So what exactly are hardcore gamers?

Once upon a time, I thought I knew the difference between hardcore and casual gamers, but these days I'm not too sure. Is it the type of games one plays? Is it how many hours one puts into playing games? Does console vs. PC factor into it somehow? I'm sure all of these are apart of it, but I just don't know how anymore. I have to wonder if game developers have the same definitions as the demographics they're developing for, or even the same definition as other game developers.

Obviously, someone whose only ever played Mario Party is a casual gamer, and pro Star Craft players are certainly hardcore gamers, but there's a whole lot of room between those. What about Call Of Duty junkies? In the past I woulda called them hardcore gamers, but these days I'd have troubled calling someone how only ever plays a single game a gamer period. Someone who plays a lot of jrpgs? They've played a lot of games, and doubtless have dumped a lot of hours into them, but I don't think jrpgs have ever been considered hardcore games, so I dunno.

So I'm honestly interested in what everyone else thinks. What's your definitions of casual and hardcore gamers?

edited 10th Jun '11 12:36:56 PM by Blissey1

I think they are meaningless terms people use to justify an argument.

It's all about competition and commitment.

Hardcore gamers seek challenge.

No.

NO.

Platform preference, to me, has NOTHING to do with being "hardcore". Neither is genre preference (lol @ people who think you must play Ultra Super Death Gore Fest Chainsawer 3000 to qualify as hardcore).

It all boils down to whether you play games simply to relieve stress, or whether you play to accomplish goals or have some nice healthy competition.

In my opinion you're a "hardcore" gamer when you stop doing it as a hobby. Meaning you center your life around gaming, as opposed to centering your gaming around your life. Tournament players, Professional gamers, and (paid) reviewers are what I'd call "hardcore" gamers.

People that play Etrian Odyssey.

I don't think it really has a definition.

Most of the time I've seen it used, it seems to mean "people who like First Person Shooters," but that's kinda a dumb definition.

There's no formal definition beyond the general "plays non-casual videogames a lot". In practice, it really just serves to allow people online to gain feelings of belonging to a group and superiority over those outside of that group.

Gamers who are better than casual gamers, obviously

People who think they're better than casual gamers.

> people who like First Person Shooters

^ people who play that mainstream First Person Shooter I like

edited 10th Jun '11 1:03:05 PM by Aminatep

I always identified them as "Stop Having Fun" Guys gamers for some reason.

Those guys need a properly demeaning title just for them. Like "Tourneyfag" only with less connotations to hate crimes.

I grew up on NES and SNES games, and even Atari ones. Am I a hardcore sis?

In the industry? A core gamer is someone who dedicates a lot of money to games in a year.

In the fandom? Fuck if I know, definition changes to whatever will make you sound cooler than the muggles.

I like to put the brackets as "Hardcore"=someone that is always on the lookout for the next Atlus release and enjoys a broad variety of games, and digs deep to find those games. I'd say just about everyone on this forum is "Hardcore" because gaming is important enough to us all that we are having serious discussions about the medium and devote a large portion of our free time to it.

"Mainstream" equal the Call Of Duty kiddies and the Madden fans. They spend a lot of time playing games, but their exposure to the medium is actually very shallow because they only experience the popular games everyone's talking about. They don't care enough about games to identify with a particular genre or form opinions on the medium other than "I think the next Halo should have better guns."

"Casual" would be Your Mom.

That's just my ranking though. I don't expect it to be widely used.

edited 10th Jun '11 1:39:40 PM by ShirowShirow

I can be a Fatlus and still be a hardcore gamer?

Yay!

a hardcore gamer is a gamer who has played just enough video games to not be considered new to the concept of gaming, but not mature enough to critically assess the role gaming has to play in their lives, is a hardcore gamer.

Hardcore gamer = Someone who takes gaming too seriously?

That'd just raise the question as to what "Too seriously" would mean and bring us back to square one.

Playing a difficult game that pisses you off, bitching about it, and continuing to play...while bitching about it?

edited 10th Jun '11 2:13:59 PM by NULLcHiLD27

That'd just throw in everyone who plays World Of Warcraft. World Of Warcraft is sooooo incredibly mainstream, man. It sold out.

I doubt that it just throws them in. But that might cover a portion of what hardcore gamers might do as opposed to casual gamers. Maybe.

I think we have our definition. Gamers are the gaming sphere's hipsters.

edited 10th Jun '11 2:20:13 PM by red223

You'd think that. But World Of Warcraft is often lambasted for being too casual, which seems to amount to not being grindy enough.

edited 10th Jun '11 2:21:25 PM by Neo_Crimson

Heres the funny thing.

The term Casual is easy to basically define. It means a person who normally does not play games and plays easily accessible games (which can be defined as games in the loosest of terms) such as farmville, or wii fit.

Hardcore however can have alot of meetings that is hard to track. People usually think the 2 are opposites, and hardcore usually means just someone who plays games normally.

Others think its for gamers who take gaming extremely seriously.