional gamers find that competitions are able to provide a substantial amount of money to support themselves.
However, oftentimes, these popular gamers can locate even more lucrative options. One such option is found
through online live streaming of their games. These gamers who take time out of their lives to stream make money
from their stream, usually through sponsorships with large companies looking for a new audience or donations from
their fans just trying to support their favorite streamer. Live streaming often occurs through popular websites such
as Twitch, Hitbox, Mixer and YouTube. Professional gamers with particularly large followings can often bring their fan
bases to watch them play on live streams. An example of this is shown through retired professional League of
Legends player Wei "CaoMei" Han-Dong.[45] Han-Dong had decided to retire from esports due to his ability to
acquire substantially higher pay through live streaming. His yearly salary through the Battle Flag TV live streaming
service increased his pay to roughly $800,000 yearly.[citation needed] Live streaming can be seen by many as a truly
lucrative way for professional gamers to make money in a way that can also lessen the pressure in the competitive
scene.We are seeing a rapid increase in the young video game players wanting to be Professional Gamers instead
of the "pro athlete". The career path of becoming a professional gamer is open for anyone any race, gender, and
background.[46] A gamer is a person who plays video games for long periods of time, on gaming consoles ranging
from PC's to Xbox's and PlayStation's. In countries like the UK and Australia, gaming stands for legalized gambling.
The gaming community now has developed at a much faster rate and now is being considered esports. These more
serious gamers are professional gamers; they are individuals that take the average everyday gaming much more
seriously and profit from how they perform.[47]

Retrogamer
Main article: Retrogaming
A retro gamer is a gamer who prefers to play, and often enough collect, retro games—older video games and arcade
games. They may also be called classic gamers or old-school gamers, which are terms that are more prevalent in
the United States. The games are played on the original hardware, on modern hardware via emulation, or on modern
hardware via ports or compilations (though those 'in the hobby' tend toward original hardware and emulation).[48]

Classification in taxonomies
A number of taxonomies have been proposed which classify gamer types and the aspects they value in games.[49]
The Bartle taxonomy of player types classifies gamers according to their preferred activities within the game:

 Achievers, who like to gain points and overall succeed within the game parameters, collecting all rewards
and game badges.
 Explorers, who like to discover all areas within the game, including hidden areas and glitches, and expose all
game mechanics.
 Socializers, who prefer to play games for the social aspect, rather than the actual game itself.
 Beaters, who thrive on competition with other players.
 Completionists, who are combinations of the Achiever and Explorer types. They complete every aspect of the
game (main story, side quests, achievements) while finding every secret within it.
The MDA framework describes various aspects of the game regarding the basic rules and actions (Mechanics), how
they build up during game to develop the gameplay (Dynamics), and what emotional response they convey to the
player (Aesthetics). The described esthetics are further classified as Sensation, Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge,
Fellowship, Discovery, Expression and Submission. Jesse Schell extends this classification with
Anticipation, Schadenfreude, Gift giving, Humour, Possibility, Pride, Purification, Surprise, Thrill, Perseverance and
Wonder, and proposes a number of generalizations of differences between how males and females play.[50]