“The history of the games industry is, ironically, not about industry in a lot of ways – it is about community.
– Keith Stuart in “Gamer Communities: The Positive Side” article in The Guardian
Online gaming through popular systems like Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation allow massive numbers of people from all over the world to participate in shared experiences. This collective nature of gamers is at the heart of the new online clothing outlet, gamergearclothing.com. Gamer Gear by GameMasters was launched in January to serve as the leading identity for the gaming community.
Four out of five U.S. households own a gaming device, while an estimated 155 million Americans play video games. Gamer Gear’s mission is to provide a strong identity for members of the gamer community, who can proudly wear the Gamer Gear logo on a high-quality lin
e of apparel, starting with T-shirts, hoodies and hats.
“GameMasters LLC was formed in 2011 with a trademarked logo and slogan as a brand for sports legends. Soon, the “I Mastered This Game” slogan was looked upon by others as a brand for gamers. We realized we had created a universal logo and slogan to represent the gamer community,” explained Denver entrepreneur and company owner Al Bowen.
While the target markets for the new logo-wear are both males and females between the ages of 18 and 50, the Gamer Gear Clothing website offers t-shirts and hoodies in adult sizes from small to double extra-large for women and up to triple extra-large for men. They come in original and controller logo styles and a variety of color combinations. The hats come in both flat brimmed and curved brims.
One of the brand’s first customers, Jyael Gervin, said he likes the colors, bold designs and the slogan, “I Mastered This Game.” The young gamer expects the brand to catch on with other gamers.
While some see gaming as an isolated activity with one to three friends in one room, the more common way to play has become interactive games with people in many locations.
Gaming tournaments and live-streaming videos of top gamers are also popular ways for the community to interact. Gamer Gear Clothing closes the gap in that distance between gamers and connects them.
“We want the gamer community to embrace our brand, and we want to give back to the community as well. On our website at the HELPING THE GAMING COMMUNITY menu tab, nonprofit organizations can apply to receive a percentage of product purchase revenues as a donation to help their causes,” Bowen said.
Youth collections and an e-sports series are soon to come, and new products are planned for release on a regular basis.
Editor’s note: For more information visit, www.gamergearclothing.com.
