What do you consider "hardcore" gaming? Has the term been beaten to a bloody pulp yet?

[MathU]

I personally believe the term has undergone a heavy evolution and myself shudder every time I hear a game with impressive graphics, story, and sound, but relatively average gameplay (Bioshock comes to mind frequently) being called "hardcore."

I consider fast-paced, twitch-based gameplay--the likes of which seen in many puzzle games, shoot 'em ups, and fighting games (all owe their roots to arcades)--to be more "hardcore" than a game like Bioshock's excessive save points and hand-holding could come anywhere near. In fact, I would argue that very few story-driven games are hardcore because they always put a great deal of emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and exploration. While I don't think much of Halo 3, I would argue that simply by having online, competitive gameplay, it is more hardcore than Bioshock. I don't consider a deep, engaging movie hardcore, and I don't consider video games like them hardcore. I love Eternal Darkness for its involving story and think it's an excellent game, but it's not hardcore. I would even be hesitant to call a pinnacle of gaming like Super Metroid hardcore, at least the first few times you've played it, where you're learning and memorizing where everything is. Speed runs of it though? Yes.

Planet Puzzle League is hardcore.
Raiden Fighters Jet is hardcore.
Guilty Gear is hardcore.
Bioshock is not.

I may be grasping at straws here, but what is the first thing you honestly think of when you hear the term "hardcore"?

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Hardcore games are a lie. To me, there are popular games, hard games, casual games, obscure games, cult classics, but no "hardcore games".

 

[Joeshie]

As far as I'm concerned, hardcore games are the kind of games that you can't pick up for ten or twenty minutes, play, and then put back down. Essentially, they are the kind of games with a reasonable amount of depth in the gameplay or story department. More depth in the game means that it's harder for casual gamers to pick up and play the game, which leaves the game to be played by more devoted gamers AKA hardcore gamers. It can be something like the ridiculously complex Hearts of Iron series all the way to games like Guitar Hero (which, by it's nature, appeals to both hardcore and casual audiences).

As far as Bioshock goes, it has enough depth in the gameplay department and certainly enough depth in the story to be qualified as a hardcore game.

 

[tiredinnuendo]

I find the word "hardcore" incredibly hilarious. I remember a friend telling me how Blade 2 (the movie) was totally hardcore. Even more hardcore (if you can imagine) than the original Blade. His vehemence on the subject was so stunning that I couldn't really do anything but laugh, and since then, the term "hardcore" is one that I use to make fun of things and people that take themselves too seriously. It's not a compliment.

Examples:

- If you teabag other players that you do not know, you are "hardcore".
- If you are Halo 3, you are "hardcore".
- If you want to counterpost about how great/terrible Halo 3 is, you are "hardcore".
- If you call me a "fag" because I had the incredibly homosexual temerity to get a lucky kill and break your streak, you are "hardcore".

And so on... it's kind of like Jeff Foxworthy standup.

- J

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I find the word "hardcore" incredibly hilarious. I remember a friend telling me how Blade 2 (the movie) was totally hardcore. Even more hardcore (if you can imagine) than the original Blade. His vehemence on the subject was so stunning that I couldn't really do anything but laugh, and since then, the term "hardcore" is one that I use to make fun of things and people that take themselves too seriously. It's not a compliment.

Examples:

- If you teabag other players that you do not know, you are "hardcore".
- If you are Halo 3, you are "hardcore".
- If you want to counterpost about how great/terrible Halo 3 is, you are "hardcore".
- If you call me a "fag" because I had the incredibly homosexual temerity to get a lucky kill and break your streak, you are "hardcore".

And so on... it's kind of like Jeff Foxworthy standup.

- J

"If your gamerscore is higher then an average of 400 points for each game you own, you might be a hardcore gamer."

 

[Mr. Blonde]

You say theres no "Hardcore" movies, you havn't seen How to Kill a Mockingbird

But in all seriousness, the term has been beaten beyond a bloody pulp, it's scary how it's thrown around so much.

 

[propertyofcobra]

- When given a difficulty choice, do you pick the hardest choice you can?
- Do you not get why Ninja Gaiden is supposed to be so hard?
- Have you played and completed Contra, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden (NES and Xbox versions) AND Battletoads?
- Have you been playing games since the 8 bit era or earlier?
- If not, have you bought older machines, emulated, or otherwise found a way to play all the good old classics?
- Can you rattle off names of obscure, japanese games for systems that existed for two weeks in 1997?
- Do you love Shin Megami Tensei, but still consider the persons who can cross the above one off geeks?
- Do you consider any given game or game series worse the more popular it gets?
- Do you consider videogames serious enough to care about and spend hundreds of hours and THOUSANDS of dollars on, but find anyone who whines for hours upon hours about the medium's problems on forums to be idiots?
- Have you ever sat through at least FOUR separate games you hated extremely but still refused to put down, because you haven't completed them yet?
- Do you consider the Xbox 360 achievment points to be worth about as much gaming "street cred" as saying that you have genital herpes?
- Do you feel an extreme need to outdo any given gaming feat you hear of or see? ("He completed Sonic the Hedgehog in 10 minutes, picking up only two rings? I bet I can do it in nine, without using any at all!")
- Do you lament the loss of hard-as-nails gameplay that doesn't mean quicksaving and quickloading every five seconds?
- Have you ever considered passing out from gaming all night a mark of honor?
- Have you ever realized that you haven't had any other beverage than coke or red bull for two full weeks?

Cross enough of these off, and I consider you hardcore as a gamer.

"Hardcore", in my eyes, is a person who takes to videogames the same way Ned Flanders takes to religion.
I have mixed feelings of shame and pride in thinking of myself as a hardcore gamer. Because on one hand, goddamnit if you finish Ninja Gaiden 1-3 without taking a single hit, that's cool. But on the other hand, it's also terribly...terribly...sad.
But so freaking what?

 

[Nugoo]

I would say that hardcore applies to people, rather than games. Of course, some games are more rewarding for hardcore gamers (Disgaea, for example), but I don't think games can be inherently hardcore.

Also,

- When given a difficulty choice, do you pick the hardest choice you can?
- Do you not get why Ninja Gaiden is supposed to be so hard?
- Have you played and completed Contra, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden (NES and Xbox versions) AND Battletoads?
- Have you been playing games since the 8 bit era or earlier?
- If not, have you bought older machines, emulated, or otherwise found a way to play all the good old classics?
- Can you rattle off names of obscure, japanese games for systems that existed for two weeks in 1997?
- Do you love Shin Megami Tensei, but still consider the persons who can cross the above one off geeks?
- Do you consider any given game or game series worse the more popular it gets?
- Do you consider videogames serious enough to care about and spend hundreds of hours and THOUSANDS of dollars on, but find anyone who whines for hours upon hours about the medium's problems on forums to be idiots?
- Have you ever sat through at least FOUR separate games you hated extremely but still refused to put down, because you haven't completed them yet?
- Do you consider the Xbox 360 achievment points to be worth about as much gaming "street cred" as saying that you have genital herpes?
- Do you feel an extreme need to outdo any given gaming feat you hear of or see? ("He completed Sonic the Hedgehog in 10 minutes, picking up only two rings? I bet I can do it in nine, without using any at all!")
- Do you lament the loss of hard-as-nails gameplay that doesn't mean quicksaving and quickloading every five seconds?
- Have you ever considered passing out from gaming all night a mark of honor?
- Have you ever realized that you haven't had any other beverage than coke or red bull for two full weeks?

Cross enough of these off, and I consider you hardcore as a gamer.

is that enough? If not, I still have work to do.

 

[Minky_man]

I'm a right noob when it comes down to it, but when I think of Hardcore, I think of fast paced with tons of colours.

Thus the king of Hardcore gaming: Rez

 

[Darkong]

I think in the gaming community the term hardcore has been sadly misrepresented in places where the term elitist would be more appropriate. Too many people seem to think that hardcore games are the ones with guns, gore and boobies in whereas the weird or cutesy games are for ‘noobs and casuals’.

I’ve always thought that a hardcore gamer is one who doesn’t judge the console but only the games, who tries and owns a wide variety of types of games, old and new rather than sticking to the safe genres like the vast majority of gamers do. I always know someone who claims to be a hardcore gamer isn’t one as soon as they proclaim the Wii to be for kiddies and granny’s or that Halo is the greatest game ever (sorry to Halo fans but it just isn’t), Halo isn’t even what I would think of as a particularly hardcore game, its really pretty mainstream.

Basically I think that a hardcore gamer is someone who takes gaming quite seriously, not seriously in the way of practicing a game to destruction but in that they have a wide appreciation for the different styles of games, look for new experiences, import titles that don’t get released in their native countries and can overlook flaws games present to find the gems that are often buried underneath.

 

[Natural Hazard]

someone whos main interest on a day to day basis playing a VARIETY of games, generally plays 10-15+ hours a day. Basically not a hobby but part of there actually lifestyle.

I think the term Hardcore Gamer has be misinterapted alot. I have mates who class themselves as hardcore gamers as they have so and so achievment points on the 360, not taking into account the fact that they stop playing a game as soon as they spend pointless hours trying to get those last 10 points. I aint got a great amount, generally becasue i switch from my pc to ps3 to xbox 360 and to wii all the time and just keep playing new games. I think i have 4 on the go atm.. not sure.

 

[tiredinnuendo]

Oooo... a quiz. My only weakness.

- When given a difficulty choice, do you pick the hardest choice you can?
Usually I'll play my first playthrough on normal, just to experience the game, then I'll playthrough again on crazy hard. I'm not sure if that counts.

- Do you not get why Ninja Gaiden is supposed to be so hard?
Check. I've never understood this.

- Have you played and completed Contra, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden (NES and Xbox versions) AND Battletoads?
I defy anyone to prove that they have completed Battletoads or Contra without cheating or save states. That said, I've completed them all with aid.

- Have you been playing games since the 8 bit era or earlier?
Yes.

- If not, have you bought older machines, emulated, or otherwise found a way to play all the good old classics?
N/A

- Can you rattle off names of obscure, japanese games for systems that existed for two weeks in 1997?
No.

- Do you love Shin Megami Tensei, but still consider the persons who can cross the above one off geeks?
I didn't know what that was.

- Do you consider any given game or game series worse the more popular it gets?
If the developers use the popularity of a game as an excuse to release a half-assed product, yes. If the game is popular but continues to show polish, then no.

- Do you consider videogames serious enough to care about and spend hundreds of hours and THOUSANDS of dollars on, but find anyone who whines for hours upon hours about the medium's problems on forums to be idiots?
Whining in general isn't really very productive. I guess it depends on how you define "whine". Some of the funniest posts on these boards are negative opinions phrased in a humorous way.

- Have you ever sat through at least FOUR separate games you hated extremely but still refused to put down, because you haven't completed them yet?
Yes. That was before I forced myself to stop doing things that weren't fun. I used to be completely ruled by my type A personality. I mastered Merchant in SWG for christ sakes. Stupid holocrons...

- Do you consider the Xbox 360 achievment points to be worth about as much gaming "street cred" as saying that you have genital herpes?
They're fun extras, but they don't really mean much.

- Do you feel an extreme need to outdo any given gaming feat you hear of or see? ("He completed Sonic the Hedgehog in 10 minutes, picking up only two rings? I bet I can do it in nine, without using any at all!")
No.

- Do you lament the loss of hard-as-nails gameplay that doesn't mean quicksaving and quickloading every five seconds?
Yes. Often. I miss the days when I would buy a game and wonder if I would ever beat it. Now I hope that I don't beat it in under six hours.

- Have you ever considered passing out from gaming all night a mark of honor?
What?

- Have you ever realized that you haven't had any other beverage than coke or red bull for two full weeks?
I drink mostly soda anyway, but I don't think I've ever had two weeks where I've had nothing but.

/looks over the answers

Aw man... I think I'm hardcore now. Dammit.

- J

 

[ilves7]

When I think of hardcore, in reference to a game and not a gamer, I think of games that are complicated to play, or require some investment to be able to advance in. For me, a run and gun with a storyline isn't hardcore, it has a deep story, but there's nothing hardcore if the actual mechanics of the game are ridiculously easy to master and lacks depth which you can continually explore and get better at. In FPS games, I might give the title to games like the UT series where a casual gamer who never played an FPS before would get completely slaughtered in 2 seconds... or perhaps counter strike. In other genres, complicated and deep RPGs would get the nod, perhaps Baldur's Gate, since it all honesty, its pretty damn complicated.

Anyway, I usually don't consider games to be that hardcore, rather I ascribe that to players who play them. Crazed and obsessive fans can make any game hardcore if they play it enough. Its more a state of mind than an actual physical fact

 

[Necrohydra]

Like some others here, I consider gamers to be hardcore, not the games themselves. And as for the criteria for that, I'd say propertyofcobra and Darkong have pretty much hit the nail on the head, so to speak. To add to that:

A hardcore gamer owns/emulates as many gaming platforms as he/she can without prejudice. Barring that, he/she will look for the platforms he/she lacks, or constantly play them at a friend's/co-worker's/acquaintance's/complete stranger's abode.

A hardcore gamer will not just complete a game, he/she will squeeze every drop of fun and gameplay before putting it down for another. If he/she really likes it, he/she will do this multiple times.

Hardcore gamers will overlook small, and even sometimes major, flaws in a game as long as they still enjoy it. Even if they didn't, they'd still complete everything in it.

And that's all I've got to add. Admittedly, that last point is a conglomeration of previous points.

@tiredinnuendo - I can finish the original Contra and Super C (As it was called in the US) without the Konami code. I also usually wind up finishing with more lives than I started with. Does that count?

 

[Renkinjutsushi]

You know you`re a "Hardcore" gamer when:
1. You say either "lol" or "noob" in everyday conversation.
2. When you say "Pwned" in everyday conversation.
3. When people walk away when you try to have an everyday conversation.
4. Halo 3 is akin to the Holy Grail.
5. You can complete Guitar Hero by just staring at the game.
6. You have quicker reflexes than Jackie Chan.
7. At any time you have had to have a computer peripheral removed from your person.
8. You have a child called John 117.

 

[brazenhead89]

- When given a difficulty choice, do you pick the hardest choice you can?
- Do you not get why Ninja Gaiden is supposed to be so hard?
- Have you played and completed Contra, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden (NES and Xbox versions) AND Battletoads?
- Have you been playing games since the 8 bit era or earlier?
- If not, have you bought older machines, emulated, or otherwise found a way to play all the good old classics?
- Can you rattle off names of obscure, japanese games for systems that existed for two weeks in 1997?
- Do you love Shin Megami Tensei, but still consider the persons who can cross the above one off geeks?
- Do you consider any given game or game series worse the more popular it gets?
- Do you consider videogames serious enough to care about and spend hundreds of hours and THOUSANDS of dollars on, but find anyone who whines for hours upon hours about the medium's problems on forums to be idiots?
- Have you ever sat through at least FOUR separate games you hated extremely but still refused to put down, because you haven't completed them yet?
- Do you consider the Xbox 360 achievment points to be worth about as much gaming "street cred" as saying that you have genital herpes?
- Do you feel an extreme need to outdo any given gaming feat you hear of or see? ("He completed Sonic the Hedgehog in 10 minutes, picking up only two rings? I bet I can do it in nine, without using any at all!")
- Do you lament the loss of hard-as-nails gameplay that doesn't mean quicksaving and quickloading every five seconds?
- Have you ever considered passing out from gaming all night a mark of honor?
- Have you ever realized that you haven't had any other beverage than coke or red bull for two full weeks?

Cross enough of these off, and I consider you hardcore as a gamer.

"Hardcore", in my eyes, is a person who takes to videogames the same way Ned Flanders takes to religion.
I have mixed feelings of shame and pride in thinking of myself as a hardcore gamer. Because on one hand, goddamnit if you finish Ninja Gaiden 1-3 without taking a single hit, that's cool. But on the other hand, it's also terribly...terribly...sad.
But so freaking what?

I think this just about sums up everything that is Hardcore. Also, I consider not giving a shit about a game's storyline to be pretty hardcore as well. Enough proposition, make with the gameplay already!
Also, indecisivegamer; couldn't agree more. There's a line between being a hardcore gamer and being an overly-competitive moron, and when I'm playing some speccy little nerd at Halo 3 who "lol"s and "pwn"s "noobs" that line hasn't so much been crossed as pole vaulted over.