Is 'hardcore' the most obnoxious term to come out of modern gaming?

[The Adventurer]

I'm seriously sick of the term 'hardcore' being thrown around like its some endearing term for the God of Grand Theft of Duty generation. First of all, by its very nature 'hardcore gamer' should be the label for someone who enjoys ALL FORMS of video gaming. From HD consoles, to Nintendo's latest, to iOS apps. Those who find enjoyment and excitement across the generations from the inception of video games to today's best sellers. Someone who buries themselves in the hobby, regardless of a game's origins or sales status.


Not someone who plays whatever latest installment of the hottest multiplayer franchise title until the next one comes out. That's not hardcore. That's pretty spoon fed.

[sheath]

The way I have seen hardcore used it has never applied to the post Playstation era casual gamers. Dedicated Madden and Call of Duty fans who grew up playing Final Fantasy and maybe a bit of God of War or Devil May Cry were first referred to as casual gamers and then as "Core" gamers, not Hardcore. The switch came from Wii motion controls and flash games, which shifted the term casual gamers over to these "new" mediums.

Now, I have seen the term hardcore applied to lots of things but for gaming it always applied to Arcade games and early console games from the 2D era. In this view the last true hardcore console would be the Dreamcast. Obviously fans of any type of games can become "hardcore" at playing those games, but they are adopting a term that originated in the Arcades. In my opinion fans of modern gaming, especially players who only play modern games and refer to Arcade games in a derogatory way (http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/11/double-dragon-neon-review), should come up with their own term or accept what the media calls them "Core" or "Casual" gamers. I would also apply this to gamers who, when tempted to pick up a pre-3D era console, only do so to get to the "roots" of a mainstream franchise they adore.

[The 1 2 P]

Hardcore isn't nearly as obnoxious as noob or BK. Those get thrown around so much on every fps game out there. But the one that really takes the cake for me is "old new stock". I think that confuses more people than anything else. Plus it sounds stupid. It would be much easier to say you have an older system thats still new but isn't factory sealed because systems didn't get sealed like that back then. That way everyone would know what you were talking about. But hardcore and casual are pretty normal to me and I don't find either offensive or obnoxious in anyway.

[The Adventurer]

But hardcore and casual are pretty normal to me and I don't find either offensive or obnoxious in anyway.

Their obnoxious because A) they are complete misnomers in how they are used in conversation and B) artificial distinctions intended to split a community that should be united

If anything, games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 or Borderlands 2 (or the like) is 'casual', because their multiplayer focused gameplay is intended to be 'pick-up and play'. As in, whenever you have time, hope in and play a few rounds. That sounds like 'casual gaming' to me. Especially as single-player campaigns continue to be marginalized, and get shorter and shorter.


What I'm saying is, the current usage of 'Hardcore' by gamers boarders on the ironic.

[The 1 2 P]

Their obnoxious because A) they are complete misnomers in how they are used in conversation and B) artificial distinctions intended to split a community that should be united

I get what you are saying but that doesn't happen in my conversations. I know right away who I would consider a core gamer(myself) and a casual gamer(my mom). I also don't use either term as a way to split/fragment the gamer base, but more to define which type of gamer I'm talking to. So for instance, I might meet a chic who plays the latest Call of Duty game but only a couple times a week, as opposed to someone that plays it everyday. I would call her a casual COD player. But maybe that same chic plays WOW too but instead of only playing it a couple times a week like COD she plays WOW every night for atleast 1-3 hours. I would call her a core/hardcore WOW player. Thats as simplified as I need to make it for my own distinction but I have seen instances where the two can easily get blurred.

[YoshiM]

I always thought that the definition of "hardcore" was playing all the "non casual" or "non family games" in this generation. I know the last gen, or was it the gen before, seemed to focus more on the difficulty factor more so.

Now, as someone mentioned, we've got "core" being chucked about which I think means playing games that the "casual" market wouldn't venture towards (RPG's, FPS's, etc.)

Can't we just be gamers?

[Gameguy]

But the one that really takes the cake for me is "old new stock". I think that confuses more people than anything else. Plus it sounds stupid. It would be much easier to say you have an older system thats still new but isn't factory sealed because systems didn't get sealed like that back then.
I haven't heard that much with video games but it's pretty common with other hobbies. Anything that's New Old Stock/NOS means that it's new as in never used, but it was produced long ago so it's not something recently made. It's like describing say vintage bicycle tires from the 1960's, NOS means they were never used but it's clear that they're old and could be cracked or unsuitable for actual use. It's just a way to say something hasn't just come fresh from a factory within a year or so. I really have no problem with the term as long as it's used properly, it's a great way to describe new in box items that aren't recently made. No confusion for me when I hear the term, assuming the seller isn't lying about it.


As for the term hardcore, it is obnoxious to me. It's like saying someone is so serious about playing video games that they have no life outside it, like they'll skip showers and play for days because they don't have anything better to do. Then the opposite term is casual which makes it sound like someone only plays solitaire or internet based flash games. Either way it sounds stupid.

[Atarileaf]

As for the term hardcore, it is obnoxious to me. It's like saying someone is so serious about playing video games that they have no life outside it, like they'll skip showers and play for days because they don't have anything better to do. Then the opposite term is casual which makes it sound like someone only plays solitaire or internet based flash games. Either way it sounds stupid.

Pretty much what I was going to say too.

[BetaWolf47]

Honestly, I've come to the conclusion that the term "hardcore" is defined by how one enjoys games, not which ones they enjoy. Even if you only play mobile and Flash games, if you can truly, truly appreciate them for their artistic value, you can be considered hardcore in my book. Even moreso than someone who owns a library of RPGs, but doesn't truly appreciate them.

I also dislike the term being used to describe only the Grand Theft Auto, Madden, and Call of Duty crowd. If there's someone who could truly appreciate the same game as Madden if it didn't hold the NFL license, then maybe they're better than that.

[Zing]

Hardcore is pretty much the opposite of someone who plays Call of Duty, God of War, etc. Those games are so extremely mainstream, I don't understand how the term could have ever become associated with them. I guess to some people "hardcore" just means "plays violet games".

Hardcore to me are the people who played Chrono Trigger repeatedly to see every ending. People who maxed out their characters in FF7 or got all licenses in Gran Turismo.

[Final Boss]

People have gotten competitive with what is supposed to be enjoyable hobbies, especially comic books and video games. I blame the image of nerdiness as a cool thing in pop culture and those have managed to turn their hobbies to jobs (AVGN etc.).

Differentiating "hardcore" gamers from casual gamers in itself is not wrong, it's logical. But when people want to add some mystic value to being hardcore, it starts being like some sort of race where you're supposed score points from your devotion to something that is supposed to be fun.

[BydoEmpire]

It's not as annoying to me as "casuals." Hardcore has some actual meaning, and it isn't used with that derogatory tone.

[Press_Start]

It's a childish adolescent euphemism of the high school two-tier stereotypical social ladder ingenuously applied to gamer culture. In other words, "Hardcore" = The Cool Kids Table and "Casual" = Geeks/Nerds, which falls flat on its face in irony. ;)

[Aussie2B]

Hardcore is pretty much the opposite of someone who plays Call of Duty, God of War, etc. Those games are so extremely mainstream, I don't understand how the term could have ever become associated with them. I guess to some people "hardcore" just means "plays violet games".

Hardcore to me are the people who played Chrono Trigger repeatedly to see every ending. People who maxed out their characters in FF7 or got all licenses in Gran Turismo.

You mean people who would do so now, as retro gaming, or back when those were new? Because Gran Turismo was every bit as mainstream as Call of Duty and God of War in its time. Final Fantasy VII too, to a somewhat lesser extent.

[Nature Boy]

I always thought that the definition of "hardcore" was playing all the "non casual" or "non family games" in this generation.

Ditto. Which, to me, doesn't make it obnoxious at all. It's just a marketing tool really.

What I find obnoxious are gamers who snub those who happen to like the big franchises (be they sports titles or FPSes or whatever). I mean really, why not just enjoy what you enjoy and leave others to what they enjoy regardless of what category their enjoyment falls in to?

(And the same goes for music, movies, books, etc... Some people really do need to get a life).

[BlastProcessing402]

Someone who regularly stays up til 2-3am to play videogames is hardcore, no matter what game it is they're playing.

[duffmanth]

From what I've read, hardcore is supposedly used to describe PC, PS3 and 360 gamers, while people who play the Wii, mobile, and Facebook games are apparently casual gamers? Like previously mentioned, if you consider yourself a gamer, hardcore or not, you should embrace and enjoy all types of games.

[RCM]

I don't mind the label 'hardcore' at all, but disagree (at times) at the way in which it is applied.

[sheath]

You whipersnappers need to get your own term. Core is as close to hardcore I'll let modern PC/360/PS3 gamers of any variety own. Unless you can marathon game with games from the 80s and early 90s you are not a hardcore gamer.

http://nextlol.com/images/13170-get-off-my-lawn.jpg

To be fair, I'm not a hardcore gamer anymore either. I mostly just consider myself a gaming enthusiast.

[Gameguy]

http://i48.tinypic.com/k0m4k0.jpg

[sheath]

Hardcore:
http://www.arcadecenter.com/2009expo/2009keithpics/images/DSC07441.jpg

Decidedly NOT hardcore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ntLQy23EJDM

[mailman187666]

I've always thought of casual games to be games like card games, board games, and sim type games where there really is no winning or losing. Basically games whre you don't need to be a "skilled" gamer to play/enjoy/be good at them. I don't really pay much attention to what types of gamers or games are considered to be hardcore or casual to aside from what i read in articles and such.. I only label games by their genre and sub-genre and don't really care what kind of "core" they are considered. We should just start calling casual games "softcore" so people start getting offended by the porn references we are using to label our games ;) jk

[j_factor]

I always thought "casual gamers" play whatever's at the top of the charts, while "hardcore gamers" dig deeper and play games that are too hard, too weird, or too obscure for casual audiences.

[The 1 2 P]

From what I've read, hardcore is supposedly used to describe PC, PS3 and 360 gamers


Core is as close to hardcore I'll let modern PC/360/PS3 gamers of any variety own.

So does this mean there are no "hardcore" Wii gamers?

[sheath]

So does this mean there are no "hardcore" Wii gamers?

The term in its natural and original context means that nobody who exclusively plays any kind of modern game is "hardcore". These gamers need to get their own term, like CoD fanatic or Final Fantasy Fan or something like that. ;)

[The Adventurer]

The term in its natural and original context means that nobody who exclusively plays any kind of modern game is "hardcore". These gamers need to get their own term, like CoD fanatic or Final Fantasy Fan or something like that. ;)

'Mainstream'

But no mainstream gamer would ever call themselves something that is as loaded as a negative term (like 'casual'). Because that might mean they aren't the 'superior' gamers in their own minds.

[sheath]

'Mainstream'

But no mainstream gamer would ever call themselves something that is as loaded as a negative term (like 'casual'). Because that might mean they aren't the 'superior' gamers in their own minds.

Yeah, they really should just accept the label "pop culture" and stop worrying about appearances.