Hardcore Versus Casual Gamers
By brukaoru 11 Comments
Hardcore Versus Casual Gamers: Defining the undefined.
What is a "casual" or "hardcore" gamer? Many people have their own definitions. Some define a "hardcore" player to be someone who has a certain level of skill and can stand on their own in a multiplayer game. Others see it as playing many games in a short time period, or what type of game consoles the person owns. I've always considered a hardcore gamer to be someone who's really passionate about games, no matter their skill level. I've thought the people who fall under the casual label only played games occasionally, or never really thought of games outside of actually playing them. In other words, if one were to ask what a person's hobbies were, casual gamers would not write games as a hobby, because they don't really have a strong passion for them.So, what is the true definition of these two terms? Everyone's answer is different, but it seems that these terms are being thrown around more frequently these days. Why exactly has the videogame industry fallen into this practice of separating their demographics with these labels and are they really necessary? I don't think so. I think most publishers use the terms in order to justify why their game has been created a certain way. I think this is a bit foolish on their part, as they are denying a bigger audience by saying their game was not created for certain people. In fact, I would call this approach a marketing disaster.
Sadly, I don't see this trend of separating demographics and labeling going away anytime soon. Not when associations like the Casual Games Association exist. Below is an excerpt from their Frequently Asked Questions page:
"What’s the difference between casual games and enthusiast (core) games?Funny that the writer compares movies in relation to these terms for videogames. Imagine if other industries used these terms, such as the music industry. 'Country is causal, Jazz is hardcore.' What sense does this make? It doesn't, and it should not make sense to use these terms when marketing games.
Think of Atari and games such as Pacman, Space Invaders, Frogger and Donkey Kong. Casual games have maintained the fun, simplicity, boundless creativity that characterizes arcade-style games. On the other hand, enthusiast games also termed core games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Doom and Mortal Kombat, have been developed using high-end technology that appeals more to younger audiences. Using movies as an analogy, casual games would be Friends or ER and enthusiast games would be Reservoir Dogs or Silence of the Lambs."
In an interview with Vishal Lamba of Chakra Interactive, a company based in India who are primarily focused on developing mobile games, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) asked the following questions about their demographic:
"When developing games for mobile phones, how do you see the target audience?
You must keep in mind that your target audience is NOT hardcore gamers (like PC gamers, GameBoy and other consoles). They are the guys and girls who have 5 minutes to 10 minutes to spare. Also, the guys and girls who travel by train for 30 minutes and more but have nothing to do - and have a mobile phone in hand."
"Why do you think a hardcore gamer might play games on a phone and do you see any way that they might be enticed into the mobile game world?
Most likely it's because they cannot afford the Gameboy and its expensive games. This has not yet been exploited by many companies. You have to think of building multiplayer games that last for 5 to 10 minutes.. and are easy to play."
Some people would love to play games more but simply don't have the time. I don't think people are required to play a certain amount of hours each day or every week to be a passionate gamer. Many of us have other obligations to fulfill and cannot devote the desired time to games. Even more so, financial reasons are a big part of why many cannot acquire certain games.
Outside of marketing, the audience themselves now use the distinctions in order to not associate themselves with fellow gamers, for example, enthusiastic gamers would not want to be grouped with the same people who frequently buy "shovelware." Some take offense to being grouped with people who are not on the same skill level as them. In the end, it only creates pointless arguments.
These terms should be done away with, because there is no one definition for what "hardcore" or "casual" is, it's all subjective. I believe that developers and publishers are unintentionally limiting their audience by branding their game with these labels. What happened to making a game fun that everyone can enjoy? Or understanding that not everyone will enjoy the same thing? Let the games speak for themselves and let people enjoy them without giving them labels.