What is a casual gamer? (mini-rant)

[Fierce_LiNk]

I seem to be on a bit of a thread-creating spree at the moment, but i don't care. They seem to generate discussion and bring more positive vibes, so maybe i should make more threads?!

 

Anyway, just something i was thinking about today.

 

I've noticed that over the years, the amount of time i spend playing a game is fluctuating. Sometimes, i spend hours playing a game, while other times, it will only be for around 10 minutes.

I've been playing games since the SNES/Megadrive era, but i have played on some of the consoles even before this. However, with these 2 consoles, i truely believe this is when i started enjoying games fully. During this time, as a kid, i would spend hours playing on many, many classic titles. Games such as Mario All-stars, Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, the list goes on.

During the N64 era, i continued playing games avidly. But now, my attention had shifted to multiplayer games, such as Goldeneye or Perfect Dark or Mario kart 64. However, i still spent a lot of time playing games by myself, on titles such as Ocarina of time. You know how it is.

 

With the Gamecube generation, i think something happened. I believe that becoming an adult has changed a few things. I still game, but not as much. A lot of my titles in my collection are mainly multiplayer games. Today, i purchased 2 new games (you may have already read this in GC discussion).

Part of my reason for choosing these titles was because they had 1-4 player support. Sometimes, that's one of the first things i look at on a game's box. If i discover that the game doesn't support more than 2 players, i usually leave it.

 

However, this is not all that has changed. I find myself buying more games but never fully completing them. I've finished the end boss on mario sunshine, but i've never collected all blue coins or shines. Neither have i 100 percent finished Super Mario 64.

Infact, there's very few games where i take things right to the end.

But, thinking about it, do you blame me?

Completing the game to the max means that there's little point playing it again in the future. You've done Everything that needs to be done!

With titles such as Eternal Darkness, i've completed all 3 endings. I loved this game, but i've finished it. There is no incentive for me to go back there now.

 

I think i've somehow developed a fear of finishing games. I might play a game for hours and hours, then stop. Just because i want to continue another day. I don't want it to end, so i don't continue. But, this just builds up a list of games that i have not finished.

 

Whilst browsing this forum, amongst many other forums, i've always seen the term casual gamer pop up every now and again. Now, it seems as if there is no firm definition of this term. Everyone seems to have their own interpretation.

For example, if you've been gaming since the NES or SNES or before that era, then you are 'hardcore'.

If you complete games 100%, then you're hardcore.

 

Hang on a sec. I've been gaming since the SNES era, but i rarely complete games to the max. Does this make me a casual gamer?

 

It's also believed that the games you play define what kind of gamer you are.

 

I'm not sure whether i agree with this or not. I know there's people on here who don't buy certain games if they score less than a certain score in reviews. Does this make them hardcore? Does this make me a casual gamer for enjoying this game, even though it scored a 5/10 or 7/10?

Are people who play Fifa casual gamers, whilst people who play Pro Evo are hardcore gamers?

 

So many questions.

 

I've enjoyed many a Fifa game, but i always enjoy pro evo. I've been playing Fifa games since 96, and i've loved seeing how its evolved into what it has today.

Does enjoying EA's efforts make you any less of a gamer? It's absurd to think that it does.

 

If that is true, then why must people on this very forum feel the need to disregard the many who buy these Fifa games as casual gamers? If we disregard these gamers, then saying that what we play defines who we are MUST be true. And, if that is the case, then it is a paradox for a title such as Fifa to sit next to a title such as the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker or Metroid Prime.

 

I believe that the terms hardcore and casual gamer are used very loosely today. I take casual to mean calm and relaxed. So, relaxed gaming. Does this mean gaming for just 10 minutes a day? If this is true, then i am surely a casual gamer. Some titles just do not require you to play for a long period of time. I occassionally like a quick blast every now and again in Super Smash Bros.Melee or F zero GX. I also like just switching on Animal Crossing: Wild World, to see what's happening in the game today. If this is relaxed gaming, then i am a casual gamer.

 

However, if hardcore gaming means that you continue gaming for hours on end, then i believe that this refers to me too.

If i have a new game, such as the games i had bought today, it's only natural to play these games for hours on end. I also play a lot of multiplayer games, which, again, can last for hours on end.

If hardcore gaming means playing games for hours on end, then i am surely a hardcore gamer. But, how can i be both a hardcore and casual gamer?

 

Let's weight up the facts:

 

I have been gaming for a long time. Fact.

I very rarely play games right to the end, maybe because there just isn't time or i don't want the game to end. Fact.

I sometimes play games for as little as 10 minutes a day. Fact.

I sometimes play games for as much as 3 hours a day. Fact.

 

 

I think a lot of you need to read this, and try to apply it to your own life and experience with games.

 

What exactly is a casual gamer?

[Waylander]

I think a casual gamer is someone who doesnt really follow whats going in in the game industry. They probably buy whatever game in in the top ten. They probably dont know the names of many developers or follow gaming events like E3 or TGS.

[Zombie_Fan]

Same here, I use to be really into video games. I loved to play my NES and SNES. I also had some fun playing the PS1. After that I started to get tired of video games. I don't know why. The PS2 had some nice games so did the Game Cube. Now I own a 360, and the only time I use that is when I use the DVD playback (this is because of progressive scan and the fiber optic out put) other then that I don’t have any fun playing the games. The only game console (or should I say handheld) I play is my DS. I don't like to buy games any more because I play it for a week and stop playing it for months. I hope the Wii brings me back into playing games. Im not really sure what a casual gamer is.

 

Maybe I’m just getting old, or I have better things to do.

I’m only 21 years old.

[Fierce_LiNk]

So, for example, a casual gamer would be considered un-informed?

 

Now, i'm not sure where i stand with this argument. It seems that nowadays, a lot of people spend more time talking about games than they actually do gaming! My cousin spends a fair amount of his time playing games, (i daresay, probably more than i do) but doesn't neccessarily know what's currently going on in the world of gaming as far as developers and stuff goes on.

[Zombie_Fan]

I’m one of those people that talk a lot about games, but I hardly play them.

Finally I know that I’m not the only one with this problem.

 

This is a nice thread Fierce_Link.

[Shino]

A casual gamer is an un-informed gamer, one that doesn't keeps with whats new, and quality, but goes with fads and friends opinions. For them gaming is a time waster.

 

You don't need to play alot to be an hardcore gamer, you need to enjoy it on a level that people normally don't (which makes you play more) , and usually, when someone enjoys something, it likes to know what goes around that subject.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I’m one of those people that talk a lot about games, but I hardly play them.

Finally I know that I’m not the only one with this problem.

 

This is a nice thread Fierce_Link.

 

Heh, thanks.

 

Shino: But then, that would surely depend on what is considered a quality game and what is not? And, it's all interpretational. Sometimes, a game may score about average, but a gamer may love that game.

 

I'm not saying what you're saying is wrong, but i'm saying how this interpretation of what a casual gamer is changes from person to person. It's very interpretational.

[Kav]

It's definately a subject that is hard to define.

 

I'd simply say being a casual gamer is when someone plays it casually and not too often, this does not necessarily mean that they aren't good at gaming (as some people like to use the term for), just that they tend to play when they feel like it!

 

I have a few friends that play games a lot, loads in fact! They're hardcore gamers, always at the control pad... but I wouldn't say they were natural gamers (if there is such a term).

Simply for the fact that usually when I play them, I beat them! I can spend half the time they have spent on a game and be better than them at it, even though they tend to play more than me... they even say so themselves!

 

Casual gaming is not what some people make it out to be, I find that I tend to game a fair bit, more than what most people would call casual, maybe even hardcore.

 

Great topic!

[Jack]

I define a casual gamer as a gamer who doesn't spend hundreds of pounds each year importing games like Obscure Japanese Boring Level Fest RPG #518 and Super Cute Puzzle Fun Happy Time Go!! Go!!, doesn't own any t-shirts with badly translated quotes from 80s arcade games, and doesn't care about the criminal injustice of high street games shops putting big-selling gaming hardware at the front of the shop ahead of stuff which sells less.

[InvaderElmo]

Perhaps another way to look at casual vs. hardcore is more in how they play rather than how often. I personally enjoy a good round of Smash Bros, but I don't care to know what "wave-dashing" or all those other things are. I like Mario Kart(s) but I don't know how to snake. I think that part of being a "casual" gamer has to do with the amount of energy you are willing to put into learning the game versus just playing the game.

 

My wife is even more of a casual gamer than I am. On a PC game one of the first things she'll do is ask how to turn on God mode. That and a guide book are the only way she'd touch Morrowind. She likes Harvest Moon and other games for the GameCube, but she doesn't really care about if she is doing things inefficiently, she just wants to enjoy the gaming experience.

 

In my mind this is the definition of casual gamers that Nintendo is trying to reach with Wii. People who think gaming looks more fun than TV, but aren't willing to restart the level six times in order to beat it. People who like God mode (or would if they knew it existed). People who don't think Super Princess Peach is "too easy."

 

Casual gamers of this definition can definitely spend money, though. My wife and I both have DSes, and we have a good many party games for the Cube (as well as some Zelda, Harvest Moon, etc.). Many of these games were ones she wanted after I told her a little about them. I think that once Wii comes out Nintendo will reel these types in by the thousands with their commercials promoting fun, low commitment games that can pass the time in that hour gap between your favorite TV shows.

[Raven]

I think a casual gamer is someone who doesnt really follow whats going in in the game industry. They probably buy whatever game in in the top ten. They probably dont know the names of many developers or follow gaming events like E3 or TGS.

i agree.

also agree with shino about following the fads. but thats just what we like to call 'high school'. like, teeny boppers who follow the trends and the like.

 

and yeah, i would like to say fiercelink, that you didnt finish mario sunshine 100% because it was a shit game. i found the same. i beat the last boss, got all the 'findable' shines. but i never went blue coin hunting. i couldnt be arsed doin it again.

at the same time, ive never finished a final fantasy game. i played ff7, got all my characters up to level 90ish, beat the ruby weapon, but i couldnt be arsed going down and taking out sephiroth. ff9 i loved, got up to last boss, died, never played again. ffcc i did the same thing.

 

well, seeing as i have played since the NES era, and am informed, i guess im considered hardcore.

[demonmike04]

Aww dam, looks like this is one of those threads were every body agree's..

 

But yeh, uninformed game player..

 

(IMO, i like your other thread WAY better fierce)

[system_error]

I have a different opinion about the so called casual gamers. A casual gamer is just the first step to become a core gamer. You never played games but your friends do and tell you how fun it can be - so you try it out aswell. Probably with a blockbuster title or at least a heavily advertised game. You also start with a handheld because if you are not sure why spend 200+ € on something you maybe don't like after all. Sport games, movie licence games are good for the start because you can already guess what they are about. If a casual gamer reads Advance Wars: Dual Strike or Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory it is quite difficult to imagine what the game could be about. That is a point where I have to say that casual gamers are uninformed or to put it in a different way they get their information from store clerks who want to sell a certain product - they are not the best source of information.

 

 

Now 3 things can happen:

 

A: Gaming sucks, I am out

B: Quite okay if I have time

C: Weeee, more games

 

---> A + C are ovbious and if B happens there still might be the chance in the future that the person decides for A or C in the end.

My mother would never buy herself a game but she likes watching when others play. My sister bought a GBA SP a while ago and really liked ZELDA but after a year it is still her only game. My girlfriend loves her DS and got quite a few games and while she loves playing Gamecube too she would never a buy a game for it.

[Patch]

Nice thread and you raise some interesting points. (Is this on the right board by the way? Sorry, but you Admins always jump on us for this sort of thing!)

 

When trying to define a casual gamer, as always, I look to analogies. What is a casual film-goer, a casual jogger or even a casual winetaster?

 

Take the casual film-goer for example. They will be persuaded to see what is popular rather than what is critically acclaimed. They will not care what Stanley Kubrick's last film was, and they won't know what is slated to be this Summer's biggest blockbuster.

 

So to my mind, what separates the casual from the hardcore is knowledge. Nothing to do with achievements made or time spent playing games.

[Kurtle Squad]

A casual gamer is an un-informed gamer, one that doesn't keeps with whats new, and quality, but goes with fads and friends opinions. For them gaming is a time waster.

 

You don't need to play alot to be an hardcore gamer, you need to enjoy it on a level that people normally don't (which makes you play more) , and usually, when someone enjoys something, it likes to know what goes around that subject.

 

I think Shino's put it the best way....It's simple which also helps

 

I too Fierce love buying multiplayer games They are teh awesome!!! Though I still have pleanty of single player.

 

Also...A casual gamer generally wouldn't understand the big deal of the Wiimote and generally pass it off as a gimmick...Even though that's like calling an Analog Stick or Mouse a gimmick.

[ViPeR]

I've been told a casual gamer is one who doesn't complete the 'harder' games out there. I enjoy playing games but it's fair to say I don't complete games if i'm not compelled to. It just so happens some of these are considered difficult. For example, Metroid Prime 2. I didn't particularly enjoy playing it (loved Prime 1) and so I didn't bother trying to get any further when I got lost. Does this make me a casual gamer? I think not. I complete and play games for hours straight, IF they interest me enough to keep going. I've been playing since the NES days so I can hardly be blamed if my time spent playing games has waned over the past few years. I'd say I complete a game every 1 in 3.

 

Oh and apparently a casual gamer is one who doesn't know a 'quality' game when they play it. So if you enjoy games, which score around the 7 mark, you must be a casual gamer. Well I do, and like Fierce, still don't consider myself a casual gamer. However I don't consider myself particularly hardcore. I'd say i'm in between. I've completed Zelda OoT more times than I care to remember, yet I can't be bothered to complete Metroid Prime 2. Go figure.

[Kurtle Squad]

Viper; I think that whole "Don't know a good game when they play it" refers to more: they go insane for FIFA, yet don't like ProEvo because it's not lisenced

[dabookerman]

Are you either a casual gamer or a hardcore gamer?

Must it be one or the other??

Fifa buyers arent casual gamers, the game is a casual game however.

 

What you must recognise is the difference between casual gamer and casual game.

[Pizza]

Oh and apparently a casual gamer is one who doesn't know a 'quality' game when they play it. So if you enjoy games, which score around the 7 mark, you must be a casual gamer. Well I do, and like Fierce, still don't consider myself a casual gamer.

 

There's a difference between low-rated games and bad games, simply because the reviewers will have likes and dislikes. For example I like bust-a-move more than tetris, so would consider it a better game, even if it has worse reviews. It's not a BAD game though, like elf bowling.

 

Also- if you thought mario sunshine was bad...I'm guessing you wished it had been more like 64. It was a great game, but not very true to the mario thing. For people like myself who played it without having played the previous mario games, it was awesome.

 

Back to the topic- a casual gamer isn't the kind of person who'd visit a gaming website unless they got stuck.

[MachRider]

IMO, casual gamer is someone who's not inspired by the games, someone who's not procreative about gaming.

If you only play games and do absolutely nothing else about it, you're casual timewaster.

 

If you are inspired by gaming and if you use that inspiration to fuel your own creativity, you're not casual.

[Konfucius]

There were already many interesting points and I agree with the uninformed part largely but what I noticed when talking to „casuals“ is that they don’t know why they enjoy a game. It doesn’t have anything to do whether it’s good or not but they play a game only to fulfil one particular interest. I talked to a schoolmate and the only thing which was important to him was that the game was bloody and you could kill people. I got the impression he would play any game that would fit that description.

The hardcore gamer has a more refined view. He knows what type of game he wants but he also knows what kind of graphics, music, story and most importantly controls it should feature and notices them. I also enjoyed flawed games like SpyHunter because I don’t care about that flaws and other things outweigh them for me but I notice them.

During my N64 days I bought Cruis’n World and played it to death because I liked the surrounding and that it had two player support as well as that it was a racing game. Flawed gameplay or bad AI and a handicap didn’t interest me in the slightest. I didn’t even know what it was back then.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Nice thread and you raise some interesting points. (Is this on the right board by the way? Sorry, but you Admins always jump on us for this sort of thing!)

 

 

I wasn't sure about which board to post it on either. It's one of these topics that can fit anywhere, imo. Except maybe the retro console board? Ahh, i dunno.

I think either Wii, Gamecube, (not sure about Handheld) and Other consoles board is fine for this.

 

Anyway, nice discussion,guys. Keep it coming!

[mike-zim]

i am really enjoying this topic. the main stumbling block i am finding is that people are trying to class a casual and hardcore as if you must be in one or another. i think it is a scale

 

1 to 10

 

1-4 being varrying lvls of cassual gammers

5-7 being your varrying lvl of "core" gamers

8-10 being your hardcore

 

i would say i am a 7. i enjoy games i keep updated with all the info but i really cant remember a game i have ever completed maybe i am a 6 then.

 

but you get the picture

 

example of 1 is a person who does not won a console of any kind but will play on someone elses if there is the oportunity

 

Example of 10 someone who buys every system most of the games completes all their games owns all sorts of memorabilia and is really up with all the latest info.

 

so the question is where do you see yourself?

[glucoseaddict]

This is a question I've put to myself a few times recently (casual v hardcore gamers) but never decided on anything. I've been a gamer since the NES and I'm in a similar situation as Fierce_Link. Having read through the above posts I kinda agree with the idea that the amount of knowledge you have about gaming defines whether you are a hardcore gamer or not, but only to a certain amount. In my opinion, InvaderElmo has it spot on.

Perhaps another way to look at casual vs. hardcore is more in how they play rather than how often. I personally enjoy a good round of Smash Bros, but I don't care to know what "wave-dashing" or all those other things are. I like Mario Kart(s) but I don't know how to snake. I think that part of being a "casual" gamer has to do with the amount of energy you are willing to put into learning the game versus just playing the game.

Great topic by the way!

[Phube]

I've been a gamer since I had a Vic 20 (Mmmm cassette loading...) through Amstrad 6128k, PC, NES, SNES, Original GB, GC and DS (No N64 a I was at Uni and poor, but still played on a mates).

 

I try to complete every game I own (I was only one blue coin away in Sunshine), check up on the latest news on the web, subscribe to Games TM and know a bit about games and appreciate them.

 

But, I do not call myself a Hardcore gamer for many reasons:

 

1) I'm not rich enough - to be 'Hardcore' I believe you must own at least 3 of the 4 gaming formats (Xbox, PS2, GC, PC), and buy ALL the AAA rated games for them (well the ones you'd like anyway).

 

2) Time contraints, I only have one TV which I can play my GC on and have a girlfriend who watches the same TV (although for games which have an interesting story for her she loves to watch me play i.e. Zelda:WW, Starfox Adventure, Resident Evil 4 etc...)

 

3) I don't have anyone to play multi-player games with (I'm not a loner just none of my mates play games!!) so I only really play single player games.

 

4) I have other interests over and above gaming, especially LCFC and Cinema. Also I have to work.

 

Out of the reasons above I believe No. 4 is the true essence of 'Hardcore gamer'. I my opinion a Hardcore gamer is someone who's main interest in life is gaming and it comes above all their other hobbies/interests.

 

QED, you can close the thread now!!