Do you remember the time that you were roaming the halls of Price Club amidst the mile-high crates full of Tang and between the showcased electronics? Inside, do you remember the clips of Short Circuit being played in the Video Cassette Recorder? Or on one of those TV's there was a NES setup playing Super Mario Bros. and your dad handed your 6 year old hands the controller? How about holding said controller and not knowing what it's for or what to do, having never hearing the phrase "video game" in your entire life? 
 
Everybody remembers their first. 

If you're like me and was growing up a hardcore gamer before the internet was mainstream, you'd remember wearing your badge of hardcore-ness in some form or another. The bus rides or walks to school were spent with your GamePro friend because you were his EGM friend and you traded issues. During recess, playground chatter would be about that one kid who said he knew codes how to play as naked Chun-Li. Then during lunch you'd be passed a xerox copy sheet of how to do Mortal Kombat fatalities and you frantically scribble them down on the school's history book before giving the sheet back. On the way back from school, appetites would whet as you'd daydream of future consoles with crazy 32-bit power as advertised by a "Video Game Buyer's Guide" magazine.  

I was gaming's target demographic. Life was sweet.  

Fast forward to whatever age your parents stopped buying your toys (and if your parents couldn't/didn't even get this far, I am truly sorry). Your tastes in gaming "matured" past the obvious marketing gimmicks. You thirst for gameplay, immersion, and escape from the real world. The likelihood of a game to take you back to the feelings you had as a kid are dwindling with each passing game release. In this stage, you're probably scrutinizing games for things you wouldn't have as a hardcore gamer kid.  

Here is where most hardcore gamers probably exit.
 
Some could argue that, with the success of the Wii, gaming has a new focus: mainstream appeal or "non-gamers". I think that's always been gaming's focus. As of today, the industry seems to be gearing towards a mainstream I have no part in. Social network or massively multiplayer gaming. Gimmicks I fell for as a kid that new kids will fall for like enhanced realistic graphics, violence, and sex. Involving, original single player? Split screen co-op? Thought provoking game endings? When they're proven profitable, we'll see more of these. Until then, have fun wading through the latest cookie cutter, adrenaline charged, "realistic" abomination. On the bright side, you'll be busy with quite a backlog of last-gen games to satiate your gaming appetite.  

There is that occasional game that comes out that is catered to me. When it sells poorly, I blame the mainstream gamer. On another angle, I now know that making games outside the mainstream is a big risk that is usually funded from profits of past mainstream success. The mere fact that the game exists, I should probably thank the mainstream gamer.   

Even though I grew up with gaming, gaming hasn't grown up with me.  

With this, I bid farewell to hardcore gaming. I am both saddened and relieved.