[General Discussion] What is a gamer, anyway?

I'd say the answer to this is fairly simplistic. A "gamer" is anyone that plays any real kind of game usually a bit more than a normal person would, for entertainment/competitive purposes by themselves or with friends.

In the past, a gamer was simply anyone that played video games to any length. These days, there's more of a "hardcore/casual" inference going on with how people tend to describe others that play games. I wouldn't say next-generation systems caused it moreso than the advent of people who have given the connotation a derogatory meaning by playing certain games (WOW/Halo FTL) almost 24/7 in a bid to be the next raiding/highest ranked superstar.

The only thing that has really changed over the years is the demographic and the structure of how gaming is perceived. In the past, games were simplistic and could be beaten in one sitting usually. These days, games are a multimedia franchise with cinematics and symphonic musical scores.

Has it changed? You bet. Have most gamers that grew up with games changed? Some, but not all.

The only thing that will never change is that having a good game (or good experience in getting to that point, as per your example of Colonel Skills) with friends around is almost always going to be an entertaining experience regardless of the game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.