Do you consider yourself a "hardcore" gamer?

I'm 25 and I've always been a gamer as far as I can remember. I've always consider it normal to play games because it's the culture I grew up in. Ever since the Wii and mobile games became popular, suddenly people started categorizing between the "hardcore" gamers and "casual" gamers. For me, it's easy to see who the "causal" gamers are but I find it hard to pinpoint the "hardcore" gamers.

I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer. I'm competent in most genres but not an expert in any. I mostly play games like I watch movies, jumping from title to title that interest me, regardless of console or release date. Still, I don't consider myself a film buff. I just enjoy movies and I just enjoy games. So what? I don't see what makes me "hardcore".

Anyway, do you consider yourself a "hardcore" gamer? What makes someone a hardcore gamer? What's in between hardcore and casual, cause that's what I am.

I'm just a regular gamer, but not hardcore. There's other stuff I like to do besides gaming.

No not really. I play a lot of games but once I am finished I will most likely not play it again if its story heavy. I also do not go for any sort of achievements I play as long I have fun and and even if that means to stop playing bioshock infinite after 9 hours shortly before then end^^

I consider myself a person that plays games for fun amongst other things. I'm not into that whole measuring your dick aspect of labeling someone as a hardcore or casual gamer.

Pluh............ .. Uhm sure. I could hold my own in Halo.

I play a lot of video games. I'm all right at most of them. If that fits your definition of hardcore, then sure. It's a pretty stupid term, though.

I consider myself a game enthusiast.

Or a gamesmann (two n's because Jeff Gerstmann)

I hate the term with a passion, but if anyone were to fit that criteria it would probably be me. Although I suppose that's all dependent how you define it. I tend to look at it in terms of how much time you devote to gaming, but if you're one of those people who define it as only playing a specific type of game that you consider "hardcore" then I'm probably not, nor would I want to be.

I'm hardcore and I'm a gamer.

@wjb said:

I just had to do this, forgive me, cus I know alot of hardcore gamers are excited for Kinect.

I think I'd have to qualify as one, because during the last decade I have probably spent more time gaming than on any other hobby.

That said, at this point I don't play games nearly as often, but I enjoy "gaming culture" a good deal; following GB, LoL, FGC, and playing multiplayer with friends.

I'd never thought about it before. Since gaming is my primary hobby, I would say so.

The term is thrown around a lot with different meanings. I don't really get deep into multiplayer games to get really good at them. If it means I play a lot of games, I do spend a fair amount of time playing games and have 1000s in my collection. The term is too vague and dumb to derive meaning from.

I only consider myself a hardcore gamer in the sense that I spend a lot of time playing a lot of games. Been doing it since I was 2 or 3 years old playing Mario bro's and duck hunt all day.

A part of me wants to deny being "Hardcore", because I don't like how people represent them in the media / news and I get dirty looks when I go into the local EBgames when another idiot makes the news. Examples would include first person gamer teens snapping and shooting people or GTA players being blamed for everything bad in the world. That's not how all of us are, It's not even how 1% of us are. (At least I hope it's not!)

A recent event in my life brought my nephews into my temporary care for a few days. When they saw my game collection, Which encompasses two rooms in my tiny little 4 room house, they freaked out and started calling me a hardcore gamer and started asking me how good I was at games like Call of Duty and how long I had played World of Warcraft for... they entered this weird state of admiration... and I had to shoot there hopes down. "Sorry boys, I don't play those kinds of games. I play games like Baldur's gate, Monster Hunter and Fight for New York." I had to explain to them that I wasn't into the game's normal people played because I didn't like how people played them, or to put it more simplistically: I dislike competitive online multiplayer games where everybody acts like retards and yells obscenities at each other.

I find it weird that I need to explain these things to people, I guess it's just because they assume I play the mainstream games that everyone and there dog see's plastered on the television, in online ads and has posters up at the local Walmart the day the game is announced and they start taking pre-orders... and when I see this stuff... it kind of makes me sick. There has been times when I have felt physically ill when I hear companies and spokesmen talking about day one DLC and taking pre-orders the day the game is announced and trying to get people psyched out for DLC that comes out like 2 weeks after the game hits the street! Take a look at Saints Row 4 getting DLC, which we all thought was part of the game, or was the game, coming out a month or two after the game hits retail shelves! Madness! Utter Madness!

Well, that got off-topic...

Anyway: I consider myself a hardcore gamer. But only because I play a lot of games. Not because of my skill level. You won't see me at any E sport gatherings or EVO, but you might find me hanging around in a corner with some buddies playing monster hunter and laughing as one of gets chewed on by the newest scaly monstrosity.

(I feel as if I wrote to much on this subject, sorry about that.)

I play and pay attention to games more than most people, but I wouldn't consider myself a 'hardcore' anything.

@sexytoad: lol that's great

@therealmoot: you have 4 rooms and you need 2 of them to keep your collection? lol, you sir are a hardcore gamer.

I got the achievement for that stupid card game in Fallout: New Vegas, so yeah. I'd consider myself hardcore.

I like to play games as a hobby. I play a lot of games and pay attention to the industry on a daily basis. But I don't see a need to categorize myself in any way. I'm just a person who likes games.

@liquiddragon: No no, it's just a really small house. Only one of those rooms is truly a game room. The room in question, I ripped the door off the hinges a few years back so I could get bigger shelves into it. All that's in there is a couch, 4 shelves and a TV stand covered in consoles and cables.

The other room is a split office/kitchen area and all my PC game boxes and some of my game collectibles have ended up in there to get them out of the bedroom. Need that room for black velvet paintings, leather jackets and swords! ...also chicks... yeah... sure... let's just say that too...

I do not know what hardcore means. Playing something else than COD multiplayer, or it's equiv? I feel a little more hardcore when playing Amnesia, the Dark Descent, and finishing it. My only self criticism is that I did not consider myself a 'good' person. That reflects in the ending, which I chicken shitted. There was something available more honest, and maybe even redeeming. That could be hardcore.

But my skills are often lousy, reflexes variable maybe because I am old, and I certainly do not play every genre or platform. I'm hardcore enough to do RPG if they are an action/shooter hybrid...or is that the pathetic shallow end? And you know damned well the hipster ball clutch is coming up if not already happening.

I guess! I don't really think about the hardcore-ness of my gaming habits, but I've been called "hardcore" for my tastes at least once, and I play fighting games competitively (or at least try to). I personally think the word "niche" describes my gaming habits better than "hardcore," but whatevs.

I don't work out a lot, so my core is very soft.

In all seriousness, I don't even know what the term "gamer" means anymore. Drawing lines between these terms seem superfluous to me.

I'm a midcore softcore competitive casualcore for next gen

That's a term without true definition. To some people, those individuals that play only the COD series for hours on end would be considered hardcore gamers. Some may consider people that play only Starcraft 2 hardcore gamers. I think a better way to say this is that some people are "gamers" and other people like playing games. Those people that are gamers are the ones that will try almost anything, on any platform, in any genre. People that like playing games are the ones that focus on single games, single systems, limited genres, etc.

I'm just a guy who plays games. The coreness of my gaming is debatable.

Hell no.

There's no clear definition to what constitutes a "hardcore" gamer. But I do play games a lot, yes.

I guess so!? Not on a WoW,Dota,...-level but I play a lot of games. Dark Souls and Rock Band 1-3 are probably the games into which I invested the most time during this generation.

Yeah I'm pretty amazing.

why not but I'm more like hardcore water drinker.

I'm not "hardcore" or a "gamer." I just like to play video games.

But a part of me is hard right now... Don't look over here.

Why yes I am , and I dont see a problem with labels and such ( must be a gringo thing ). I play almost all kind of games or at least played each genre at least once ... been gaming my whole life , I talk about games if someone asks me , I feel no shame whatsoever to talk about games , etc.

That's not what I'd ever label myself, but I play lots of video games and do so frequently. So, I guess so.

It's really the same thing as being a "casual movie goer" or being a "film buff"... being hardcore doesn't mean it's your one or biggest interest. I'm a hardcore gamer and still like TV, politics, and other stuff more. I'm "hardcore" because I play a lot of games, have made some, and they're a deep interest of mine. Since we're on a gaming forum right now, odds are most people here are hardcore; whether they say so or not.

In a monetary sense yes, i spend lots on games, but in the sense that im good or competitive at them not at all. I'v always hated the term personally.

No because hardcore is a really stupid term.

Do you make playing videogames a priority in life ? Would you consider taking days off work for a videogame ? Those are the questions that come to mind for me when people talk about "being a (hardcore) gamer" etc. It's a lifestyle choice, not some specific parameter. Is videogames an important part of your life, your main entertainment source, or just something fun you do now and then ?

Why do you need a label like that? I play a large amount of games, I don't feel a need to be part of a category.

Only when I don't compare myself to the realest of the real hardcore gamers. If I compare myself to your average PEOPLE then I am one of the most hardcore there is in the whole planet of earth.

I want to be explicit and when I say realest of the hardcore I mean someone who does the act of PLAYING video games. There's so many things I don't know about because I am just one person and even if it were possible to experience everything in one lifetime your brain would explode with information. My doctor told me that so it's true. He has science.

This. Also, please: I'm a gaming "enthusiast". "Aficionado" if you will.

I'm a softcore gamer. I don't ever show the penetration, just some naked bits and some grinding. Also I have more of a plot.

Same. I've played lots of video games in my life, and I'm pretty good at a few, but I'd never call myself a 'gamer' or 'hardcore'.

@thehumandove: Boyd Crowder is totally hardcore.

I am hardcore and also a gamer, waddup.