GAMERS-casual or hardcore were all gamers arent we?

[sabre2922]

This controversial subject seems to pop up in just about every other thread and for a reason I think the reason being that their are different types of gamers out there.

There is no NICE way to put it there are those that play a Madden or GTA game once or twice a week and then there are those of us that play games everyday whether it be on atari2600,NES,Genesis or PS2,Gamecube,Xbox.

There are those of us who have been a "video game geek" looong before it became PR or accepted in mainstream society.

There are gamers who started out on a PONG system or Atari2600 or even NES and then the ones that had played a Mario game a few times and never actually owned a system until PSX.

Does that make any of us better than anyone else? HELL NO but it does make for two different types of gamers the casuals and the hardcore. Theres no getting around that fact and we all know it.

At least on this board we dont go to the extremes of using such terms and kiddy crap as Owned ,sheep, cow,trolls (well thats been used some LOL ) etc.

I luv this board I feel a companionship with those here that live and breath video games like myself and yes I think of about 90% of the members on this board as Hardcore and very well informed.

Then there are those that get mad whenever any of us post about how great the Dreamcast,Turbographix-16,Sega CD or NEO-GEO are but I really believe that those are the same ones that started out on PSX and just dont get it.

The reason they dont get it is in large part because they dont WANT to get it its OLD to them and they never experienced picking up a Gold Zelda cart the week of its release or the Greatness that was Dreamcast and maybe that vent their frustrations on us that have experienced all that and more because they might be slightly jealous.

Im sure all this may very well make enemies for me but I think it had to be said and yes I did look for a topic in search that corresponded with this one im sure they are some.

The bottom line is dont flame those of us here that might want to talk about the great systems or games of the past or even of the present or future just because you never experienced them for yourselves OR if u have tell us why you think that certain system or game is overated in a convincing way but try to stay open minded about the games and sytems you hear about on this board and find one to play or purchase and see what all the talk and fond memories are about before flaming a fellow gamer on here.

Also Hardcore doesnt mean that your favorite system has to be SNES,NES,Neo-Geo,Saturn or even Dreamcast or any number of classic systems it just mean that your in the know about these things and you have a great passion for videogames as a whole.

[s1lence]

Well , My videogame interpretation of hardcore is my overall obsession with videogames. Its what I think about all the time and wish I could play if I had the time to do so. Being hardcore doesn't have to mean your a fanboy of anysort, just an extreme love of video games. The people that can't appreciate certain games and systems are way to closed minded. Some system and games sure are good and some are well, terrible. It doesn't mean I can't appreciate the stinkers too. Those are the games you tend to remember the most anyway.

[Muscelli]

if you wouldlike an example of fucking bullshit, then click here

http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/show_topics.php?board=314159282

[Trebuken]

Top determine if you are a hardcore gamer go here...

http://www.tomshardware.com/game/20050909/index.html

I think I'm only addicted...

Trebuken

[njiska]

I think the good thing about DP is that even though we'll get in some pretty heated arguements from time to time, there seems to be a alot of mutual respect for each other. Christ knows that Flack, lord of the lock, has pissed me off from time to time by locking things that i don't think should be locked, but i repesct his position and i know why he locks them, so i have no bad blood towards him (please don't kill me Flack).

If you have no interest in a hardcore disscussion, bottom line, don't join in. If we're disscussing the greatness of the DC and you don't know what it's like don't join in. If we have a disscussion like the one about making old games on new consoles, then state why you disagree and give good reasons., but if you don't have any valid reasons expect to take someheat because that's how it is. DP debates always favour the informed. Even more so in the Off-Topic forum.

[njiska]

Top determine if you are a hardcore gamer go here...

http://www.tomshardware.com/game/20050909/index.html

I think I'm only addicted...

Trebuken

Hmm i'm a sociable moderate with an addiction. That's fucked up.

[PDorr3]

Good post.
My first game system was a colecovision when I was only a few years old. I then got a genesis and that remained my only game system along with coleco until I got a gameboy.

I am only 17 (almost 18 :) ) so I never grew up with the NES or Atari as well as others have. But I do consider myself beyond just a casual gamer because as a kid I had bought other systems such as a 32X, Nomad, and even Jaguar. I was big into games, and eventhough I never owned a NES or Atari until I was older, I still consider myself a hardcore gamer.

I now brought myself up to pace and bought the backlog of systems I never bought such as an AES, Saturn, SNES, Sega CD, SMS, The list goes on.

I might prefer the newer games like PS2 over say NES games, and I might not play retro systems daily, but I do play and appreciate them and do not criticize them for what they are.

I play them and think just how wonderful they must have been 20 years ago.

[Push Upstairs]

I don't even think i qualify as a "hardcore" gamer.

I don't really play them all that much plus i share that hobby with DVD's and music.

I have the passion and respect for video games, but i end up spending more time yapping about them than i do playing them. LOL

[shoes23]

Who cares? What is the difference what you classify yourself or other people as? What's the point in trying to establish a heirarchy of gaming nerds? And to say that people who don't like the Dreamcast just don't get it is absurb. Even more absurd when you say "don't flame us for liking the dreamcast or the PCE or the NEO-GEO...you grew up on the PSX." We are all gamers and some of us like different things. My first game was Jungle Hunt for the 2600...and I don't like the dreamcast; it just has too many arcade ports for me, and only a few true gems in its library. It has nothing to do with jealousy...just personal taste.

[Slimedog]

Did anybody else have a specific moment when they realized they were hardcore? In 6th I'd been playing games all my life, but even though I was better at games than my friends, I pretty much just thought of games as one of my many hobbies. I was kind of depressed for some reason or another and got to thinking how I wasn't really good at anything. I found a complete list of current NES titles and started counting up the games I'd beaten. Over the previous year or two, I'd been renting NES games like crazy and with NES games, you could mostly rent them and beat them in a day or two. My total was just over 100 and that blew my mind. I couldn't believe I'd beaten that many games and it really helped salvage my flagging, preteen self-esteem. From then on, I really identified myself as a gamer. Now if only I'd realized I was a collector too, maybe I'd still have all my old stuff.

[Wavelflack]

I guess I'm wondering why there is so much introspection out there in the "gaming community".
It seems like every year that passes, the "gaming community" gets a little more sense of self importance, or something like that.
Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

[Sosage]

Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

Second that. :cheers:

[izret101]

Top determine if you are a hardcore gamer go here...

http://www.tomshardware.com/game/20050909/index.html

I think I'm only addicted...

Trebuken

I fall under all of those categories. (Very rarely do i fit into one category...)
I regularly play with people for a multiplayer experiance, i have always played card games like Pokemon and Magic, i spend more on games than i do anything else(although that is going to have to change) and i have more gaming stuff on my harddrives than anything music being a easy second. I have referred to myself as Izret a few times though. Which is my base handle pretty much everywhere.

I do think some of that stuff is pretty stupid.
Turn down a date with the girl of your dreams? You need to see a shrink.
All my friends are gamers just to varying degrees. I don't think i know one person who doesn't play video games in one way or another.



Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

Second that. :cheers:
I third that :D :cheers:

[Slimedog]

I guess I'm wondering why there is so much introspection out there in the "gaming community".
It seems like every year that passes, the "gaming community" gets a little more sense of self importance, or something like that.
Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

I can't speak for everyone, but I talk about gaming and the social relavence thereof because there is more to life than playing games. If you only read the boards for it to figure out how to get past level 3, then I hear Gamefaqs has a great forum section. I personally come here to hear other peoples views about the past and future of the gaming industry and the place of video gaming in current events. I listen to music, watch movies and read books too. Should I not consider the social relevance of those forms of media either?

Also, if your "gaming community" quotes indicate that you don't think we have a community, why are you here? I mean, if you think playing games is so much more important than talking about them, why aren't you playing instead of posting?

If you want to shut up and play, thats your business. But don't tell me what to think.

[Flack]

Lord of the lock? LOL

I find the more time I spend discussing what type of gamer I am leaves me less time with which to play games.

[njiska]

Lord of the lock? LOL

I find the more time I spend discussing what type of gamer I am leaves me less time with which to play games.

True Flack, but like Slimedog said, there is more to life then gaming. Gaming is a way of life, but it isn't LIFE.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

This would be "The other" topic of conversation which will last till the end of time, and will be discussed time and time again next to the *Sealed game collector's Vs unsealed game collector's* topic.

These two keep cropping up, and it's hard to have a conversation on here without touching slightly on one or the other.

[mezrabad]

Did anybody else have a specific moment when they realized they were hardcore?

1996. I was meeting a friend of a mutual friend who was a former Origin employee and who was, at the time, developing the game NetStorm. We went to a place in Austin called Dragon's Lair, where we, by coincidence, ran into another Origin employee, one of the art directors for Wing Commander III or IV. The friend I was with introduced us. Aas soon as he said the guy's name, I blurted out, "oh yeah, the art director on Wing Commander III". He gave me a look like "how did you know that?" and I said I'd actually recognized him because I'd seen him interviewed on the Wing Commander III "making of" CD.

That was the first inkling I had that I might've been into this a lot more than most people.

The second inkling, and what sealed it really, was later that same day, I showed the first Origin employee my game room and he uttered a sincere "wow . . . you have a lot of games . . ."

When someone in the game industry was in awe by the amount of games I owned and was also surprised that I recognized by sight a credited staff member of a game . . . I think that's the day I realized I qualified as hardcore.

EDIT: I just read the link to Tom's Hardware. I don't think I fit that definition of hardcore. I wouldn't never blow off a date with my dreamgirl, a.k.a. wife, to play just any videogame. It would have to be a very important videogame. Also it says that on the Myers-Briggs test a "hardcore" gamer is ISTJ and I've tested as INFJ so, what they hell do they know?[/i]

[sabre2922]

I guess I'm wondering why there is so much introspection out there in the "gaming community".
It seems like every year that passes, the "gaming community" gets a little more sense of self importance, or something like that.
Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

I can't speak for everyone, but I talk about gaming and the social relavence thereof because there is more to life than playing games. If you only read the boards for it to figure out how to get past level 3, then I hear Gamefaqs has a great forum section. I personally come here to hear other peoples views about the past and future of the gaming industry and the place of video gaming in current events. I listen to music, watch movies and read books too. Should I not consider the social relevance of those forms of media either?

Also, if your "gaming community" quotes indicate that you don't think we have a community, why are you here? I mean, if you think playing games is so much more important than talking about them, why aren't you playing instead of posting?

If you want to shut up and play, thats your business. But don't tell me what to think.

I agree if you dont think this is a community worth showing respect for then why be a part of it? or think its a waste of time to post on here then I say FUCK OFF!

[NeoZeedeater]

Did anybody else have a specific moment when they realized they were hardcore?
When I was 11 or 12 and it occurred to me that I was probably the only kid in the arcade making sure I memorized the company names on all the game machines.

[Wavelflack]

I guess I'm wondering why there is so much introspection out there in the "gaming community".
It seems like every year that passes, the "gaming community" gets a little more sense of self importance, or something like that.
Play your fucking games and stop pondering the social relevance of this hobby. Jesus.

I can't speak for everyone, but I talk about gaming and the social relavence thereof because there is more to life than playing games. If you only read the boards for it to figure out how to get past level 3, then I hear Gamefaqs has a great forum section. I personally come here to hear other peoples views about the past and future of the gaming industry and the place of video gaming in current events. I listen to music, watch movies and read books too. Should I not consider the social relevance of those forms of media either?

Also, if your "gaming community" quotes indicate that you don't think we have a community, why are you here? I mean, if you think playing games is so much more important than talking about them, why aren't you playing instead of posting?

If you want to shut up and play, thats your business. But don't tell me what to think.

I agree if you dont think this is a community worth showing respect for then why be a part of it? or think its a waste of time to post on here then I say FUCK OFF!

Well, well. That was certainly uncalled for.

1. I've been a member of this community since 1998.
2. I have little respect for people who marvel over themselves and spend time inflating their egos via analysis over their "hardcore" status. This goes for people in all walks of life, including those who tattoo "THUG" into their skin, as well as those who prance around trying to affirm their "hardcore" or "old school" credibility.

There are plenty of board members who do not fall into the aformentioned category.

As for the previous caller:

1. "I can't speak for everyone, but I talk about gaming and the social relavence thereof because there is more to life than playing games."

There most certainly is more to life than playing games. People with lives that extend beyond the horizon of "gaming" don't have to rely on something as meaningless and arbitrary as their "hardcore gamer" attributes in order to justify their value and place in society. As such, the quote is self contradictory. There IS no social relevance, because there IS more to life than playing games.

I realize that this emasculates the remaining text of your post by rendering it baseless and irrelevant, but I can still have some fun with the remains:

2. "Also, if your "gaming community" quotes indicate that you don't think we have a community, why are you here? I mean, if you think playing games is so much more important than talking about them, why aren't you playing instead of posting?"

"Gaming community" is in quotes to differentiate your type of gaming community (elitist, arrogant, shameful) from mine. The gaming community (no quotes) I associate with does not spend time jerking each other off about how elite and "hardcore" we are. We don't dedicate entire threads to unearthing the moment of our transcendence into "hardcore" (ie; better than you) gamers.

Now don't you feel a little silly?

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

:)

[Slimedog]

Well, well. That was certainly uncalled for.

1. I've been a member of this community since 1998.
2. I have little respect for people who marvel over themselves and spend time inflating their egos via analysis over their "hardcore" status. This goes for people in all walks of life, including those who tattoo "THUG" into their skin, as well as those who prance around trying to affirm their "hardcore" or "old school" credibility.

There are plenty of board members who do not fall into the aformentioned category.

As for the previous caller:

1. "I can't speak for everyone, but I talk about gaming and the social relavence thereof because there is more to life than playing games."

There most certainly is more to life than playing games. People with lives that extend beyond the horizon of "gaming" don't have to rely on something as meaningless and arbitrary as their "hardcore gamer" attributes in order to justify their value and place in society. As such, the quote is self contradictory. There IS no social relevance, because there IS more to life than playing games.

I realize that this emasculates the remaining text of your post by rendering it baseless and irrelevant, but I can still have some fun with the remains:

2. "Also, if your "gaming community" quotes indicate that you don't think we have a community, why are you here? I mean, if you think playing games is so much more important than talking about them, why aren't you playing instead of posting?"

"Gaming community" is in quotes to differentiate your type of gaming community (elitist, arrogant, shameful) from mine. The gaming community (no quotes) I associate with does not spend time jerking each other off about how elite and "hardcore" we are. We don't dedicate entire threads to unearthing the moment of our transcendence into "hardcore" (ie; better than you) gamers.

Now don't you feel a little silly?

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

:)

"There most certainly is more to life than playing games.
People with lives that extend beyond the horizon of "gaming" don't have to rely on something as meaningless and arbitrary as their "hardcore gamer" attributes in order to justify their value and place in society. "
I agree. However, I rather doubt that many people here have lives that do not extend beyond the horizon of gaming. Maybe we are talking at odds here because of a problem of definitions. I would consider a "hardcore gamer" anybody who has more interest than a "casual gamer". Since the "hardcore" label is just something you assign to yourself, it is pretty meaningless to others.


"As such, the quote is self contradictory. There IS no social relevance, because there IS more to life than playing games."
This doesn't make much since. By this logic, unless something consumes ones entire life, then there is no social relevance to it. For example, lets take something that we can both agree is socially relevant. Like democracy. There is more to life than just democracy, so that would make democracy socially irrelevant. I think what you are trying to say is that video games are not the only thing that is socially relevant, and I would certainly agree with that. But the fact is that my statement "I talk about gaming and the social relevance thereof because there is more to life than playing games." is not contradictory. If I spent all my time playing games, I wouldn't have any time to talk about them. In honesty, I talk about other things too, but since this is a video game related forum I try to stay on topic. Nowhere in my post do I state or imply that there is no more to life than video games. But if you REALLY want me to look like an asshat, you should mention that I used the word "thereof" in a post.

"I realize that this emasculates the remaining text of your post by rendering it baseless and irrelevant"
That's kind of funny. The rest of my post was just stating why I browse the boards and how I spend my free time. How exactly did you render that baseless?

You seem to be implying that there is some sort of dick waving contest going on in this thread or on the boards in general and I don't see that. I only see people relating how being a gamer has affected their lives. A lot of people here acknowledge that video games are a part of who they are and that common interest draws us together to talk about our shared cultural experience.

As far as I can tell, there is no "better than you" going on. If I told you about the day that I discovered I was a Weird Al fan, would that make me better than you? How would me being any sort of gamer place me above or below you? I think you are making an assumption here that isn't warranted. Just the fact that you've been posting here since 1998 makes you every bit as "hardcore" as me. :) If you want to be a "casual gamer" that's fine too. That's what this thread is about. Honestly, if you don't want to hear about other people's lives and experiences, then don't read it. I'm certainly not forcing you.

[sabre2922]

At least the majority of you understood what this post was originally about.

It was actually an attempt to bring some more understanding to some of the newer members about what this board represents wich I think is All KINDS OF GAMERS not just hardcore or even casual. But the fact is that it does tend to cater more towards the hardcore enthusiast.

I will apologize to Waveflack but its not a fullhearted one for the simple reason is that you come across as someone who actually does not like other gamers or think there some kinda pitiful geek for you to step on and put down and if that is the fact then I simply dont understand why you continue to be a part of this community :hmm:

[lendelin]

There was a pretty good discussion which covered interesting aspects of the topic:

LINK:
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18483&highlight=

That was already two years ago. TWO YEARS!! Holy schmoly, gimme my two years back.