Is anyone else tired of the term "hardcore gamers"

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Seriously, whenever I hear that I want to scream. Mostly because it's contained within sentences like "we hardcore gamers HATE the Wii because it doesn't have really grown-up games on it!" (which you would know is utter bilge if you've ever played games like MadWorld or No More Heroes) or "Nintendo has SNUBBED its hardcore gamers by appealing to a wider audience!" or "Stupid Nintendo! Us hardcore gamers know what's best for the gaming business, not them!"

Sorry, but no. Nintendo have not snubbed hardcore gamers, they have simply expanded their market. I got my aunt and dad playing on my Wii at Christmas one year, for example - I'd never have got either of them playing on my N64 or my Mega Drive (that'd be a Sega Genesis for any Americans here ), so that was a major coup. It makes far more sense than to appeal solely to a single market of sour-faced grumblers.

My only regret with the Wii is that I won't get to play awesome games like Bayonetta if I don't shell out for a 360 or a Playstation as well...

For me, hardcore gamer just means someone who plays games for a disproportionately large amount of time.

I think that was what it originally was generally taken as too, but now I'm not sure.

"hardcore gamers" now are just people who like games where the colour scheme is mostly brown and grey?

I personally don't like the term "gamer".
Seriously, why the hell should you be referred to by your hobbies? You don't call people who read books readers, or people who watch TV watchers.It doesn't even follow basic grammar (i think ), surely since you play games, and apposed to gaming them, surely player would be a more appropiate (and hilarious) term video game people?

I actually don't mind being referred to by my hobbies. I like being called an otaku (even though those that refer to me as such mean it as an insult) and a gamer (I can't consider myself hardcore). And book "readers" are actually called bookworms, and T.V. "watchers" are called viewers.

As for the "hardcore" gamer fiasco, I'm getting tired of it as well. MrSinister hit the bullseye about Nintendo expanding their market. The "hardcore" fanbase just doesn't understand that video game companies are part of a business, therefore they HAVE to expand their market to appeal to a larger audience so they can keep going in this ECONOMIC RECESSION. And when they say stuff like "OMG, teh Wii sux! There no good game$ 4 it! NinDOODOO b trayde us!!!11!!1!! !," they don't realize that they are only speaking for themselves. I actually prefer my Wii over the PS3, because I have more games for it, and I think that they are more fun. The exact same reason why I prefer my DS over my PSP. I may have stated before that I don't mind being called a gamer, but the whining, elitism, and pretentiousness of the hardcore criteria makes feel more ashamed to be a gamer than anything else. They are ruining the fun for everyone, and just need to learn that what they don't like, others might like.

I agree with you about hardcore gamers. But I think most so-called hardcore gamers are 12 year old kids who plays shooters on Xbox Live rather than someone who is actually skilled at gaming. These kids just try to find the cheapest way to win.

And put down the damn guns already. I had enough of this guns and killing crap in video games! And I am sick and tired of game developers putting emphasis on graphics and half-assing the gameplay.

Companies like EA, Microsoft, Sony, etc. are poisoning the gaming industry and helping it to become the next Hollywood.

I would call myself a game, just as it is one of my big interests, I may have even said I was hardcore at one point, though I have kind of split it with watching anime. The people who complain about the Wii and stuff I would probsbly say as ignorant or fanboys who belive games should be how they want. I think proper gamers should respect the different consoels and that hardcore for each one, but it is not like people should try saying they know best and others are worth less by throwing around the word hardcore.

To me a hardcore gamer is someone that will play any game and complete everything it has to offer.

Quickest completion time
Finding every secret watchamacallits
Completing every subquest
and more...

Some people play games to get to the official end and forget about everything else. Like in GTA3 There is much more than just the missions, there are secrets to be had, extra work to do, etc. Would that be called a sandbox game? I don't know...

I prefer the term "Video Game Enthusiasts". Too many definitions in regards to "Hardcore Gamer". Most of us are in the minority in regards to the majority who has the loudest voice. What they say, goes.

I don't mind the term hardcore gamer. It's like a badge of honour, or something. It does get silly with the arguing about casual games, though, I agree. Not that I've been around since the dawn of gaming, but I think it's kind of cool to have been playing long enough to see games transition from 2d sprites to stuff like Mass Effect 2.

To me a hardcore gamer is someone who devotes far to much time to a game/games. To the point they look up the maths behind abilities or have a clock handy for timing moves. There is the casual hardcore gamer too, difference is they can disconnect if they need to, also don't play as much as the true hardcore gamer or do as much research. The true hardcore players are actually fairly rare, though certain games attract them more than others (EVE online consists of many hardcore gamers, it is NOT a casual friendly game). They also tend to be elitist due to the amount of effort they put in to get where they are, though not all are jerks about it. Hardcore gamers would start on the edge of addiction territory, many hardcore gamers would also be at the competitive (competition) level in some way.

Hardcore gamer has nothing to do with any platform, platform specific would be hardcore [console] fanboy. These are the terrible people that ruin companies and run their mouths off on the internet.

Anyone who says something like this:

should not have their opinion taken seriously in the slightest. The vocal minority can be very loud on the internet, the average user mostly doesn't care to go on the net and talk about it and these are the majority fan base a product should appeal to the most.

I don't mind the shooty games, but I don't play those exclusively - certainly not to the point where I start seeing a plasma cannon where my right hand ought to be, anyway - but some of my absolute favourite games are ones which have no firearms or punching in them whatsoever; New Super Mario Bros. Wii or Animal Crossing, for example (the latter is of great use when I'm trying to relax... mostly because you don't actually HAVE to do anything major when you play). Without that diversity I think my collection of games would be rather one-dimensional...

The term "hardcore gamer" has always meant, to me, someone who spends a large amount of time and effort into excelling at a game.

Someone who just spends a large amount of time on a game without exhibiting any advancement in skill or knowledge about the game is called a "no-lifer".

Well technically, if you ask someone about a certain book, they might say "Oh, I'm not really much of a reader."

Same thing with "gamer" I think, except since it used to be such an "underground" sort of thing, we made a much bigger deal out of it. You know, like "Oh hey, I met this awesome chick, and she's a gamer!"



I use the term "anal"

Nowadays, "hardcore gamer" means "mainstream FPS-er." There's good reason I've put 250+ hours into Team Fortress 2--it's painterly color scheme and comic book style gives it complete individuality and unique personality. Hell, the developers keep adding updates that both infuriate the competitive community (whom are free to turn them off) and polish the game even further. It's the Smash Brothers of gory, gibfest first person shooters, and I can't get enough of it.

I'd never call games like Gears of War, Halo, Resistance, or Killzone 2 bad games. But while Halo was a groundbreaker when it came out, it's no longer holding the bar, and more and more of those games, especially those that focus on multiplayer without having any genre-shattering game modes, get stale fast.

Unreal Tournament 2004 was a fantastic title, since it's multiplayer focused gameplay included modes not seen in any other game. TF2 has only exclusive game modes which only work for itself, and it's still fabulous--but not hardcore, because it's not straightforward enough.

I play the games I like for fun.

I don't have a problem with the people who call themselves hardcore gamers until they start attacking everyone else who doesn't match up to their standards. Then it gets ridiculously amusing (to me at least).

I play games that I want, the way I want for fun

I definitely consider myself a hardcore gamer. I tend to do the math behind what makes skills and abilities in most games work in order to get the most out of the game. I tend to be a completionist as much as possible, unless it's simply something I find incredibly boring (like WoW's holiday events).

I also play for far to large an amount of time. If I'm not at work or sleeping, I'm on my computer. And most likely, gaming. Occasionally playing Xbox or PS3. I don't have a Wii, not because I boycott Nintendo for making a brilliant business move, but simply because it doesn't have that many games I find enjoyable (though I do miss Super Smash Bro. Brawl.)

That said, I'm not an elitist as*hole, though it does annoy me when people who are bad a game deliberately turn down help in order to "play their way" and then complain about being bad. Also, people that are bad who think they are good annoy me. But that's true for anyone with skill in any sport or competition or field of study too. I'm sure Einstein would be annoyed as hell if someone came into his lab and told him they knew better than he did.