Call of Duty now Casual?

[xPixelatedx]

My definition of a casual gamer is the definition of anyone who has a casual interest in something: a person who just doesn't really care. Someone who games but also cares little about what they are doing outside of just passing time.

As for everyone asking why that distinction is important to make... passion, probably? Everyone of every tier of interest has a right to be acknowledged, it's not a bad thing. Sometimes it's a good thing, especially if you are looking for something with a casual environment; devoid of people taking it too seriously.

This whole "[small]lets all hold hands and celebrate being the same[/small]" nonsense is just that. There is a pretty big earth shattering divide between 'the guy with game-shelves for walls who dresses up in Nintendo controllers on Halloween' vs. 'someone's grandmother who plays angry birds sometimes'. These two people don't have the same interest, they might as well not even be from the same planet. They certainly wouldn't want to live in one another's worlds, so why force them?

 

[Best of the 3]

It's not the game that defines a casual/hardcore gamer, it's the way they play the game. For example, a gamer could spend an hour or 2 playing Call of Duty for fun with friends or to pass time. Or a gamer could devote 3-4 hours to Candy Crush and attempt to take all achievements, records etc. The latter is something I'd consider a hardcore gamer even though they're playing a game that is open to just about every audience imaginable and would be considered a "casual game".

 

[aguspal]

Well, thats great I guess.


I love COD so I will play it whenever it is Casual or Hardcore or a Mix or whatever the fuck it is, I will still play it. Just like the other games I love

Honestly thougt, I always thougt that "Casual/Hardcore" was just some meaningless things that people just like to call certain games for whatever reason. At least it seems like it for the most of the part.

 

[TomWiley]

This is by far the most controversial statement I have ever read on the Internet.

 

[Signa]

Totally agree with you OP. It just goes to prove how nebulous terms like "hardcore" and "causal" are. I never would have said this in '95, but by today's industry, Doom is casual, and yet it's better for it.

 

[rasputin0009]

I view all video games as casual because they're a past time.

As in a hobby. Free time. Non-scheduled fun.

99.9% of people who play games don't do it as a job. So to consider any game to be "hardcore" is really, really silly. Compare gaming to other entertainment hobbies. There are no hardcore TV or movie watchers. Saying the words "hardcore book reader" is laughable. Laughable.

 

[Gromril]

Phht.

"They took it from us, guys. They took our hardcores! They took the soul of gaming!!!"

I take issue with you definition of "casual" and the implication that this is a bad thing. "Very simple, very repetitive tasks with the exact same payoff each time, only to take shear pleasure in restarting a few hours later to do the exact same thing" could be used to describe every video game I can bring to mind.

Pong? Casual.
Tetris? Casual.
Pacman? Casual.
Patriot Command? Casual.
Every Mario ever? Casual.
Every Zelda ever? Casual.
Doom? Casual.
Every FPS ever? Casual.
Starcraft? Casual.
Every RTS ever? Casual.
Every Final Fantasy ever? Casual.
Every MOBA ever? Casual.
Ever MMO ever? Casual.
... and so on and so forth.

If CoD is a casual game then I challenge you to name one that is not.

They have broken through and taken the MMO bulwark!

Quick, fall back to the dark souls vualt! There we shall make our stand. For the hardcores brothers!

Games are what you get out of them. I can play cod casually or devote a lifetime to learning all it's nuances and mechanics to become truly hardcore. The notion that games are inherintly either is confusing.

 

[DeathQuaker]

Saying the words "hardcore book reader" is laughable. Laughable.

You clearly have never heard of Yomiko Readman.

Anyway, to the topic at hand:

Even if you consider CoD casual, so what? If we're having more trouble defining what is or isn't casual, that's probably a good things. There are gamers, and there are people who don't play games at all, and there being more and more gamers is a good thing. Folks trying to nail the door shut of their clubhouse because they don't want the new kids coming in are just sad.

I also look askance at any definition of "Casual" that includes "put hundreds of hours" into games--regardless of the complexity of the task--if you put hundreds of hours into anything, it is not "casual." That shows that you're rather dedicated, in fact.

 

[Mullac]

I'd agree with you, I think Call of Duty is casual. Also, I found your 'bale of hay' joke way more funny than I should

 

[klausaidon]

GAH, this kinda shit again.
There is only one main difference between hardcore, and casual gamers. That is how seriously they take the game(s) they play. With that in mind, ANY game can be casual, and most can be hardcore. It's all a matter of how seriously you take the game, and how much you want to challenge yourself. Hell a gamer can be both casual, and hardcore. There has been plenty of times where I played WoW very seriously, and other times when I didn't.

 

[Baron Tanks]

I view all video games as casual because they're a past time.

As in a hobby. Free time. Non-scheduled fun.

99.9% of people who play games don't do it as a job. So to consider any game to be "hardcore" is really, really silly. Compare gaming to other entertainment hobbies. There are no hardcore TV or movie watchers. Saying the words "hardcore book reader" is laughable. Laughable.

Oh, so well said. I think most people mentioned the same point you make, but your example is excellent.

I don't mind any kind of gamers. The only things that I mind are people that condemn you out of ignorance for playing games while they don't know what they are. And people that worry about other people enjoying the same pass-time as you and you somehow being lesser from it. To quote the OP:

"These people call themselves 'hardcore gamers', something which without our even knowing, they took from us, and even worse we don't even remember exactly when that happened."

This kind of attitude really displays a lack of perspective on what gaming is. Nothing has been taken from you, there was nothing to take. It's a hobby. A damn fine enjoyable one, but that's all it is and all it will be. It's no lifestyle, get it out of your system. You're free to label yourself as whatever, but so are other people. They can't take a self-styled label from you just as much as you can't take it from them. Wake up.

 

[Bocaj2000]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with everything that you said. The only requirement for "casual" is they mindset going into a game.

For example, my uncle is a hardcore Farmville player. He's put more hours into that game than every game in my Steam library combined. On the other hand, my dad is a casual WoW player. He rarely plays, and when he does it's about 5-10 hours a week.

If you're looking for a blanket label, then you're going to be disappointed in the interactive community. "Hardcore" or "casual" are just inane labels to ***** about. To each their own.

 

[randomsix]

I feel that "casual" should really only be applied to games that do not require much active mental engagement. By this I mean: If you play a game so you can turn your brain off then it should probably be considered to be casual.

 

[4RM3D]

I would like to add that casual games can still be played hardcore. For example this recent achievement: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.826408-Tetris-World-Speed-Record-Broken

There is more to be said about this topic, but most people have already commented on this. So I shall not repeat it.

 

[Raikas]

These people call themselves 'hardcore gamers', something which without our even knowing, they took from us, and even worse we don't even remember exactly when that happened.

"These people" vs. "us"? Really? Even aside from the fact that pretty much all of the earliest games were casual/social type games, why the aggression?

As an aside, a huge portion of the CoD players I know are guys in the 30-45 age range who used to play a wider variety of games but don't have time for it. They have maybe 15 minutes free between work/kids/life stuff, so why wouldn't they play a game that allows for that? Would you prefer that they not play anything so as to not dirty up your "gamer" identity with their life balance? C'mon now!

 

[Pr0]

Log in, shoot people, log out, no other concerns?

Yeah is a casual game. Or a casual murder simulator...chose whichever you like.

 

[Nielas]

I am confused by this thread. I played CoD games since the first one and I always considered them to be casual games. When was it decided that they are actually hardcore games?

 

[Ruzinus]

Saying the words "hardcore book reader" is laughable. Laughable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=salPkzbeeiY&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLY0UceE3xBWmRdixooWIGpSJ9igpGfUm7

This is a hardcore book reader.

ggnore

 

[LAGG]

Haven't it always been?
If you compare CoD with hardcore FPSes the contrast is huge.

This video explains everything:

Spoiler