Poll: Casual gaming?

[mipegg]

Hey guys, after reading a post in which a self proclaimed 'hardcore' gamer sat a'top a massive horse and sprayed pools of bile about casual gamers I got to thinking. What classifies a casual or hardcore gamer? Either side generally has quite a skewed view on the other with the casual market calling the hardcore gamers boring and sad and the hardcore calling casual gamers stupid and loud.

I think that part of the problem comes from the fact that we only have 2 groups to classify people into, this doesn't seem like enough to me for millions of gamers. In my eyes there should be 5 groups.

Casual: Someone who plays games for fun and doesn't care about how good they do. Can play any game for any amount of time
Hardcore: A gamer who's sole ambition is to be the best at a game and do very well.
Veteran: A gamer who's been about for quite a while. 10+ years maybe?
Pseudo-casual: Someone who plays for fun but does care about their score a little
Pseudo-hardcore: Someone who plays to be very good but also for a bit of fun.

I dont want this to turn into a slagging match. Just a conversation about the current gaming demographic.

As for me, I would place myself in pseudo-casual. I play a fair amount but play for fun and to do silly things with friends online.

 

[mintfresh]

Well I voted pseudo-hardcore. If I play a game, I want to do my best at it, and I will put in some time to improve. But it isn't the be all and end all for me either. I would also fit into the 'Veteran' category I guess, I've been playing games since I was 4, back in the days of the NES. Good times, good times.

 

[unholy vagrant]

I voted veteran. My first system was the NES when I was about 2 or 3, I've been playing since. I would also fit into pseudo-hardcore, because I just play for fun, not to be the best.

 

[The Thief]

Veteran. Although I got into the console games pretty late (N64) I've been playing PC games since they were on the floppiest of floppy drives.

I don't consider myself hardcore because I'm not competitive, and I don't consider myself casual since I play most games to their fullest.

 

[stompy]

I consider myself pseudohardcore as I am somewhat intensive when it comes to my gaming, but I'm not so competitive that I must be placed highly on the leaderboard.

 

[poleboy]

The names could use some work... casual and hardcore are concepts that have been flogged to death many times over.

Anyway, I'm a veteran. Started with NES and C64. Weird combo, now that I think about it.

 

[irrelevantnugget]

Well, I voted Veteran since I meet the criteria, but I'm more or less pseudo-casual as well. It's all about fun, mainly.

Lately, games just stopped appealing to me, it's all degenerated into playing Barbie with your online characters. The fact that some people are arrogant online because they spent xx hours of grinding so they can show off some dumb title/achievement, then act all elitist on my ass, also made me like online games less.

I still prefer older games, and occasionally still play them. Current gen games just don't interest me, so I bothered getting some more hobbies again.

 

[DanOBrien]

i voted veteran

even though im only 17, ive been playing since 'Goldeneye' on the nintendo 64.. great game

 

[TommyGun465]

pseudo hardcore. i game allot, but i do other stuff outside.

 

[The_Deleted]

I play a game to enjoy it. If I'm compelled to complete it then all the better. Once I get to a point where the game feels repetitive or too difficult I'll fuck it off for something else.
The only game I've been determined to complete despite it being bastard hard is Shadow of Rome. Which I still haven't completed.

 

[Prefix]

Vet & Psuedohardcore.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Pseudocasual for me. I game quite a bit, but not to be the best.

Also, I'm a veteran.

 

[D_987]

I fit Vetren (been playing for 10 years exactly =] ) and Pseudo-hardcore, I like to do well, but having fun is more important, but I still hate to lose!

 

[jezz8me]

Pseudocasual - I play games purely for fun, mainly single player because they have story incentive as opposed to "do it because you can" and to be better than others. I have no sense of competition and am content not being the best but i do not completely disregard score. In tetris i try to score as much as i can. In games i still want to win and when i do play multiplayer i have more fun if i win at least as much as i loose.

 

[Agent00abe]

Veteran. I've been playing since I got a Commodore 64 in the 90's when I was 5 years old.
It's hard to actually put yourself in a groop. I like to play more casual games such as Zuma. I like to compete in Dead or Alive and Shadowrun, (consoles) CoD4, DoD, WoW, WAR and AvP (PC). I also like just sit bak and have fun completing a singleplayer game for the gammeplay and storyline, Mass Effect, GTAIV, AC, Oblivion, Dark Messiah etc. And I also like to challenge myself with games like Ninja Gaiden and the such.

I don't feel like a hardcore gamer. I do however use a huge amount of time gaming. It's really tough to see my self as anything but a gamer really. I'm gonna play and enjoy ever genre and aspect of gaming so sticking myself down in one place just seems odd

Hope my brain fuck made sense to you.

 

[Robert0288]

pseudohardcore; simply because I don't have to be the absolute best at every game I play. Just a select few.

 

[42manZ]

Veteran coz I've been playing for a while, yet I don't consider myself "Hardcore".

 

[Death Magnetic]

Veteran because I spend ages on games and I'm very competitive and overly aggressive to my fellow man on games.

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

Even people who claim to be casual gamers can play hardcore games like counterstrike, and enjoy them.

I don't think people's motivations for playing games can be so easily quantified. I play games to have fun with my friends. Sometimes that's in a competitive setting, other times it's teamwork, and others it's just goofing around.