What is "Hardcore" and what is "Casual"????? People here can

I'm starting to believe those terms are becoming blurry when it comes to fans of gaming.

Many people here particularaly PS3 fans and Xbox360's fans lament the Wii audience/fans. Yet Sheep here are very much into gaming as Cows, Lemmings and Hermits.

What is the definition of a Hardcore??

Core gamers as well??

I believe it's the very fans and Fanboys here in these specialized forums that can better answer that question then the media, Sony, Nintendo and Micrsosoft.

After all they make games to cater to the audience.

I believe in some way I'm hardcore.

I play games a lot, follow the industry and contribute time in social groups appealing to people who play games i.e System Wars.

So is it safe to say that everyone here is "Hardcore"???

What is Hardcore and Casual as well as a core gamer???

hardcore take some skillz on a controller to excel, like ninja gaiden. If your grandma can play it, its casual, like a cooking game on the wii

Theres only one definition and you can find it below.

hard-core
  /ˈhɑrdˈkɔr, -ˈkoʊr/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hahrd-kawr, -kohr] Show IPA
-adjective
1. unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated: a hard-core segregationist.
2. pruriently explicit; graphically depicted: hard-core pornography.
3. being so without apparent change or remedy; chronic: hard-core inflation; hard-core unemployment.

cas⋅u⋅al
  /ˈkæʒuəl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kazh-oo-uhl] Show IPA
-adjective
1. happening by chance; fortuitous: a casual meeting.
2. without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing: a casual remark.
3. seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic; unconcerned: a casual, nonchalant air.
4. appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy: casual clothes; casual wear.
5. irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.
6. accidental: a casual mishap.
7. Obsolete. uncertain.

Theres only one definition and you can find it below.

hard-core
  /ˈhɑrdˈkɔr, -ˈkoʊr/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hahrd-kawr, -kohr] Show IPA
-adjective
1. unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated: a hard-core segregationist.
2. pruriently explicit; graphically depicted: hard-core pornography.
3. being so without apparent change or remedy; chronic: hard-core inflation; hard-core unemployment.

cas⋅u⋅al
  /ˈkæʒuəl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kazh-oo-uhl] Show IPA
-adjective
1. happening by chance; fortuitous: a casual meeting.
2. without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing: a casual remark.
3. seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic; unconcerned: a casual, nonchalant air.
4. appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy: casual clothes; casual wear.
5. irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.
6. accidental: a casual mishap.
7. Obsolete. uncertain.

Blue-Sky

hhmm/// so can this be applied to Nintendo's Wii games??

Because really they have been using the same characters for a decade.Still use simple game mechanics for most of their games.

A majority of us started of as "Casuals" starting with simpler games then getting into more complex games.

One of my very first games I played was Wonderboy, Double Dragon and Super Mario Brothers. Those were very simple "Casual" games that was very easy to get into. Isn't that still the same with most games particularly Nintendo Wii games??

I have moved on from being "Casual" to the more "Hardcore" and the current Wii "Casual" fans have simply taken over my place, even maybe becoming next generations "hardcore".

I play video games, that's all. No reason to try and complicate things.

hardcore take some skillz on a controller to excel, like ninja gaiden. If your grandma can play it, its casual, like a cooking game on the wii

CHRION987

That can also be on a keyboard or a motion controller.

Starcraft Battlenet players in Korea are a testament of Hardcore on a keyboard.

Shoryuken.com for those in the know is a site deidicated to figher fans with skill and they feature SuperSmash brothers Brawler.

They use Nintendo's controllers and they can play.

Steel Battalion had a specialized 40 button controller on the Xbox-

yet that guy who is well know for scoring huge on Pacman and pinball payers deal with 5 or less buttons and they are considered some of the most "Hardcore" gamers.

Arcades had steering wheel and guns to play games, but yet are percieved as casual gaming.

So maybe it's not really controllers alone that is a deciding factor.

What do you guys consider yourselves as??

hardcore - pointless, gamers who play simply to test their gaming skills to the absolute max core - people who play games, know a thing or 2 about games in general and devs and whatnot casual - people who only buy heavily advertised games or games their mates have simple asAdmiralWolverin

ok. If it is that simple

have you followed all of the 3???

What do you consider yourself as?

I play video games, that's all. No reason to try and complicate things.

Chutebox

LOL. I agree with you completely, but it seems there is an unwritten way we catergorize things here in System Wars and Gamers in general which the media, developers and other stakeholders pick up on.

Our gaming habits, what we percieve as fun, shovelware, etc and what is considered standard.

i.e. number of games people have. hours they play a week, how much they spend etc.

so when we consider others as Casual, or hardcore we base it on our standards.

What is our standard??

Is it safe to say everyone here on these forums is "Hardcore"???

Can anyone here able toclearly point out another group of gamers that is more "Hardcore" then us here or make us simply look "Casual" in comparrison??

I can think of a couple examples.

Gamers that get into COS-Play- "Casual" people may se me as "Hardcore" because I play games a lot and spend time on these kind of forums, yet Gamers who get into Cosplay, run heavy gaming rigs and simulations consider me "Casual"?

I'm starting to believe those terms are becoming blurry when it comes to fans of gaming.

Many people here particularaly PS3 fans and Xbox360's fans lament the Wii audience/fans. Yet Sheep here are very much into gaming as Cows, Lemmings and Hermits.

What is the definition of a Hardcore??

Core gamers as well??

I believe it's the very fans and Fanboys here in these specialized forums that can better answer that question then the media, Sony, Nintendo and Micrsosoft.

After all they make games to cater to the audience.

I believe in some way I'm hardcore.

I play games a lot, follow the industry and contribute time in social groups appealing to people who play games i.e System Wars.

So is it safe to say that everyone here is "Hardcore"???

What is Hardcore and Casual as well as a core gamer???

[QUOTE="AdmiralBison"]

I'm starting to believe those terms are becoming blurry when it comes to fans of gaming.

Many people here particularaly PS3 fans and Xbox360's fans lament the Wii audience/fans. Yet Sheep here are very much into gaming as Cows, Lemmings and Hermits.

What is the definition of a Hardcore??

Core gamers as well??

I believe it's the very fans and Fanboys here in these specialized forums that can better answer that question then the media, Sony, Nintendo and Micrsosoft.

After all they make games to cater to the audience.

I believe in some way I'm hardcore.

I play games a lot, follow the industry and contribute time in social groups appealing to people who play games i.e System Wars.

So is it safe to say that everyone here is "Hardcore"???

What is Hardcore and Casual as well as a core gamer???

-Reggaeton-

lol

I managed to beat Mario Brothers. :)

[QUOTE="-Reggaeton-"][QUOTE="AdmiralBison"]

I'm starting to believe those terms are becoming blurry when it comes to fans of gaming.

Many people here particularaly PS3 fans and Xbox360's fans lament the Wii audience/fans. Yet Sheep here are very much into gaming as Cows, Lemmings and Hermits.

What is the definition of a Hardcore??

Core gamers as well??

I believe it's the very fans and Fanboys here in these specialized forums that can better answer that question then the media, Sony, Nintendo and Micrsosoft.

After all they make games to cater to the audience.

I believe in some way I'm hardcore.

I play games a lot, follow the industry and contribute time in social groups appealing to people who play games i.e System Wars.

So is it safe to say that everyone here is "Hardcore"???

What is Hardcore and Casual as well as a core gamer???

lol

I managed to beat Mario Brothers. :)

hardcore - pointless, gamers who play simply to test their gaming skills to the absolute max core - people who play games, know a thing or 2 about games in general and devs and whatnot casual - people who only buy heavily advertised games or games their mates have simple asAdmiralWolverin

Hardcore gamer is just a term cooked up by some pr guy at some company. Its a shame that its actually perpetuated by gaming media.

Game company says "Hey this game is for the hardcorz!"

teenager sitting on couch says "Hey if I play that game I'll be hardcorz!"

Game sells millions to a bunch of self proclaimed hardcore gamers.

The term "Hardcore" is about as lame as the term "Extreme". I am a "Gamer" nothing more nothing less.

Hardcore gamer is just a term cooked up by some pr guy at some company. Its a shame that its actually perpetuated by gaming media.

Game company says "Hey this game is for the hardcorz!"

teenager sitting on couch says "Hey if I play that game I'll be hardcorz!"

Game sells millions to a bunch of self proclaimed hardcore gamers.

DaBrainz

The phrase hardcore gamer is not just some made up PR jargon. It's a logical phrase, you can have hardcore (insert hobby) and it makes perfect sense based on actual definitions.

The term "Hardcore" is about as lame as the term "Extreme". I am a "Gamer" nothing more nothing less.

The_Brodeo

Yes b/c why would the english language possibly ever need an adjective to further explain details about a noun right? :|

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]

The term "Hardcore" is about as lame as the term "Extreme". I am a "Gamer" nothing more nothing less.

-RPGamer-

Yes b/c why would the english language possibly ever need an adjective to further explain details about a noun right? :|

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]

The term "Hardcore" is about as lame as the term "Extreme". I am a "Gamer" nothing more nothing less.

-RPGamer-

Yes b/c why would the english language possibly ever need an adjective to further explain details about a noun right? :|

I love you.

[QUOTE="DaBrainz"]

Hardcore gamer is just a term cooked up by some pr guy at some company. Its a shame that its actually perpetuated by gaming media.

Game company says "Hey this game is for the hardcorz!"

teenager sitting on couch says "Hey if I play that game I'll be hardcorz!"

Game sells millions to a bunch of self proclaimed hardcore gamers.

-RPGamer-

The phrase hardcore gamer is not just some made up PR jargon. It's a logical phrase, you can have hardcore (insert hobby) and it makes perfect sense based on actual definitions.

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]

The term "Hardcore" is about as lame as the term "Extreme". I am a "Gamer" nothing more nothing less.

The_Brodeo

Yes b/c why would the english language possibly ever need an adjective to further explain details about a noun right? :|

I am in the context of this discussion, I'm just exaggerating to show how odd it sounds when people start saying stuff like the need to classify or clarify something with an adjective is "lame".

Example: It's not good food or bad food, it's just food, period. If a distinction exists, thanit's not "lame" (unless we're only talking subjectively).

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

[QUOTE="DaBrainz"]

Hardcore gamer is just a term cooked up by some pr guy at some company. Its a shame that its actually perpetuated by gaming media.

Game company says "Hey this game is for the hardcorz!"

teenager sitting on couch says "Hey if I play that game I'll be hardcorz!"

Game sells millions to a bunch of self proclaimed hardcore gamers.

The_Brodeo

The phrase hardcore gamer is not just some made up PR jargon. It's a logical phrase, you can have hardcore (insert hobby) and it makes perfect sense based on actual definitions.

I would agree that is PR, it's explaining a product... not a group of people. The corporation made up the naming convention.

Pretty much everyone here is hardcore.clembo1990

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

Yes b/c why would the english language possibly ever need an adjective to further explain details about a noun right? :|

-RPGamer-

I am in the context of this discussion, I'm just exaggerating to show how odd it sounds when people start saying stuff like the need to classify or clarify something with an adjective is "lame".

Example: It's not good food or bad food, it's just food, period. If a distinction exists, thanit's not "lame" (unless we're only talking subjectively).

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]Keep it in the context of this discussion. I hope I do not have to actually explain this to you. I can see you think you're pretty clever even if your comprehension says otherwise.

The_Brodeo

I am in the context of this discussion, I'm just exaggerating to show how odd it sounds when people start saying stuff like the need to classify or clarify something with an adjective is "lame".

Example: It's not good food or bad food, it's just food, period. If a distinction exists, thanit's not "lame" (unless we're only talking subjectively).

Being hardcore is subjective as well since it's based on someone judging an amount of dedication. Where are you trying to go with this exactly? Everything can be labeled it's just reality (and it's not like it's a overly negative concept either), saying something is good is labeling it as being good too by the way.

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

I am in the context of this discussion, I'm just exaggerating to show how odd it sounds when people start saying stuff like the need to classify or clarify something with an adjective is "lame".

Example: It's not good food or bad food, it's just food, period. If a distinction exists, thanit's not "lame" (unless we're only talking subjectively).

-RPGamer-

Being hardcore is subjective as well since it's based on someone judging an amount of dedication. Where are you trying to go with this exactly? Everything can be labeled it's just reality (and it's not like it's a overly negative concept either), saying something is good is labeling it as being good too by the way.

yeah. that's true it's just that "Casual" is given a negative conetation among gamers and especially here. example.

"Sony exclusive games are good" , "Nintendo games are Shovelware" a long those arguments.

Just because it's a different style of games and appeals to a "Casual" audiene doesn't mean that it's bad.

There could be many people that play Wii sports religiously and that could be considered hardcore.

The terms watered down also seem like negative connotations, when it's simply being streamlined to appeal to a market not familiar with the tile/concept/game in the first place.

Can we consider the Wii a casual console? It is not as powerful as the other current generation consoles, it's only slightly more powerful then the Xbox.

Yet it has a dedicated fan base, multiplatforms tend to be "Watered down" albiet because of technical constraints, but alos because it may not appeal to the market.

Imagine having Starcraft designed for a console. There have been other RTS games ported to consoles, but being less intuitive becuase having to cram 40 buttons into 8. Would this make Starcraft a bad game?? if it was "Watered" down.

The RTS PC elites would look down on it and consider it "Watered" down and casual when in reality it would be considered fun, easy to use especially to those who are not familiar to RTS games like Starcraft. It's this misunderstanding between the "Casual" perspective and the "Hardcore" perspective.

Even in the Wii audience there must be varying levels of "Hardcore" and "Casuals" and this can be the same thing among PC users.

Casuals may consider Gamers on forums like these Hardcore, yet maybe W.O.W , Eve online, Everquest, Microsoft Flight simulator, COS Players would consider console gamers casual in comparison.

[QUOTE="-RPGamer-"]

[QUOTE="The_Brodeo"]Good or Bad are an opinion since they are subjective. Calling it "Extreme Tacos" however would be a label. I like that you are intelligent it's just these labels are a little irritating to me. I might play 25 hours of games one week or 6 hours in a month so am I semi hardcore or an Extreme casual?

AdmiralBison

Being hardcore is subjective as well since it's based on someone judging an amount of dedication. Where are you trying to go with this exactly? Everything can be labeled it's just reality (and it's not like it's a overly negative concept either), saying something is good is labeling it as being good too by the way.

yeah. that's true it's just that "Casual" is given a negative conetation among gamers and especially here. example.

"Sony exclusive games are good" , "Nintendo games are Shovelware" a long those arguments.

Just because it's a different style of games and appeals to a "Casual" audiene doesn't mean that it's bad.

There could be many people that play Wii sports religiously and that could be considered hardcore.

The terms watered down also seem like negative connotations, when it's simply being streamlined to appeal to a market not familiar with the tile/concept/game in the first place.

Can we consider the Wii a casual console? It is not as powerful as the other current generation consoles, it's only slightly more powerful then the Xbox.

Yet it has a dedicated fan base, multiplatforms tend to be "Watered down" albiet because of technical constraints, but alos because it may not appeal to the market.

Imagine having Starcraft designed for a console. There have been other RTS games ported to consoles, but being less intuitive becuase having to cram 40 buttons into 8. Would this make Starcraft a bad game?? if it was "Watered" down.

The RTS PC elites would look down on it and consider it "Watered" down and casual when in reality it would be considered fun, easy to use especially to those who are not familiar to RTS games like Starcraft. It's this misunderstanding between the "Casual" perspective and the "Hardcore" perspective.

Even in the Wii audience there must be varying levels of "Hardcore" and "Casuals" and this can be the same thing among PC users.

Casuals may consider Gamers on forums like these Hardcore, yet maybe W.O.W , Eve online, Everquest, Microsoft Flight simulator, COS Players would consider console gamers casual in comparison.

I think it's this misunderstanding with some fanboys as well. However I expect a lot of logic to fly out of here simply because this is System Wars, but some gamers actually think along the lines of :

"Why is Wii selling so much?? All it has is "casual shovelware" "

"I don't get it PS3 has all these features and "Awesome" exclusives no one is buying them or moving PS3's" anywhere along those lines anyway.

It's this misunderstanding that is one of the problems of "Hardore" and "Casual" perspectives.

I could say the PS3 fanbase is fairly casual because the PS3 is seen to be used more often as a Bluray player then an actual dedicated games machine, and the smaller attach ratio and the Nintendo Wii considered Hardcore becuase it primarily focuses on games, without considering being the most powerful, other features and it's strong loyal fanbase and IPs that havn't really changed for over a decade.

Good or Bad are an opinion since they are subjective. Calling it "Extreme Tacos" however would be a label. I like that you are intelligent it's just these labels are a little irritating to me. I might play 25 hours of games one week or 6 hours in a month so am I semi hardcore or an Extreme casual?

The_Brodeo

X-Games and Extreme Sports.

My logic is flawless.

I think its all about what you personally think about yourself. I consider myself a hardcore gamer because of how much I game and how much I know. I label people as hardcore gamers based upon what I believe a hardcore gamer is.

There is no real universal accepted set of criteria for a hardcore gamer classification.

Wii owners have a huge libary of casual titles like cooking mama and a few hardcore.TR800

which ones are Hardcore?

Mario titles?

Zelda series?

Metroid games?

How about Pokemon? That looks very casual yet it stilhas a huge following. TV series, cards, so many versions of pokemon colored games.

That seems pretty hardcore.

Sims games look pretty casual yet there are so many expansions and people spend hours playing them and a majority of it dedicated players are women.

Barbie's horse adentures- who buys those games? Obviously enough girls (and boys??) buy it to inspire more Barbie games.

maybe it's not just the quantity of the type of games that determine that it is "Hardcore" or "Casual"

[QUOTE="AdmiralWolverin"]hardcore - pointless, gamers who play simply to test their gaming skills to the absolute max core - people who play games, know a thing or 2 about games in general and devs and whatnot casual - people who only buy heavily advertised games or games their mates have simple asfuromaster_99

I think its all about what you personally think about yourself. I consider myself a hardcore gamer because of how much I game and how much I know. I label people as hardcore gamers based upon what I believe a hardcore gamer is.

There is no real universal accepted set of criteria for a hardcore gamer classification.

Wasdie

yeah that seems to be the best response I think. Me personally games like Streetfighter, Tekken, Sim City are standard and casual to me, but to a lot of my friend who do not play games it is complex and "Hardcore" to them.

Video games are still relatively a new concept compared to other forms of entertainment media.

Certain standards have not been set yet. The reason why these seems to be an iffy classification rating and a lot of game reviewers I think may not have grasped the concept of which market particular games are targeted at.

Many times I see game reviewers will cirticise a shallow game or wattered down version of a game.60% of house holds in America have a gaming machine of some sort, but that is nothing compared to T.Vs, VCRs and DVDs.

When I think to myself yes fair enough they can rightfully criticise a game for technical faults, but what if the game was not meant to be a AAA, AA or whatever experience and targeted to the "Hardcore".

I think that some game reviewers face the same perspective problems as any other gamer. However it should be considered more since they are in the position of swaying and informing potential buyers.

Example if a reviewer from a well respected specialised gaming site where to review a game X that may not have met the standards set by the genre industry titles it may be docked points and even be docked points for not exceeding the industry standards.

However this could simply be seen from their point of view.

If another site lets say for example CNN.com that has a typical audience that is older on average, are more concerned about serious issues, less time and dedication towards video games and can be more easily wowed and impressed then those dedicated sites may consider game X to be quite good, easier to play, less confusing because it has less features to deal with and is shorter.

Sometimes I do wonder if Game reviers as well can fall into the trap of becoming too jaded, or not in touch with the majority of the market which are "Casual".

If Half life was reviewed today it would not exceed 8.5 and would be quite simple to todays FPS standards, but to those who do not play games are "Casual" would see this game just as complex and "Harddcore" as Crysis. That's the truth of a matter of Fact. It's just from our "Hardcore" perspective we see differently. The "Casual" market or untapped market out there is much, much larger then what we currently have today. Hence forth I can see why Nintendo's Wii is so huge right now and the reason why MS is pushing Project Natal.

Believe it or not Shigeru Myiamoto and Steven Spielberg said that "Controllers and Games" are so complex to many people that is it can actually be a barrier to them wanting to play games. We "Hardcore" gamers fail to see it that way.

Game reviewers can they be burnt out on playing games that it can effect their reviewing judgement as well.

I don't expect Game reviewers to be completely objective but game reviewers are "Hardcore".

hardcore gamer - can mean a number of things, but is typically aossicated with someone devoted to honing their skills in certain tough genres such as 2D shooters, FPS, TPS, RTS, TBS and fighting games.

ordinary gamer - I guess this describes myself, pretty decent skill level with games, but not the sort of person who can play Dodonpachi on one credit or take on the world's best in Street Fighter IV, but still somebody who pays attention to anything interesting that comes out

casual - someone who isn't all that enthusiastic about videogames and would only buy a games console to play big name games such as Madden, FIFA, Halo, CoD, GTA and Wii Sports

non-gamer - soccer moms, your granny, your baby sister, etc... predominantly female, basically the market Nintendo nailed this gen with the DS and Wii, EA with the Sims and Ubisoft with their shovelware.

[QUOTE="furomaster_99"]

[QUOTE="AdmiralWolverin"]hardcore - pointless, gamers who play simply to test their gaming skills to the absolute max core - people who play games, know a thing or 2 about games in general and devs and whatnot casual - people who only buy heavily advertised games or games their mates have simple asAdmiralWolverin

Halo may not be considered casual. Is the majority of Xbox owners casual?

Halo is played by "hardcore" gamers really. It wouldn't have a dedicated following, nor MLG and other media -novels, films and spin offs to co-incide with it's story. When you think about Halo is simple and easy to get into but is hardly a "Casual" affair.

You should see the amount of hours, stats and talk people have on Halo. Nothing Casual about Halo.

Halo may not be considered casual. Is the majority of Xbox owners casual?

Halo is played by "hardcore" gamers really. It wouldn't have a dedicated following, nor MLG and other media -novels, films and spin offs to co-incide with it's story. When you think about Halo is simple and easy to get into but is hardly a "Casual" affair.

You should see the amount of hours, stats and talk people have on Halo. Nothing Casual about Halo.

AdmiralBison

The majority of gamers in general are casuals and the same goes for Xbox 360 owners. What more evidence of this do you need than the huge sales of Halo 3, Modern Warfare, GTAIV and Rock Band? Hell, what about the fact that Terminator Salvation outsold Bionic Commando? Xbox Live isn't some sort of self-contained bubble where only the hardest of the hardcore may enter.

hardcore gamer - can mean a number of things, but is typically aossicated with someone devoted to honing their skills in certain tough genres such as 2D shooters, FPS, TPS, RTS, TBS and fighting games.

ordinary gamer - I guess this describes myself, pretty decent skill level with games, but not the sort of person who can play Dodonpachi on one credit or take on the world's best in Street Fighter IV, but still somebody who pays attention to anything interesting that comes out

casual - someone who isn't all that enthusiastic about videogames and would only buy a games console to play big name games such as Madden, FIFA, Halo, CoD, GTA and Wii Sports

non-gamer - soccer moms, your granny, your baby sister, etc... predominantly female, basically the market Nintendo nailed this gen with the DS and Wii, EA with the Sims and Ubisoft with their shovelware.

Menalque2

that's great and all but the thoery isn't exact.

If those soccer moms, grandpas and al played on a Wii they would be considered non-gamers thn. Because they are now playing games.

Shovel ware is just a term you use to show your dislike for a particular style of game, but it doesn't mean the audience is "Casual"

What if there are gamers out there who are naturally good at games, but do not spend time often playing games?

Just because some people who only buy big games like EA sports, HAlo, CoD, GTA and Wii Sports doesn't mean they are not enthusisatic. If anything they are enthusiastic because they are buying those big games. Wouldn't that make them more prude and like the "Elite" tiltes.

Those games you mentioned score very high and are generally the pinacle of their peers.

[QUOTE="DaBrainz"]

Hardcore gamer is just a term cooked up by some pr guy at some company. Its a shame that its actually perpetuated by gaming media.

Game company says "Hey this game is for the hardcorz!"

teenager sitting on couch says "Hey if I play that game I'll be hardcorz!"

Game sells millions to a bunch of self proclaimed hardcore gamers.

-RPGamer-

The phrase hardcore gamer is not just some made up PR jargon. It's a logical phrase, you can have hardcore (insert hobby) and it makes perfect sense based on actual definitions.

I would agree if the term wasn't used so loosely. I never even heard of this hardcore/casual gamer nonsense until this gen, even though its been going on since the beginning of gaming. Its obvious the gaming industry is taking the MTV approach to advertising games "Its cool because we say it is, buy this swag"

Hardcore means that you devote a lot of time into playing games and you enjoy them. Casual means that you just play games to pass time.