Whenever people talk about gaming and games consoles people keep mentioning the words 'hardcore and casual'...I was wondering makes someone a hardcore gamer instead of a casual one? Is it the type of games they play, the console they own, how long in a week or much money they spend playing games.

not sure there is one definition....

though a combination of all of the above would probably be the factors that decide

I'm Casual cause them HARDCORE games simply require way too much ATTENTION for me to enjoy... I prefer brainless entertainment

It's just one of many terms the mass media invented to dumb down, and stereo type gamers. You can't measure the difference between hardcore and casual. I prefer people who invent their own terms, and try to talk normal. Like the Angry Video Game Nerd. At least he invents new words. Most of them are swear words, but it's refreshing to see people think outside the box. It's like the game journalists were invaded by brain aliens.

im a casual gamer...

ENDLESS OCEAN over SSBB any day...

but say you spend between 15+ hours a week playing something like Endless Ocean, I reckon thats pretty hardcore..just in a very peaceful way

Im a HardCore Gamer when im not working or Out of my house *well sometimes when im out* I Play Games!

I'm both...

Well, from how the game journalists use it I'm in the middle. I like casual games and part of what I love about the Wii is all the multi-person/one console games that are lots of fun. On the other hand, I like strategy and depth in games too because I'm huge on non-traditional board and card games, especially European ones. Some video games hit that sweet spot for me too.

On my PS2, I'll play for a little while then won't touch it for months. Same with previous systems. I get bored quickly by just pushing buttons, it feels so blah. But with Wii controls it's much more interesting. I'm getting obsessed with playing it and I have a huge wish list of (non-casual) games to get after we replace our crappy car soon. The Wii is turning me into a hardcore video gamer!

What I hate is when people talk about how awful all these casual games are, all those annoying casual gamers, blah blah blah. You know what? Those casual gamers are a large part of the Wii's success.

im both, i like the mini-games and stuff like that in small doses, but my hardcore side hasn't been very satisfied, being im craving halo 3 and COD4, but there's not really anything like that on the wii. im just kinda waiting and hoping

That's one thing I don't get- why does hardcore so often have to mean shooter games? I see that mentioned a lot. I know that's an overly popular genre lately but that's not the only genre type for more serious video games.

i take that back :P

Hardcore -
Remembers the names of games pre current gen - Clears all games - High score freak - Will allways prefer to play cratain games on a certain pad - Will argue what version of a game is best - Will critasize a game in a series if one thing is changed - Still has his old consoles - Has big thumbs - Can stay up all night playin - Will buy a game thats part of a series
Thats a small list

Casual -
Will buy games based on films - Will pick up a game based on the box - Tends to buy games because "it looks good" - Canon fodder for game sellers (I addmit to doin this) - Will wonder if a memory card is needed - Has a load of unfisnished games
Small list

How can a game be classified as 'hardcore'?? Those that are rated 15 and above or involve crime and shooting things? I'm not knocking those games if that is what people go for, but like Naturestee said 'The Wii is turning me into a hardcore video gamer!' Me and my lad have been playing Mario Kart and PES2008 for a hours each day since they got released...in your opinion does that makes us hardcore gamers?

Once again, I am both

Fire emblem ?
The games on the VC ?

Fire emblem is hardcore?

Maybe I'll buy it.