Hardcore/Casual Gaming: How do you define them?

[Blakkmantis]

Originally Posted by Retodon8

You're still right though, so at least we know that hardcore gamers are humans too.

Bah... Lies all lies!

[mykalgaidin]

For me, it all comes down to passion. A hardcore gamer is someone who is passionate about the games they play, for whatever system, at any time. For a casual gamer, gaming is a pastime, something to fill a few hours after work or an activity to do as a family.

One thing I'd like to make clear: neither is better than the other. Being hardcore doesn't make you better than everybody else, and casual gamers can love games too. Passion is the difference.

[xXxDanger]

I vote Other.

My definitions:

Hardcore Gaming - Intensely devoted and to be handle with care. Especially going up against the hardcore gamer.

Casual Gaming - Occasionally playing a few games spending a healthy timing.

[zanarix]

Originally Posted by mykalgaidin

For me, it all comes down to passion. A hardcore gamer is someone who is passionate about the games they play, for whatever system, at any time. For a casual gamer, gaming is a pastime, something to fill a few hours after work or an activity to do as a family.

One thing I'd like to make clear: neither is better than the other. Being hardcore doesn't make you better than everybody else, and casual gamers can love games too. Passion is the difference.

I never thought of it like this, and I have to say I agree with you after thinking about it tbh.

[mykalgaidin]

Been talking with my wife on this subject (I LOVE that she's willing to put up with my gaming, and has even become something of a gamer herself) and she thinks there should be a third categorization. For lack of a better term, I guess you could call it the voyeur gamer. This type of gamer doesn't play as many games as the hardcore, but does watch and can discuss the finer points of gaming with the hardcore gamer and knows far more than your average casual gamer. Anybody out there know (or have in your house) a voyeur gamer?

[koji042]

I usually try to avoid defining hardcore and casual gaming since I usually put my enjoyment of a game up front first and foremost.

But I suppose my definitions are something like:
hardcore - devotes a significant amount of time to playing games and knows the finer points of a game
casual - plays occasionally but mostly as a side thing

@mykalgaidin: I really like your new term; voyeur gamer. It sets the middle ground; which is something that people seem to forget a lot.

[mykalgaidin]

Originally Posted by koji042

@mykalgaidin: I really like your new term; voyeur gamer. It sets the middle ground; which is something that people seem to forget a lot.

Actually, my wife came up with that. But you're right. Far too many people only see things as black and white, us vs. them, right vs wrong, and fail to see that there is an entire spectrum between the two extreme ends, and most people fall in the middle. Whether they like it or not.

Always good to see intelligent discussion about, well, anything really.

[pops40k]

I went with It being based on how long or often, since I think most other things that effect it will lead to that.

Though things seem to have changed in the past few years. A few years ago I was more of a hardcore gamer than I am now. When I was a kid hard core gamers where not alot different than what they are now, with a couple exceptions.

Since the release of the Wii, it almost seems that Hardcore gamers are starting to turn into digital wine snobs. It seems that being a hardcore gamer has less to do with the games now than it does making sure that you're playing mature games with at least X hours of play, otherwise you're playing kiddy games that are apparently going to ruin gaming.

That one of the reasons I've come to like this site is that the people here seem less inclined to have that opinion, but in general alot of other places I go are filled with comments about how the Wii and casual gamers are ruining gaming.

[Dvader83]

Originally Posted by pops40k

Since the release of the Wii, it almost seems that Hardcore gamers are starting to turn into digital wine snobs. It seems that being a hardcore gamer has less to do with the games now than it does making sure that you're playing mature games with at least X hours of play, otherwise you're playing kiddy games that are apparently going to ruin gaming.

That one of the reasons I've come to like this site is that the people here seem less inclined to have that opinion, but in general alot of other places I go are filled with comments about how the Wii and casual gamers are ruining gaming.

I would agree with most of that except for one point. Those that consider themselves "hardcore gamers" are being proven to be somewhat correct by the fact that a good number of games released for the Wii are basically shovelware. Granted they are being bought by "casual gamers" like hotcakes, but it's lowering Nintendos' reputation in the eyes of the gamers that grew up during the battle between them and Sega for console supremacy. I know that is true in my case since I used to be in the Nintendo camp back then, but have lost interest in them after the N64 started doing poorly, and have since switched to the Xbox camp mainly because of the way that MS brought forth Xbox Live as a good place to play multiplayer games.

As for how I define hardcore/casual, I would say it's somewhat related to how often/how long you play. In my case, I would be somewhere in the middle. Kind of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none(or in this case, genres would be a better fit than trades).

[Retodon8]

Originally Posted by mykalgaidin

Been talking with my wife on this subject (I LOVE that she's willing to put up with my gaming, and has even become something of a gamer herself) and she thinks there should be a third categorization. For lack of a better term, I guess you could call it the voyeur gamer. This type of gamer doesn't play as many games as the hardcore, but does watch and can discuss the finer points of gaming with the hardcore gamer and knows far more than your average casual gamer. Anybody out there know (or have in your house) a voyeur gamer?

Actually a friend's wife seems to fit that category.
That friend told me he'd been playing Warrior Within with his wife.
I asked him how exactly that worked with a single player game, and he explained that he was the one controlling the Prince, and that she looked, helped him figure out where to go next, how to progress through the levels.
He said they both had a good time playing like that too.