Casual
Blanket PR term cunningly used in press release guff to repel any accusations of simplicity, shallowness, dullness or a complete absence of traditional gameplay in any given product. [Alternatively: Casual Gamer, someone who plays Bejewelled at work and got a Wii for Christmas in 2006]
"Wii Mini-Game Hand-Flinging Madness 5 is the latest in the popular casual gaming series, giving casual gamers exactly the casual gameplay their casual needs demand - lots of casual arm waving!"
Disc Read Error
Common PSone/PS2 error message euphemism loosely translated as "rub the disc a bit with your jumper, turn your console upside down, try again and pray really, really hard".
"Why's your console perched upside down on the cat at a 45 degree angle, Tom?"
"Disc Read Error"
Electronic Arts
Or just EA. The pantomime villain in gaming's ongoing stage show. Now cleaning up its act, going all 'New IP' and generally surprising gamers the world over. [Alternatively: Sequel Factory, Annual Updates, Yearly Iterations]
"So do we have to stop hating on EA now?"
"Nah, I think it's all got to be some evil kind of double bluff"
Fanboys
Gaming culture's trainspotters, commonly spotted engaging in nuclear-strength arguments on comment threads of aggregation sites or forums.Generally split into three camps: Sony soldiers, Xbox zealotsor Nintendo nutters. Note: Level of console commitment isinversely proportionate to grammatical and vocabularyability.
"Did Joey see the new Zelda?"
"No, Frank! He's a Sony fanboy, if you showed him that he'd be physically sick!"
HD/SDTV
A perverse form of one-upmanship involving obscene amounts of cash and lengthy discussions with loved ones patiently detailing exactly why upgrading from a perfectly good SDTV to a shiny new HDTV LCD flat screen monolith is worth the negligible sacrifice of never going on holiday again. [Alternatively: In-built Obsolescence, Keeping Up With The Joneses]
"But, honey, why do we need this HDTV whatsimathing? Is our TV broken?"
"Well, no, not exactly, but, you see, it's important and... Yes. Yes it's broken"
