What defines Hardcore? -- Elitism among gamers

[Kikosemmek]

The basis of elitism lies well within the motif of exclusion. I will agree with The_root_of_all_evil that elitists can generally be identified by their exclusionary behavior; the shunning of other paradigms, often condescendingly. Some elitists don't even bother explaining themselves and resort to point out that someone just does not seem to 'get it.'

You can usually spot an elitist if they're being bashful and vague simultaneously- telling you there is something wrong with you or with what you're doing without explaining why or how.

Granted my definition, I will say, then, that we are all elitists to some extent, as we all end up choosing a side in any argument- our own. By laws of relativity, no one can be all-wise, accepting and understanding everything around them.

I don't see elitism as inherently wrong, though I did give it a negative correlation early on. I only hope to draw the difference between being elitist and being a douche.

For a consummate definition: elitism is defined by excluding oneself from certain paradigms for the sake of moral purity, believing that one is better off striving for this moral purity.

As for hardcore, I would have to give you my own biased answer, because I find it hard to define 'hardcore' objectively when it comes to gaming. To me, a hardcore gamer is a person to whom games, and one's performance at them, counts for significant emotional value.

 

[stompy]

My 2 cents:

Elitists are those that reckon that everyone else, accept those who are similar to Subject A, are 'noob', or whatever the derogatory term of the day is. They get annoying real quick. But, they appear in any hobby, as it's human nature, so we have to live with it.

Hardcore is harder to define. I'll go with the person who lives, breaths and sleeps videogames, at the same time, also being the best. I, to an extent, do that, but I'm not kick-ass at gaming, so I can't call my self hardcore.

Casual is the term used to describe those who pick up a simple game (Peggle, Wii Sports) and play. They don't understand much, they don't go online and learn everything 'bout said game, they just play. Usually a pack animal, who won't play games by themselves (they might, but it'll mostly be in the absence of something else to do). I suppose more and more gamers are obtaining elitist tendencies because of the rise in casual gamers (yeh, I think I have the right to be mad when people crash into my passion, 'cos it 'the cool new kid on the block', yet still berate the average gamer).

Finally, you have the gamer. These people play games on a regular basis. They may or may not have gone on binges, but they'll usually have friends who'll also play games. I'd more readily call someone a gamer by the time they invest in gaming, rather then their skill, simply because you can have a guy who sucks, but plays quite a while.

Oh, and Remag, I find your list quite intersting.

- A procrastinator

 

[bluemarsman]

Hardcore gamers= people who hate fun.

 

[stevesan]

TLDR.

Dude, stop worrying about like what defines "hardcore" and shit. Thinking about this stuff will lead you no where. You should only worry about this stuff if you wanna get into marketing. In which case, it's all about surveys and studies and stuff - not just sitting there, writing essays about it. If you have no marketing aspirations, just play the games you wanna play. Everyone's different, there's no right or wrong. And if anyone argues with you about being hardcore and what not, just say, "Yeah..OK" and get on with life.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I think that "hardcore" gamers are the people who put effort into gaming. What I mean by this is they wait in lines to be one of the first to get a game that may not be their favourite series or title. A hardcore gamer is the type of person that argues over games and consoles. Chances are a hardcore gamer owns all the consoles of a series (all the nintendos for example). A hardcore gamer is most likely good at what he/she plays.

This is what I think of when I think about Hardcore Gamers.

 

[smallharmlesskitten]

GAAAAAAAAAAAH BIG WORDS!!!!!!!!1

 

[Menthol]

My personal definition of hardcore: Someone who's life is their games (workers in the industry, people who obsess, Even those who lock themselves in their room and play for days on end) I admit I was rather shocked when a friend of mine called me hardcore, but looking back on it I have to admit she was kind of right. Some people have coffee - the lifeblood of their system. I have my games. (I'd also like to point out that I love my Wii. Resident Evil 4 was awesome and I look forward to the next FPS for the Wii wich uses similer game mechanics. I know it's a port but I don't care.)
Back to it. In real life situations when my friends compare things ("This deoderant is as cold as ice") I often revert back to gaming expressions ("Your English vocab is as bad as what you would expect from a 1960's Japanese port") much to the annoyance of my friend who doesn't play games, so I suppose that is also an element of 'hardcore', that I include games in my everyday life as a part of speech and reference. Previously I thought hardcore gamers were gamers who were incredibly good at games - and I guess that is true as well - but hearing this made me realise that someone who can't play FPS on a 360 too well can be hardcore too, so long as they have a passion for what they do. (Maybe I'd be better if I owned a 360.)

To me, Casual gamers are like my sister. They play games, and are good, but they don't obsess over it and don't play with their friends that often. It's more like "Oh - Halo? Yeah I know the one. " then getting excited.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The basis of elitism lies well within the motif of exclusion. I will agree with The_root_of_all_evil that elitists can generally be identified by their exclusionary behavior; the shunning of other paradigms, often condescendingly. Some elitists don't even bother explaining themselves and resort to point out that someone just does not seem to 'get it.'

I actually identified it as usually a self-generated exclusion. I know a lot of 'elitists' who are very unhappy about the title as the only people they usually exclude are the Tourette Mouthed Trolls.

 

[GloatingSwine]

"Hardcore" gamers are those who buy a lot of games. If you have significantly more than the average attach rate for any of your consoles, you are "hardcore". (For reference, the average attach rates for the current generation are 7 for the Xbox, 2.8 for the Wii, and 3.5 for the PS3).

 

[neems]

Well, I have no idea what an attach rate is, never mind what game the name "Windfish" is taken from. [Fake edit: just googled attach rate, and that makes sense I guess. D'oh.)

I have only played about three minutes total on a nintendo machine in my entire life.

I only use one system - PC - and I use it for many things besides gaming.

I do not, on the whole, regard myself as 'better' than others (in terms of opinion, at least), or look down on others for their opinions or gaming habits.

I am pretty good at some games, rubbish at others, but I'm never going to be awe inspiring.

I would never wait in line to be first to get any given game, although I often purchase titles on their day of release.


But...

I have spent almost 25 out of my 30 years on this Earth playing games. I have played hundreds if not thousands of games, and ploughed thousands of pounds in to my hobby. I constantly buy new games, even if I haven't finished the ones I already have. I have no idea what the 'attach rate' is for pc gaming, but I guarentee that I exceed it (assuming that I have the concept correct).

I don't know that I fit the classic profile of a hardcore gamer, but I think I am one, and that'll do me.

As for hardcore, I would have to give you my own biased answer, because I find it hard to define 'hardcore' objectively when it comes to gaming. To me, a hardcore gamer is a person to whom games, and one's performance at them, counts for significant emotional value.

This is the best definition of hardcore on here in my opinion, as it encapsulates pretty much all the somewhat disparate theories that are being bandied about, including my own.

 

[Lt. Sera]

My definition of gamers:

Casual gamer: Someone who enjoys a (short)game every now and then. The game itself most likely holds little value to him and sees it on a same level as watching a TV series.

Gamer: Someone who enjoys games on a (semi)daily level. Games to him are a hobby and valued above mindlessly zapping away at the TV or playing a game of football or the likes. I think most people we see on forums/ingame fall into this catagory.

Hardcore gamer: A person who sees gaming as a way of life and most likely spends most of his free time behind a computer/console playing a multitude of games.


I see myself as a gamer, i play games pretty regularly and value them equal to other hobbies. I keep myself up to date a bit concerning all things gaming and own a PC capable of running the games within my area of interest. I also have a wii for the casual gamers in my friends circle who will drop by to do something else and then just pop in a game for a few minutes and move on to do something else again.
One of my housemates is what i would call a hardcore gamer. Gaming is pretty much all he does and i think there isn't a game on this planet he hasn't played. He talks a lot about gaming, gaming situations and gaming news and not so much on the normal day to day news and such. Gaming is defenitely in the center of his life.

Elitism is hipocracy. Judging your peers on something you also do, only more (or 'better' as they would say).


Short version: Hardcore or casual is defined by how the person values gaming and how big a part of his life it is.

 

[fnph]

Different types of hardcore? Most definitely.
I'm going to go ahead and use personal exprience to fuel my point. Out of the 4 gamers including myself that I personally know, I'd say all but one is hardcore. Now, the one that isn't hardcore is a bit rubbish at games in general, claims that he doesn't play them a lot and seems only to play Halo and Pokemon.
Now for the hardcore gamers, first up me. Even though I don't own a gaming PC and my only non-Nintendo console is the PS2 I'd still consider myself hardcore. I spend some time every day playing games, I play through single-player games 2 or 3 times to get everything, I keep up with industry news and I want to own both an Xbox360 and PS3 purely for the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie 3 and Final Fantasy XIII respectively.
Now, Jonny is more hardcore than I am, but also in different ways. He owns a PS3 and a Wii, along with masses of old consoles dating back to the NES, despite being only 18. He's massively into RPGs and most of Nintendo's mainstays and he replays games a few times just because.
Tom, I don't know as well. He's quite hardcore, but more a fanboy and a bit of an elitist prick. He constantly mocks the non-hardcore boy for not knowing a lot about games and for playing Halo. He's also very, erm, loud about his gaming habits, wearing T-shirts featuring game characters and such like to college.
In conclusion, I can identify certain kinds of hardcore, which have probably already been mentioned. There's the obssessive hardcore, who needs to complete every game to its fullest and aims to own every game in a particular series.
There's the specialist hardcore, who only plays certain kinds of games, but plays a Hell of a lot of them and knows loads about them.
And finally there's the boasting hardcore, or elitist. They play just so that they can say they're better than others.
What they all have in common is that they invest a lot of time, money and energy into gaming. That's what defines hardcore in my eyes.

 

[Pessimitastic]

As long as there are hobbies there will always be the disillusioned and obsessed.

Besides, I'm not sure if you define a hardcore gamer as a person who enjoys challenging and convoluted games or a person who strives for recognition and attention in the gaming world by playing the shit out of the same game daily for years on end.

 

[DukeNero]

I spent so much time reading all the posts here that i feel like i have to reply too.
I use these labels in the FPS world. (CoD4 to be precise)

Elite: For me, an elite player is a player that excels in the. I personally do not use this term on those who "think they know it all". It is a person you will come to admire if you want to learn from other players, as this person knows what he/she is doing and why.

Hardcore: I tend to use this term negatively. For me, it means that a person is so caught up in winning, he/she loses all other social antennas. Facing a whole team of hardcore gamers is thus a thing i dislike. Therefore i myself am not a hardcore gamer.

Gamer: Cheeze_Pavilion nails this one, i think.

Casual: A player that is there for the fun, and nothing more. Plays now and again.


I won't ascertain my own skill here, that's for other people to decide. What i can say though, is that i love finding the best player on the opposing team, just to see if i can outwit or outskill him/her. I do this by first memorizing their name, try to watch their preferred movement paths or spots, and then hunt! Sometimes i win, sometimes i get owned, but at least i'm having a lot of fun doing it.

On a side-note, if by hardcore one means "good player", then i want to bring up another thing from the FPS world. And that is the Chosen Weapon Debate. It is a discussion that has been going on for a long time, and it is simply discussing whether or not someone using a shotgun can be hardcore, or someone using a light machine gun. and so on and so forth... Some feel that one cannot be called a good player if you're using these weapons...

Perhaps i strayed a little from the topic, but nevertheless, those are my 47,5 cents.

 

[tetsumonkai]

I will try to sort this out.

Two people play the same game for 1 year each. One of them beats the other with ease.
This person is a hardcore player, the other person is a noob and will always be a noob no matter how much he plays.

 

[Joeshie]

I submit that gaming started off casual.

Absolutely true. If you look back on early titles, they had simplistic and repetitive gameplay. The kind of gameplay we now associate with casual games today.

 

[Weaver]

neocron

I thought I was the only one... O_O

 

[FreelancerADP]

I think that there needs to be some differentiation in the usage of the term hardcore.

I can remember being hardcore when I played FFVII for like 3 or 4 hours a day during the week in highschool.

I can also remember grinding Warsong Gulch to get fucking Grand Marshal for 8-12 hours a day and being retarded. And hardcore. (Back in the day. Like before all the other BGs and xrealm BGs and all the other BS.)

But-

Either case is hardcore from an outside perspective.

But the degree of hardcore is obviously not the same.

For me, I've always based my classification on the amount of time per week spent playing games:

0-4: Casual
5-10: Gamer
11-20: Serious Gamer (Though I use this term interchangably with tourney gamer)
21+: Hardcore
30+: Super hardcore
40+: Should probably cut back on playing WoW.

 

[Squarewave]

This thread makes me sad that so many associate hardcore with elitist jerk.

A hardcore gamer is just someone for whom games are their primary source of entertainment. The type of person who would rather stay home and play the latest game then go to the movies, or finds mmos more entertaining then the latest crime drama on tv. That doesn't necessarily that they are loners, many would rather play games with friends then by themselfs.

An elitist is someone that thinks that the way they play is the best and everyone who disagrees is stupid. It can effect all gamers no matter how much they play games. For example, a casual elitist is someone who claims anyone who plays games more then an hour a day is a failure of a human the stereotypical fat loser who lives with his parents insult seen a lot on gaming forums