I'd like to take a moment to address something that, frankly, irritates the hell out of me: the recent divide of the gaming demographic between the "hardcore gamer" and the "casual gamer."
And no, it's not what you're thinking. Well, probably.
I'm not going to argue that this division doesn't exist (it does). The problem is, we seem to have reversed the meaning. Somewhere along the line, casual gamers adopted the moniker "hardcore," and the real hardcore gamers? Honestly, I'm not sure they even exist any more. Well, before we go any further with this, perhaps it's best to define the terms.
What is a casual gamer? A casual gamer is someone who doesn't really care about games. (That plurality is important!) He or she will only ever play a handful of titles out of one or two genres. He or she will not be interested in the medium at all, and will not explore older games due to the shallow level of interest he or she has in the medium. Basically, the casual gamer plays games, but doesn't know or care to know much else.
And the hardcore gamer? The hardcore gamer is someone who has been playing games for a long time. He or she has played hundreds of games from every era and every genre. He or she has explored the medium from every possible angle. From Japanese visual novels like the sublime Clannad, to almost impossibly dense strategy games like Universalis. The hardcore gamer actively seeks out old "classic" games: he or she cares more about content than style. To the hardcore gamer, gaming is more than a simple hobby--it's a pastime. It's something to research, to ponder, to discuss.
At least, that's how I define the terms. Seems pretty simple and straight-forward, doesn't it? I think so, at least. But that brings me to the chewy caramel center of my little diatribe: the reversal. The people who, today, identify themselves as hardcore gamers--I see them as casual gamers. No different at their cores than the soccer moms who sit down for ten minutes of Peggle or Wii Fit every other thursday. I am talking, of course, of the "Shooter" crowd.
When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 console in 2005, they gave birth to a new era of gaming. Just as the Wii introduced gaming to older audiences, the 360 broadened the gaming demographic to pretty much everyone in the much-lauded 18-34 demographic. Young men who had never played games before because of the "geek" stigma attached to the hobby soon found it socially acceptable--encouraged, even--to pick up a controller and play some Halo.
This stereotypical individual is commonly seen through the stereotypical lens of the "jock" or the "frat boy." They got into gaming with the 360 and Halo 3, and ushered in the era of the First Person Shooter.
And do I really need to say much more? For the first several years of the the current console generation, all of the big games were first person shooters: Halo, Call of Duty, Resistance--and there was little else. Like RTS games? Too bad. Like RPGs? Too bad. Like adventure games? Too bad.
For a while there, gaming seemed dead. Every game: look down the barrel of a gun. Every game: lots of brown and red. Every game: Fuck, fuck, fuck, dialog writers only know one fucking word.
In much the same way that "Nintendo" was once synonymous with "video games," First Person Shooters became synonymous with games, period. This new breed of gamers lapped up the shooters and didn't just care little for the other genres--they didn't even seem to realize other genres existed! These are the people who call themselves "hardcore gamers" today.
But they're casual. Casual as it comes.
These are the "hardcore gamers" who will profess to love a genre, yet refuse to play the classic, older games of that genre because "old games suck."
These are the "hardcore gamers" who throw tantrums when they play any game that doesn't let them murder someone within the first few minutes.
These are the "hardcore gamers" that toss out racist epithets on Xbox Live; Who disconnect before losing matches; who fixate entirely too much on the minutiae of differences between nearly-identical shooters. Who think taking a generic shooter's leaderboard as the premier measure of social status makes them hardcore, but fail to realize that just playing one or two similar genres, no matter how much, does not make you a hardcore gamer.
And the worst bit about it? For as casual as their exploration of the gaming medium is, these "hardcore gamers" take themselves far, far, far too seriously.
Today, "hardcore gaming" has come to mean ultra-simple controls, quick-time events, poorly-written drivel filled with violence and profanity, and "hyper-realistic" environments (lots of brown and dust). The move toward appeasing these "hardcore gamers" has ruined several venerable franchises already, and has helped more than anything else to transform the once vibrant assortment of gaming genres into one big, homogenous pile of samey dullness.
I'm sick of it.
And I don't see a way out.
So I'd like to end with a simple request: If you consider yourself a "hardcore gamer," fill out the following checklist. If you don't check of 10 or more items, start thinking of yourself as a "casual gamer." Please.
__ I play first-person shooting games.
__ I play third-person shooting games.
__ I play racing games.
__ I play turn-based strategy games.
__ I play real-time strategy games.
__ I play adventure games.
__ I play action-RPG games.
__ I play turn-based RPG games.
__ I go out of my way to play older, "classic" games in genres I like.
__ I have played games produced before 2000.
__ I don't consider myself a fan of any particular gaming company over another.
__ I recognize the bigotry of "east versus west" that currently permeates the gaming community.
__ I frequently play games older than 5 years.
__ I have played hundreds of games over a period of many years, across multiple genres, giving me refined taste and perspective.
Sony has launched the PSN Store "PlayStation Indies" sale this May 15, and this one is full of smaller titles at a discounted rate.
Assassin's Creed Shadows digital storefront pages are up, and it confirms the game will require an internet connection, and MTX.
One thing that's messed up about this, is there will be people playing pirated versions of this without that restriction, while the paying customers will suffer. Just like how some games will have lower performance on PC due to DRM, while pirated copies don't.
Anyone that wants to say something like "Who doesn't have internet access in this day and age?" There's plenty reasons people won't always have access, such as living in rural areas with spotty coverage, for example.
Three single-player games in a row they've done this with now. Those f***ers weren't kidding when they said gamers need to be comfortable with not owning their games. As a physical collector, and somebody who enjoys Ubisoft's open worlds, this is a nightmare scenario for me. Absolute scumbag company.
Starfield’s latest update is here and it’s bringing several new features with it!
All checked for me.
I play first-person shooting games.
I play third-person shooting games.
I play racing games.
I play turn-based strategy games.
I play real-time strategy games.
I play adventure games.
I play action-RPG games.
I have played games produced before 2000.
I don't consider myself a fan of any particular gaming company over another.
I recognize the bigotry of "east versus west" that currently permeates the gaming community.
I have played hundreds of games over a period of many years, across multiple genres, giving me refined taste and perspective.
Yeah, all checked. I doubt you'll find many around here that don't tick all those boxes, to be honest, this is a pretty enthusiast-driven site. Who, other than hardcore gamers, would visit a gaming new aggregator multiple times daily and participate in the community?
I think your definition of hardcore is far too rigid. My definition is someone who plays often, plays many different games thoroughly, is open to try most genres but doesn't have to be a fan, and has significant knowledge of the industry. And yes, that's a description that fits me pretty well.
I don't see why someone can't stick to a handful of core genres they prefer, and simply keep up with new releases, which gives anyone more than enough to play.
Not only that, but your definition of casual basically sounds like the equivalent of a racist, rage-quiting Call of Duty zombie. Those aren't casuals you're describing. You're describing idiots. To me, a casual is someone who enjoys games, but primarily sticks to a few games of choice. Their attitude or behavior or preference for older games has nothing to do with it.
I stick primarily with first and third person shooters, arcade racers, and I dabble in other genres with stuff like Mortal Kombat, Fallout, Mass Effect, Command & Conquer, LittleBigPlanet and Portal but I wouldn't consider myself someone who actively plays games from those genres. Most of those games actual share similarities the the genres I prefer. I'm respectful online. I prefer Sony since they cater to the kind of gaming I like. I've played hundreds of games since I was seven, but I rarely go back to play the oldies unless I'm revisiting a handful of old favorites, since I'm perfectly content with what I have to play today. Plus, I find it hard to get into games since I feel they don't hold up well to modern games. I'd consider myself hardcore.
I can check off exactly ten of those boxes, but if someone can't check off the action-RPG player box just because they don't play Mass Effect or Fallout like I do, I don't see why they are any less hardcore than I am.
The only games I don't like are turn based RPG and RTS games. I have just never got into those games. I do like RPG adventure,and every other genre though.
I checked off 11 of those items on the list.
I would consider myself a hardcore gamer as I play almost every day for at least 2 to 3 hours, and have 90 blu-ray PS3 games and around 20 PC games.