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Hardcore gamer is a widely used term applied to describe a type of video game player. There is currently no unanimously agreed upon definition for the term (see Usage section). Some describe hardcore gamers as those whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing or reading about video games. This type of gamer prefers to take significant time and practice on games, in contrast to a casual gamer. Many hardcore gamers pride themselves on mastering the rules or use of a game, although this is not a strict requirement. Conflicting opinion argues that it is not so much the time spent on games however, as casual gamers can spend hundreds of hours on games without ever mastering them.

Contents 1 Usage 2 Relationship with casual gaming 3 See also 4 External links 5 References

[edit] Usage

There is often confusion about what a hardcore gamer is. The term is often used to differentiate between types of hardcore gamers by such things as the amounts of time invested playing, how competitive the player is, preference for player versus player or player versus environment, game style or gameplay preference, or even the type of computer or console equipment used.

Of hardcore gamers, Nintendo's Charlie Scibetta said "They're usually the early adopters that want to get the latest version of something, and they'll be the ones that put it through its paces the hardest and give us all kind of feedback and tell us what they like and don't like."^[1]

Sometimes the term depends on a player's skill level as opposed to time invested in the game. This makes the definition a bit hazy, as some players are really good at certain games despite only intermittently playing them, whereas some players invest a lot of time into games but struggle to master them.

[edit] Relationship with casual gaming

In general, hardcore gamers have a disdain for games or consoles targeted at casual gamers; the Wii for example.^[2] Although Nintendo had strong casual gamer support during the seventh-generation era, it has attempted to re-target its "core" gamers with titles such as MadWorld^[2] and the handheld console DSi.^[1]

Certain hardcore gamers are sometimes inaccurately labeled as casual gamers, often in a derogatory way, because of this differentiation even though they prefer playing games which are designed for hardcore gamers.^{[citation needed]} This is common among MMORPG players where there is a demand for many different gameplay styles (e.g., solo play, quests, PvP, raid content, crafting) within a single game but limited developer ability to deliver all of them.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Gamer
• Video game culture
• Import gamers
• Video game addiction

[edit] External links

• Hardcore Nintendo: Why the Wii isn't Just for Casual Gamers Anymore at GamePro

[edit] References