Why the hardcore/casual dichotomy?

[JordanMillward_1]

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 feel the same. I'm a Gamer, nothing more, nothing less. I'm not casual (I play games a lot) but I'm not hardcore (I don't play games to be awesome at them, I play for fun).

Such labels within a subculture does nothing good for us, and only seems to form a segregated society based on people's personal preferences.

 

[veloper]

I've been wrestling with this for a while, and I can't come up with a satisfying solution. Why the need to classify gamers as "casual" or "hardcore"?

Because CORE gamers play different games than casuals and if we cannot be identified by our preferences, the industry cannot make any more games for us.

 

[Murtdragon]

At least in my in experience, Hardcore is a term used to describe a mouth breathing, almost always male, virgin living in his uncles basement (because his parents threw him out) who spends every waking moment working out tactics/specs to be the best possible. He does not care that he hasn't got any real friends, or that he doesn't have a great chance with the ladies, or even changed clothes this month.

And casual is used to describe someone who is so unbelievably bad at games, they can not be having fun playing this. They stand in the fire, they friendly fire team mates and die a lot to the goombas in Mario. But they don't care, because they delight in ruining the game for the hardcore, hell most casuals wouldn't play games if it weren't for the fact that they can ruin some snack covered basement dwellers weekend.

Of course, neither really exists. Its just a derogatory binary label to put on someone.

 

[deadguynotyetburied]

Classifications and divisions are useful in making all your problems someone else's fault.

 

[RollingDigits]

Hardcore is someone who beats Contra, Megaman, Ninja Gaiden, any other crazy Nintendo Hard game without cheating and without outside help. Casual is anyone else.

Alternatively, Hardcore is someone who looks at the game below face value. They "analyze" it, so to speak.

 

[dangitall]

Hardcore: If you play any brown/gray war shooters featuring testosterone-pumped mid-life crisis war heroes or an in-game douche but people somehow still like you. /sarcasm
Causal: pussies who does not play what was mentioned above. /sarcasm again
and yes, I am pissed off anytime someone says that they are hardcore because they just bought bad company 2 before their friends. and I'm biased. Sue me. /yet more sarcasm

 

[Allan53]

So the general opinion seems split in two main groups (with, of course, some others).

1. Saying that hardcore and casual are the only classifications of gamers, which seem to be denying that anyone else exists.

2. Saying the classifications are just marketing labels made up that only apply to small segments.

1) Casual gamers, who play games like Solitaire and Bejeweled and Farmville
2) "gamers" who play on a console, but have no real gaming knowledge or technical skill, and that can't tell the difference between an FPS and a RTS
3) Hardcore gamers, like myself, who have played every game you can imagine, learned about every single hardware component in their PC, learned to use software to an extensive level, learned about game design, bug detection, game styles, types and things that keep a gamer playing, have an idea how to use firewalls, ports and antivirus software, are able to configure and mod their games freely, without someone's help, and can fix their games in case they don't work for some reason.

A good example of the point I'm trying to make. You're essentially saying there are console gamers (who you imply are morons/ignorant), or 1337 hardcore gamers who know every single technical specification about every game ever made. Yeah. If you've never, ever met anyone that falls into the middle, I'd be exceptionally surprised.

Well one obvious reason is that hardcore gamers and casual gamers are 2 different market segments and therefore games company's (which are at the end of the day businesses) need to know what market there game is going to be played by predominately as this changes how you market the product ie your probably not going to see a big flashy cgi animation trailer for the next bejewelled game on your tv any time soon but you might see one for Call of duty black ops

They may be arbitary categories, but I'm certain marketing people (who, despite popular opinion, are not stupid people) are aware there is a third (or fourth, fifth etc) group beyond this pairing. And yet, you never see any games marketed to this group(s). People seem to be stuck on the idea there is Bejeweled-casual and then CoD-online hardcore, with nothing in the middle.

 

[AngryMongoose]

You're a hardcore gamer. Hardcore doesn't mean no life. Quite frankly, I find that suggestion rather offensive.

 

[Tiswas]

As far as I'm concerned it's

Spend many hours a day/week playing games is hardcore.

An hour a day/week is casual.

It's not the games really. If one person played Fallout 3 once a week for two hours went up against someone who plays Farmville for 20 hours a week I'd consider the Farmville one to be more of a hardcore player.

 

[almostnot]

Sorry to be tardy to the party and apologies if this point has already been raised...BUT...personally I like the terms hardcore and casual, if they are from a trusted source, because they help me to plan my purchases.

For me I want to know, especially as a Wii owner, what the gameplay is like in terms of practiced, evolved, hand eye co-ordination based challenge as independantly indentifiable to graphics.

To give you a Gamecube example, I would consider Wind Waker to be a hardcore game but one that looks anything but. Likewise having played Alan Wake I would not consider a hardcore game considering there is next to no gameplay involved.

Don't get me wrong, I like Bejewelled and Peggle but why would I pay to play them when I can have a bash at them on FB. When I spend money I want a good experience that tests my gaming skills in an established way with a degree of innovation: Jeu du papa if you will...