Why are casual gamers constantly criticized?

Just why is it that so called "casuals" are given heat by people who consider themselves "hardcore"? Better question: What does it mean to be "hardcore"? Eight hour per day gaming? If this is the case, why would it be considered cool to be a "hardcore"?

You know, I believe the entire labeling to be wack. If you like to play video games, you like to play video games.

I don't label hardcore gamers as "playing 8 hours a dayetc.." but someone who plays different types of games and generally has a interest/hobby in playing video games, they know a lot about the subject. Casual gamers are people who sports games or racing games all the time.Riviera_Phantom

My thoughts:

Hardcore gamer - Educated, posts a lot in forums (or at least reads the information), plays games a lot ie, like 2-3 hours minimum a day.

Casual gamer - Not educated, buys anything that's marketed well, likes graphics, likes violence/sex/drugs (GTA, 50 Cent), does not play games that often, ie. once a week, maybe twice.

I personally see nothing wrong with being either. My 2 closest friends are casuals and I have a few friends that are hardcore gamers too. I personally see myself as somewhere in between.

I think a lot of people hate casuals because they keep buying crap like 50 Cent Bulletproof etc. 

Hardcore is just another label like 'kiddie'.

It' a way to be considered 'cool' in the game industry, mainly used to dictate what is a good/bad game.

Sigh, I miss the 'less than 32bits' era, when we played without those worries...  

My thoughts:

Hardcore gamer - Educated, posts a lot in forums (or at least reads the information), plays games a lot ie, like 2-3 hours minimum a day.

Casual gamer - Not educated, buys anything that's marketed well, likes graphics, likes violence/sex/drugs (GTA, 50 Cent), does not play games that often, ie. once a week, maybe twice.

I personally see nothing wrong with being either. My 2 closest friends are casuals and I have a few friends that are hardcore gamers too. I personally see myself as somewhere in between.

I think a lot of people hate casuals because they keep buying crap like 50 Cent Bulletproof etc.

the-very-best

Hardcore gamers are educated?

-Looks around System Wars-Liquid_47

:lol:

Well, some are.

I think. 

It's some kind of elitism and the fact that they are worried that casual gamers will buy games that will destory the gaming industry (Cooking Mama, Wii Sports) when in fact it won't. The gaming industy is big enough for casuals and hardcore gamers to co-exist. Anyway, hardcore gamers started off as casuals in the first place right?

The only minor critism I have is when some people come to Gamespot and don't do any searches on the web first, they don't go IGN, Metacritic, Amazon or even Gamespot and look at the reviews of games and then say 'Is RE4 a good game?' or 'I can't decide between Lost Planet or Dead Rising'.... but maybe people just don't have the time on their hands to do a bit of background reading anymore. 

[QUOTE="the-very-best"]

My thoughts:

Hardcore gamer - Educated, posts a lot in forums (or at least reads the information), plays games a lot ie, like 2-3 hours minimum a day.

Casual gamer - Not educated, buys anything that's marketed well, likes graphics, likes violence/sex/drugs (GTA, 50 Cent), does not play games that often, ie. once a week, maybe twice.

I personally see nothing wrong with being either. My 2 closest friends are casuals and I have a few friends that are hardcore gamers too. I personally see myself as somewhere in between.

I think a lot of people hate casuals because they keep buying crap like 50 Cent Bulletproof etc.

Liquid_47

I couldn't have said it better myself......

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation. 

Just why is it that so called "casuals" are given heat by people who consider themselves "hardcore"? Better question: What does it mean to be "hardcore"? Eight hour per day gaming? If this is the case, why would it be considered cool to be a "hardcore"?

You know, I believe the entire labeling to be wack. If you like to play video games, you like to play video games.

IronMaidenLives

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate themsubrosian

You "hate" people that don't know much about computer games? I think you need some counseling. Do you "hate" people who like marmite aswell?

Casual gamers - A mild irritation that really aren't worth whining about. So they like Mario Party, Big f'kin deal.

[QUOTE="subrosian"] I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate themLookforanexit

You "hate" people that don't know much about computer games? I think you need some counseling. Do you "hate" people who like marmite aswell?

Casual gamers - A mild irritation that really aren't worth whining about. So they like Mario Party, Big f'kin deal.

The difference between hardcore, and casual is education, not playing hours.project343

          Very well stated and very accurate !;) I think you nailed it better than I've seen before.

[QUOTE="project343"]The difference between hardcore, and casual is education, not playing hours.SecretPolice

Very well stated and very accurate !;) I think you nailed it better than I've seen before.

[QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

[QUOTE="project343"]The difference between hardcore, and casual is education, not playing hours.taker42

Very well stated and very accurate !;) I think you nailed it better than I've seen before.

     You are splitting hairs but - okay, I'll go along with that.

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

 

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation.

subrosian

 Take shops like Woolworths & your super markets, you barely ever see the greta games, just the main stream sports/driving junk, its annoying when there are no game shops in your area, what pisses me off is these games sell a ton, when theyre just mimmicks of stuff you can do in real life anyway, hell football?

[QUOTE="Lookforanexit"]

[QUOTE="subrosian"] I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate themsubrosian

You "hate" people that don't know much about computer games? I think you need some counseling. Do you "hate" people who like marmite aswell?

Casual gamers - A mild irritation that really aren't worth whining about. So they like Mario Party, Big f'kin deal.

LOL. dude, they're games. If this is how you view life then the outside is foreign to you.

classic example, people in my school are saying oh im getting my PS3 today, yet the only reason they give me for buying it is that its better than the 360. Consoles i think are made by games, not power. Me and my group arnt exactly loved at my school, because we play games and talk about them and rate how they play and look etc. (ok some of them are a little weird too but thats different). In fact i get a little bit of mocking thrown at me because i am also a console gamer and im not the biggest fan of PC gaming. The only reason why im not the biggest fan of PC gaming is because the fact you have to update every season just to play them properly. I do like the online side of things but i personally believe consoles are just as good as PCs because they are more reliable (software wise), they will run the games on pre determined settings and they are cheaper.

Anyway back onto the point of casual vs hardcore, i myself am hardcore (mainly because i walk into the store, see fifa 07 and go, same old same old, and i walk round the store seeing games i belive to be great not getting the glory). i dont hate casual gamers but i do think of them as annoying weeds that dont go away. Now some of the guys in my group are pro gamers and i dont like them either. The mock absolutly anyone who doesnt have their skill or knowledge and they are so arrogent because they saved up a couple of grand for a new PC, then rub everyones face in it. I am not from a wealthy background, my family is average joe, but in some ways i am happy about that because i really see how money eats away at people lives. 

the casual wallks into a store just looking for a game. The hardcore walks in to get one or more spacific gamesouth411

Lol that reminded me, this six or seven year old girl was choosing between Nintendogs and some really crap Bratz game with her mum, i wanted to tell her not to get Bratz but i didn't want to be such a interupter and she chose Bratz :( 

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation.

subrosian

[QUOTE="Riviera_Phantom"]I don't label hardcore gamers as "playing 8 hours a dayetc.." but someone who plays different types of games and generally has a interest/hobby in playing video games, they know a lot about the subject. Casual gamers are people who sports games or racing games all the time.X360PS3AMD05

[QUOTE="X360PS3AMD05"][QUOTE="Riviera_Phantom"]I don't label hardcore gamers as "playing 8 hours a dayetc.." but someone who plays different types of games and generally has a interest/hobby in playing video games, they know a lot about the subject. Casual gamers are people who sports games or racing games all the time.byrontendo

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation. 

subrosian

So let me get this straight, just because I like to play NBA 2K&, Yony Hawk, Fight Night, and Madden, I'm a Casual.  It doesn't matter that I love mario party, kung fu kaos, powerstone, and all other party games.  As well as street fighter, Soul Calibur 2, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct.  Plus many other games you probably never touched with your elitest geek hands.  The truth is that you've proclaimed yourself to be above the majority of the gaming community strictly based on obscure games that you play.  Get over yourself, I enjoyed Shadows of the Colossus as well, but I woun't condemn my bro for liking Madden (though I will make fun of him when my Bears win it all). 

Games are meant to be enjoyed by all, not just some select few closet dorks that are only "cool" on xbox live.  You have to ask yourself: Are casuals the true gamers?  In my eyes, casuals are much better gamers than the hardcore because they ENJOY their games beit sports, party, fighter, etc.  they seldom b!tch and moan about not so good normal maps or messy textures.  If the game is fun, they'll usually take to it.  If the marketing is good, then they'll flock to it.  It's the simple fact that they DON"T hang on gamespot everyday that they don't know all about the games progress, and that in itself is benificial.  Like coming into a movie theater to a really good film having not seen the previews. 

 As far as them not buying the so called "good games" you speak of, how's this for logic?  "Not every game is a AAA title, some are just meant to be enjoyed."  And yes, som are just plain bad "Enter the Matrix."  Call yourself what you are, a gaming snob, you were probably a nerd in highschool, and feel the need to dump on others because you got misstreated in your own life.  Grow up prick.

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation. 

subrosian

So let me get this straight, just because I like to play NBA 2K7, Tony Hawk, Fight Night, and Madden, I'm a Casual.  It doesn't matter that I love mario party, kung fu kaos, powerstone, and all other party games.  As well as street fighter, Soul Calibur 2, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct.  Plus many other games you probably never touched with your elitest geek hands.  The truth is that you've proclaimed yourself to be above the majority of the gaming community strictly based on obscure games that you play.  Get over yourself, I enjoyed Shadows of the Colossus as well, but I woun't condemn my bro for liking Madden (though I will make fun of him when my Bears win it all). 

Games are meant to be enjoyed by all, not just some select few closet dorks that are only "cool" on xbox live.  You have to ask yourself: Are casuals the true gamers?  In my eyes, casuals are much better gamers than the hardcore because they ENJOY their games beit sports, party, fighter, etc.  they seldom b!tch and moan about not so good normal maps or messy textures.  If the game is fun, they'll usually take to it.  If the marketing is good, then they'll flock to it.  It's the simple fact that they DON"T hang on gamespot everyday that they don't know all about the games progress, and that in itself is benificial.  Like coming into a movie theater to a really good film having not seen the previews. 

 As far as them not buying the so called "good games" you speak of, how's this for logic?  "Not every game is a AAA title, some are just meant to be enjoyed."  And yes, som are just plain bad "Enter the Matrix."  Call yourself what you are, a gaming snob, you were probably a nerd in highschool, and feel the need to dump on others because you got misstreated in your own life.  Grow up prick.

[QUOTE="subrosian"]

Casuals are a constant annoyance to hardcore gamers. Being hardcore doesn't mean you spend eight hours a day gaming, there are casual gamers who do that with WoW, it doesn't take them beyond the status of simply being a casual appreciator of a medium, rather than a passionate promoter of it. Hardcore gamers promote the best games in the medium, push gaming as art, and generally represent the consumers who keep the highly-acclaimed niche series afloat.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the casual. Casuals are the kind of people who make it so you can release *yet another* party game on the Wii and make record sales. Casuals are the people who keep buying Tony Hawk and Madden games every year, yet let games like Eternal Darkness and Psychonauts languish on store shelves. Casuals are the people who went "Resident Evil 4 is the best Gamecube game ever" and yet totally missed Eternal Darkness when it came out.

Casuals bought FF X-2. Casuals pay $15/month to play WoW just because it's the game their friends play. Casuals will buy Madden 2008 and a PS3 because "the Playstation is more powerful" - even if the PS3 version of the game is widely recognized as inferior.

I've hated them for a long time, and I will always hate them - they don't do anything good for the industry, they simply encourage big publishers to put out the same games they've been making since 1994 by buying the same dozen or so games over and over again each generation. 

mtron32

So let me get this straight, just because I like to play NBA 2K7, Tony Hawk, Fight Night, and Madden, I'm a Casual.  It doesn't matter that I love mario party, kung fu kaos, powerstone, and all other party games.  As well as street fighter, Soul Calibur 2, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct.  Plus many other games you probably never touched with your elitest geek hands.  The truth is that you've proclaimed yourself to be above the majority of the gaming community strictly based on obscure games that you play.  Get over yourself, I enjoyed Shadows of the Colossus as well, but I woun't condemn my bro for liking Madden (though I will make fun of him when my Bears win it all). 

Games are meant to be enjoyed by all, not just some select few closet dorks that are only "cool" on xbox live.  You have to ask yourself: Are casuals the true gamers?  In my eyes, casuals are much better gamers than the hardcore because they ENJOY their games beit sports, party, fighter, etc.  they seldom b!tch and moan about not so good normal maps or messy textures.  If the game is fun, they'll usually take to it.  If the marketing is good, then they'll flock to it.  It's the simple fact that they DON"T hang on gamespot everyday that they don't know all about the games progress, and that in itself is benificial.  Like coming into a movie theater to a really good film having not seen the previews. 

 As far as them not buying the so called "good games" you speak of, how's this for logic?  "Not every game is a AAA title, some are just meant to be enjoyed."  And yes, som are just plain bad "Enter the Matrix."  Call yourself what you are, a gaming snob, you were probably a nerd in highschool, and feel the need to dump on others because you got misstreated in your own life.  Grow up prick.

[QUOTE="the-very-best"]

My thoughts:

Hardcore gamer - Educated, posts a lot in forums (or at least reads the information), plays games a lot ie, like 2-3 hours minimum a day.

Casual gamer - Not educated, buys anything that's marketed well, likes graphics, likes violence/sex/drugs (GTA, 50 Cent), does not play games that often, ie. once a week, maybe twice.

I personally see nothing wrong with being either. My 2 closest friends are casuals and I have a few friends that are hardcore gamers too. I personally see myself as somewhere in between.

I think a lot of people hate casuals because they keep buying crap like 50 Cent Bulletproof etc.

Liquid_47

Hardcore gamers are those who stay informed about the latest games and news. Hardcore gamers are also willing to be caught plyaing Mario games in public. :P (seriously, why do people act like it's such a big deal!?)

Casual gamers are usually those who aren't informed and often say/do stupid things involving games, like asking for a Mario game for the Xbox. Also, they usually buy games based on graphics, the cover, and how much sex/violence it has.

Also, casuals buy 50 cent games instead of good quality games, like Killer 7 and Eternal Darkness. I think every gamer can agree that's a reason to hate them right there.

Casuals are the ones who buy all the CRAP titles and encourage SHOVELWARE.

As a group, they are very unsophisticated when it comes to video games. The industry gives them far too much consideration when deciding what to release and how much effort to expend on development.GG7

Oh, OK. You have it all figured out, hardcore guy.

I'm laughing at what people like you are saying. Try to live less of your life through pixels.

Causual's can say some pretty annoying things like one day my friends said that "NBA 07 on the PS3 haves better graphics than Gears of War" :lol:. Or one time at was at best buy getting ready to buy the play and charge kit and i saw a 360 demo of lost planet so i'd tried it out before i left and some guy came up behind me and said "IS THAt Gears of War" :lol:. I was dying laughing. ANd the funny part is that there was a poster of GEoW right next to the 360 demo. How do you mistake a game with a guy holding a chainsaw with a guy fighting aliens on a snow planet? :?. Or my favorite "Madden 07 is the BEst franchise ever".But there are some casual's who are intrested in Gaming news. Not all of them are bad but most causual are annoying