Michelle’s Claims as a Girl Gamer
Anyone who’s followed Michelle for a long time is aware of her endless self-promotion as a girl gamer. This post isn’t meant to be a pretentious way of telling people what qualifies them as a girl gamer, or even a gamer for that matter. Our problem is her arrogance of taking her love of video games to another level by making claims that, as evidence shows, are hard to believe.
At first, her “pretty-gamer-girl” image was endearing. She related to her readers and made them feel like it was okay for girls to be geeks, nerds, dorks, gamers, or a little bit of everything. It’s somewhat of a recent trend how geek girls and girl gamers have exploded in the media and became “cool,” mostly due to the advancements in computer/phone technology, social networking, and video games. On the contrary, if you’re comfortable with yourself, why worry about labels?
So why does Michelle go out of her way to portray herself as this hot girl who plays videos games? There are plenty of girls and women out there who love video games, even if it’s just a hobby or something they wish to make a career out of. Women who are recognized for their talents don’t go around shouting to the world how awesome they are at something. However, Michelle decides to make her self stand out by constantly declaring how hardcore and nerdy she is, to the point where it feels a bit overdone:
From her blog…
To her myspace…
to her Youtube channel…
…and 1up page…
We get it, Michelle. There’s no need to make yourself seem different on every social networking site you join.
What is she trying to prove? If she wants to be recognized as a “gamer,” then it’s more convincing to show people what she can do rather than talk and post pictures of herself in front of consoles:
Nerd is the new cool, is it?
Spelling elven as eleven really backs up that statement.
I’m convinced of her nerdiness, since she seems so impressed with herself at throwing out a piece of common knowledge (which, if you want to get technical, is still incorrect).
Back to the gaming issue…
Remember from a while back when she said she’d be hosting a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 contest?
Michelle stated that the contestants will face her in order to win a product from her skincare line. This was a great way to prove herself as a gamer and get in touch with her fans. The funny thing is, she never participated in the matches. It was revealed that her ex-boyfriend actually played for her:
Girl gamer, indeed. For someone who loves video games, why did she have someone else play in this contest for her? To further doubt her claims of being a hardcore gamer, here is a compilation of some of her statistics:
In a BlogTV session, Michelle took the time to point out how addicted she was to WoW.
Back in 2007, the maximum level of this game was level 70. However, Michelle has only potentially reached an overall level of 26. A look at the ricebunny character playing in the Moonrunner realm reveals her level:
We’re not saying that people with low levels suck. Like most of the other issues we’ve discussed in previous articles, Michelle always seems to take it a step higher and exaggerate her passions and experiences. Even if you don’t play video games, you can tell just by looking that these aren’t very impressive stats:
Her entire Playstation 3 profile contains just three games with two at 0% progress:
It seems as though she’s the type of gamer that tries a game for a little while, then gets bored of it easily.
Here’s an excerpt from a blogTV session:
"I used to play Maple Story. That was such a cute game…back when I was… 17 years old? Maple Story, yup. I can’t believe it’s still around! That’s crazy!"
"I honestly think Assassin’s Creed is kind of boring. That’s just my opinion. I mean, it’s a cool game but kind of boring. It is, right? Isn’t it boring? I think it’s boring. Like, you’re just, jumping and pickpocketing people. It’s like, okay, this kind of like, a toned down version of Grand Theft Auto.
Yeah ____ is definitely cool (no idea what she said) That’s just cuz it’s innovative, that’s why.
"Ohh I wanna tell you guys about Uncharted 2. So apparently, you know the Asian girl? You guys know the Asian girl in Uncharted 2? So my friend works at um, he works at Naughty Dog where they make Uncharted, and …yeah, the Asian girl in Uncharted 2. Yes, my friend works there and he was creating the character and they wanted me to be the face. Like they wanted to render the character using my face for the girl. It was ABOUT to pass, and then someone’s like, "oh we don’t want the girl to be like, really popular, we just want a regular…we don’t want her to be inspired by anyone that’s popular." No, you guys know what I’m talking about. You guys have played Uncharted 2, the asian girl."
The way she describes her feelings towards video games as cute, boring, or cool, really ups her credibility. Then when she really started talking about a game (one she obviously hasn’t played) is when it had something to do with herself. It didn’t have anything to do with the game! Anyone else remember an Asian-girl character from Uncharted 2? Maybe Michelle was playing a version that never existed…or just pretended like she knew what she was talking about. That’s pretty hardcore of her.
She even has some experience with game reviews if you’re interested: Top Horror Games on My List
Michelle’s love of video games also extends to her fashion influences:
Apparently, Michelle decided to get in touch with her inner chocobo. It’s interesting how she chose to offset the negative feedback by justifying her choice due to her “whimsical” and “gamer” tendencies. People do not choose certain pieces because it reminds them of a video game. They choose an outfit because they believe it looks good on them. And from what we’ve seen, Michelle seems to need a little help in that department.
We know too, only because you keep saying so.
The most alarming thing of all is that she appears to be launching a gaming channel soon:
Some passionate girl gamers are insulted that someone like Michelle, who seems obviously more “fangirl” than “hardcore,” is using this as a platform to promote herself. It is hard to take Michelle’s claims as a gamer seriously when she has a rather laughable gaming background. Instead, it feels like she is exaggerating her “girl gamer” label to make herself stand out.
If you want a gamer’s perspective of what constitutes a girl gamer, check out what these people have to say: Gamespot Forums: Michelle Phan Plays Final Fantasy XIII
If you’d like to comment on this entry, please visit the blogger.
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