Even though I am not a gamer but I have noticed. I remember the gaming scene from ten years ago because of my friends who were into it. They would buy hardware worth thousands of dollars and I would scoff at the 'epic waste' of money they were making.
They didn't gave crap about what anybody else thought and slaved away at building empires or crushing opponents. Then came the gamin events, where people could actually earn back the money they put in their hardware and then some. But looking at today's gaming scene I don't even recognize it anymore............ basically the idea of gaming has transcended the stereotype and there is money to be made - REAL BIG MONEY.
Major personalities have come out of their gamer closet in the last few years and have admitted to their love of gaming. Whether that's a publicity stunt or not, that is something I am not sure. The best part is that guys back from the school days, they still don't give a crap as long as they have their hardware close by and access to internet :-)