Why the hardcore/casual dichotomy?
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Casual is a simple label for a game seen as having little substance but massive, inexplicable replay value, from what I can tell.
I suppose you could compare it to the same way a chess master might deride someone for playing, say... connect 4 or Jenga.
I suppose you could compare it to the same way a chess master might deride someone for playing, say... connect 4 or Jenga.
I dislike these terms mostly because it implies an Us vs Them mentality. It also seems to denote some kind of superiority on the part of some self proclaimed "Hardcore" players.
I would rather like to consider casual games a kind of gateway drug if you will. Games that will get you into the wider world of gaming that you might not have understood before now. I can't tell you how many of these so called casual gamers I've talked to who say things like, "I don't understand why you play those video games all the time," who I've then pointed out are level 117 in Farmville and "Who is it who plays video games all the time?"
I then proceed to introduce them to Sim City, and they are never heard from again. Except maybe on these forums...
I would rather like to consider casual games a kind of gateway drug if you will. Games that will get you into the wider world of gaming that you might not have understood before now. I can't tell you how many of these so called casual gamers I've talked to who say things like, "I don't understand why you play those video games all the time," who I've then pointed out are level 117 in Farmville and "Who is it who plays video games all the time?"
I then proceed to introduce them to Sim City, and they are never heard from again. Except maybe on these forums...
Baby Tea's got it right.
Just imagine someone saying when asked to describe themselves "I'm a hardcore gamer."
But what, for me, would make the difference, is how much you care about the things besides gameplay.
"So turns out they're going to take the mushrooms out of Mario's next game, because it apparently encourages drug use." Rage? Yeah, you're "hardcore".
Just imagine someone saying when asked to describe themselves "I'm a hardcore gamer."
But what, for me, would make the difference, is how much you care about the things besides gameplay.
"So turns out they're going to take the mushrooms out of Mario's next game, because it apparently encourages drug use." Rage? Yeah, you're "hardcore".
Casual and Hardcore are not terms invented to catagorize every single individual gamer, as if the world were split into two distinct groups; instead, they represent oppisite sides of a spectrum. Yes, many gamers are more one side then another, but the vast majority exist somewhere in the middle.
Think of it like Conservative and liberal (not literally). While most people consider themselves to be one side or the other, most people are actually closer to the middle, perhaps favoring one side over the other.
So the question is not "Am I hardcore or casual" but "Where do I fit on the spectrum."
Hardcore 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 Casual
Think of it like Conservative and liberal (not literally). While most people consider themselves to be one side or the other, most people are actually closer to the middle, perhaps favoring one side over the other.
So the question is not "Am I hardcore or casual" but "Where do I fit on the spectrum."
Hardcore 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 Casual
Hardcore consumes alot of mainstream retail branded gaming products.
Casual consumes non mainstream gaming and or consumes some mainstream retail gaming products.
Gaming snob cares about qaulity and refuses to give in when a game is half assed(FO3,BS,SW:FU,ect,ect,ect,ect,ect)
Fanboy cares only about specific brands or their own opinions.
Casual consumes non mainstream gaming and or consumes some mainstream retail gaming products.
Gaming snob cares about qaulity and refuses to give in when a game is half assed(FO3,BS,SW:FU,ect,ect,ect,ect,ect)
Fanboy cares only about specific brands or their own opinions.
Hardcore and Casual are like any term. They can be thrown around, self-applied, misapplied, marketed to, et cetera ad nauseam.
To me, the difference is in the goal of the gamer. If you play video games to experience them, or as a diversion, then you are casual. Casual gamers play video games in the way most people watch TV.
If you play video games to conquer them, or to defeat other players, you are hardcore. Hardcore gamers play video games in the way professional athletes play sports.
The real test is this: Did you complain that 2008's Prince of Persia was too easy? If yes, you're hardcore. If no, you're casual.
I hope that helps.
To me, the difference is in the goal of the gamer. If you play video games to experience them, or as a diversion, then you are casual. Casual gamers play video games in the way most people watch TV.
If you play video games to conquer them, or to defeat other players, you are hardcore. Hardcore gamers play video games in the way professional athletes play sports.
The real test is this: Did you complain that 2008's Prince of Persia was too easy? If yes, you're hardcore. If no, you're casual.
I hope that helps.
I would say it depends on your interest level. I do think there is a middle ground involved, but I think you tend to sway closer to one way than another. Sadly, yes, you can be a hardcore farmville gamer. There are people out there spending alot of money on farmville cash and are insane over it. 2 women in my family are this way minus the transactions. But they religiously log in every day (usually more than once) to tend to their farm and send gifts to well over 20 people. This amount of effort I would say ties (if not surpasses) the amount of effort I put into gaming.
I consider myself a hardcore gamer of these two. I do not care for the film industry much and as such my games are my source of preferred media entertainment. I play games at least 4 hours a day on average, maybe more. I know about the games I play typically and the time I spend not playing them in recreation is usually spent learning about them. I am not talking about cheat codes or anything but rather looking over various reviews, press coverage, keeping an eye on multi-platform releases (including the ones I don't own), etc. Gaming is a passion of mine much like someone who has a passion about the film industry.
Let's put it this way, if you can list 5 game developers and 3 games made by each you have stepped into hardcore gaming. If not you are a casual gamer. I personally use the term "hardcore" as a reference to someone who knows about the buzz floating around in the industry. Very little gets past my radar about upcoming releases in video games. I think the term "hardcore" and "fanboy" are not proper terminology and misleading through intent. The term "gamer" is too vague anymore because "gamer" has sort of become a 'coolness' tag. There should be a term for "gaming connoisseur" as hardcore vs. casual gamer is more in playstyle preference and really speaks too vaguely of your actual industry interest. I am more inclined to listen to a fellow "gaming connoisseur" than I am just some guy who plays a game or two on the weekend.
If all you play is farmville or bejeweled or COD, then you are a fan, not a hardcore gamer. Although alot of people that play COD, Bejeweled, etc. can't even tell you who publish the game and still claim being a "hardcore player" as opposed to being a "hardcore fan".
I consider myself a hardcore gamer of these two. I do not care for the film industry much and as such my games are my source of preferred media entertainment. I play games at least 4 hours a day on average, maybe more. I know about the games I play typically and the time I spend not playing them in recreation is usually spent learning about them. I am not talking about cheat codes or anything but rather looking over various reviews, press coverage, keeping an eye on multi-platform releases (including the ones I don't own), etc. Gaming is a passion of mine much like someone who has a passion about the film industry.
Let's put it this way, if you can list 5 game developers and 3 games made by each you have stepped into hardcore gaming. If not you are a casual gamer. I personally use the term "hardcore" as a reference to someone who knows about the buzz floating around in the industry. Very little gets past my radar about upcoming releases in video games. I think the term "hardcore" and "fanboy" are not proper terminology and misleading through intent. The term "gamer" is too vague anymore because "gamer" has sort of become a 'coolness' tag. There should be a term for "gaming connoisseur" as hardcore vs. casual gamer is more in playstyle preference and really speaks too vaguely of your actual industry interest. I am more inclined to listen to a fellow "gaming connoisseur" than I am just some guy who plays a game or two on the weekend.
If all you play is farmville or bejeweled or COD, then you are a fan, not a hardcore gamer. Although alot of people that play COD, Bejeweled, etc. can't even tell you who publish the game and still claim being a "hardcore player" as opposed to being a "hardcore fan".
Oh. But the question was "Why."
Well, I remember the days before the "hard" got tacked on and Electronic Gaming Monthly would show charts and interviews labeled "Casual" and "Core." The distinction then was in affinity for the industry. Core Gamers self-applied to be part of the gaming demographic.
It was more about data gathering and looking for trends in the market than anything else. "What do casual gamers want from their games? Because we will make that." "What do core gamers hate in video games? We should stop doing those things." "Which of them spends more money on video games? We will allocate more resources to those people."
And then it becomes about marketing because the industry is an industry after all.
I stick with my original answer, though: The difference is how and why you play video games. I just wish that people would stop expecting that everybody plays games for the same reason they do. There's nothing funnier to me than a negative review of a great thing, but it's just annoying to hear someone say that Red Dead Redemption had "no challenge at all." YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
I wish they would make it public what Hardcore and Casual is supposed to mean. That way people would only buy games that were FOR Them. You go play Ninja Gaiden because you want a video game that hates you so you can make it your whimpering, dress-wearing little *****. I will stay here and play Assassin's Creed 2 over and over and over because I want a video game that will show me something cool and let me feel like I'm a part of history.
Well, I remember the days before the "hard" got tacked on and Electronic Gaming Monthly would show charts and interviews labeled "Casual" and "Core." The distinction then was in affinity for the industry. Core Gamers self-applied to be part of the gaming demographic.
It was more about data gathering and looking for trends in the market than anything else. "What do casual gamers want from their games? Because we will make that." "What do core gamers hate in video games? We should stop doing those things." "Which of them spends more money on video games? We will allocate more resources to those people."
And then it becomes about marketing because the industry is an industry after all.
I stick with my original answer, though: The difference is how and why you play video games. I just wish that people would stop expecting that everybody plays games for the same reason they do. There's nothing funnier to me than a negative review of a great thing, but it's just annoying to hear someone say that Red Dead Redemption had "no challenge at all." YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
I wish they would make it public what Hardcore and Casual is supposed to mean. That way people would only buy games that were FOR Them. You go play Ninja Gaiden because you want a video game that hates you so you can make it your whimpering, dress-wearing little *****. I will stay here and play Assassin's Creed 2 over and over and over because I want a video game that will show me something cool and let me feel like I'm a part of history.
You can't really be a "Hardcore Gamer" and be awesome at every game you play. You could be good at FPS games, but not so good at sidescrollers. You could be good at strategy games, but not third person action games. It really just depends on the gamer.
People just have an innate need to catagorize things for one. It helps us "make sense" of the world around us.
Also, people have a instinct to divide into "us and them" which is probably an evolutionarily driven mechanism that is the byproduct of scarce resources in the past where it would be beneficial to survival to say "this watering hole is for us, keep them away from it." It's this instinct that is responsible, in large part, for most human conflict.
If you're interested in questions like this you may consider studying sociology. I have some friemds who are majors and it seems like a pretty interesting discipline.
Also, people have a instinct to divide into "us and them" which is probably an evolutionarily driven mechanism that is the byproduct of scarce resources in the past where it would be beneficial to survival to say "this watering hole is for us, keep them away from it." It's this instinct that is responsible, in large part, for most human conflict.
If you're interested in questions like this you may consider studying sociology. I have some friemds who are majors and it seems like a pretty interesting discipline.
The rise of social gaming is going to put a weird spin on this whole category thing. There are people who play those games but don't even consider themselves gamers. If you really think about it, Facebook is a computer game. It's got metrics and conditions for victory, and ongoing enforced tasks and rewards and blah blah blah. I think you're right that it comes down to dedication and interest level, but how do you gauge that when the person who's desperately dedicated to a game doesn't even know it's a game?Savagezion said:
wkrepelin said:
That's not the whole story, though. I mean, Adam named the animals.
Sometimes "this is this because it is not that" isn't harmful. But mostly this was an excuse to use the phrase "Adam named the animals" because I saw it written as graffiti somewhere and I thought it sounded smart.
I've taken a couple courses at university that deal with sociology, but my main degree is in psychology (with a criminology tack-on), so I tend to disagree with their assumptions and paradigms. But yes, it would certainly have some interesting things to say about this.wkrepelin said:
From what I can tell, yes, they are just categories that people created to describe certain groups. My point was that there seems to be very little recognition of the majority of gamers, the "middle" crowd. It seems weird that a group so large in number has yet to be addressed in any significant way, either in game designs, marketing or whatever. Games are either marketed at casual gamers, which are Farmville, Bejeweled etc, or they seem to be aimed at more "hardcore" gamers, for example MW2, or even the FF games to an extent (playing those games takes serious commitment, no matter how good they may be they are SLOW). Given that most people, or at the very least a significant minority, of people would fall into neither of these, this is interesting that no label or whatever has come up yet to even identify this group.
Yeah, really. In two of my accounting classes (actually, the two non-computer classes) there were people in front/behind me that talked about Farmville all class every day. In my programming class one day we (class and teacher) stopped talking about programming and started talking about Dragon Age for about 20 minutes.Susan Arendt said:If you think people who play Bejeweled and Farmville don't spend their free time talking about them, you are very much mistaken.HG131 said:
What Susan said.Susan Arendt said:If you think people who play Bejeweled and Farmville don't spend their free time talking about them, you are very much mistaken.HG131 said:
Also, I agree with HG131.
I never like to define myself as a "hardcore" gamer. Sure, I play games, but I don't play to win, I play to have fun (Although that is a little hard in MW2 when you're losing..).
The term "hardcore gamer" is a little bragging in my opinion:
"What do you do on a daily basis then?"
"I play video games, I'm a hardcore gamer."
What since when was anyone describing Gamer either hardcore or casual in terms of how many products they ownBaby Tea said:
Hardcore and casual are classifications of gamers
A movie buff is someone who is well educated in cineamatography, not just enjoying good movies but have a distinct and displayable deep knowledge of the subject matter
Audiophiles are quality obsessed displaying a care and attention to detail in reguards to not just quality sound but often musical composition as well
They denote more than just a passing interest, same with gaming a movie buff doesn't call themselves a movie buff because they own a lot of movies they do so as an indentifyer that movies to them are precioucs and are to them not just merely something they do infrequently to pass the time
The coverall term "Gamer" is an identifyer that videogames are precious to that person and they consider their gaming interest as being a big part of their lives and their identity and the primary focus of their leisure time