The Big Bang Theory was a thing. It isn't an accurate depiction of a seemingly obscure group of people, it's just about creating or confirming lazy stereotypes. Nobody would actually ask one of these people what being a gamer is like (or even care), but watching a show about it where everything is extremely exaggerated could be entertaining enough. Before The Big Bang Theory, every science enthusiast (whether professional or not) was considered either boring or arrogant, but now everybody can equate them with the closest TBBT character and be done with it. No idea whether this overall a good or bad thing. It makes these people more approachable for most, but then again it's not particularly flattering to be put into one category with fictional characters that exhibit pathological mental issues by most standards.