What is a casual gamer? (mini-rant)

[dabookerman]

I would be a 9 if i could afford it, at the moment i would say im an 8, i buy select games, the games i buy are either based on series that i like, get very good reviews, or games that i would be interested in.

I wouldnt go to a shop and buy a random game JUST because its on offer.

If the game keeps me interested i would play it till i complete it, if i like it more then that, i would 100% the game. for example, Pokemon Yellow i had all 151 pokemon, all neatly placed in the boxes, all at level 100.

Same goes with Crystal. Metroid Prime, i have completed it 5 times or so, and unlocked everything. Only recently i havent been able to do that with a game because i dont have as much time as before, and i have way too many games to do that with. the cube games i would consider getting 100% on are:

Mario sunshine

smash bros melee

metroid prime

soul calibur 2

resident evil 4

f-zero gx

metal gear solid twin snakes

MGS2

timesplitters 2

timesplitters 3

 

On the DS:

mario 64 ds

Ouendan

new mario bros

meteos

mario kart

sonic rush

trauma centre

wario ware twisted

currently on phoenix wright

 

Those are just the current systems im talking about

 

Any games i havent mentioned, is simply because they havent kept me interested for long enough, like animal crossing, or they are games simply for multiplayer purposes eg, mario tennis, wario ware, donkey konga.

 

So i would say im an 8. Ever since i got a job and started uni, ive only had time for handheld games mainly.

 

You could also mention pro evo, on the pc version, i got through 5 season on pro evo 3, 7 season on 4, and pro evo 5 ive only been playing for fun thanks to the world cup.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I saw somebody mention in this thread that 'casual gamers' are un-informed or informed by their friends and trends.

 

Now, we are also influenced by what we read and reviews.

I've often gone into a store and bought a game that i knew very little about, as in nobody i know has this game, or that i have read no reviews on this game.

However, like i said, there's many people who only buy high scoring games.

 

Which one is at an advantage? Is anybody in the right or in the wrong here?

 

We read articles on games and reviews, and are even part of a games forum. Therefore, we are immediately biased when it comes to our decisions. If this is true, and if we are considered informed, is this neccessarily a good thing?

 

Sometimes, i do not think so. I play games for enjoyment, so i buy games that i think would be enjoyable. A game that immediately comes into this category is Cel Damage. This game wasn't critically acclaimed, and it wasn't considered to be one of the greatest multiplaying titles of all time. In fact, i daresay many people have even played this game. The fact that EA has something to do with this game will almost always cause some people to think "oh jeez, not another mediocre game from EA".

However, i found it to be fun, especially in multiplayer.

Had this game scored maybe a point or two higher in reviews, then this game might have been enjoyed more by many.

 

We all claim to have our own opinions on games. So why do we base our judgement on reviews, which is only an opinion of a select few people?

[dabookerman]

So why do we base our judgement on reviews, which is only an opinion of a select few people?

 

The answer is simple.

Budget constraints.

Hell if i was rich i would buy any game, i would have the whole back catalogue of every game on every system.

 

But i cant afford to buy a game for £30 or £40 and to only play it for 3 hours.

[AshMat]

IO think a casual gamer i someone who thinks, "hmm, that console looks cool", buys it, buys a game every now and then. Doesnt read into it, not like us lot

[InvaderElmo]

While I agree that an uninformed gamer can be a casual gamer, I think the real root of it all is not really wanting to devote that much energy/brainpower to gaming. I think that casual gamers like games in general but because the are "casual" about gaming they don't read gaming websites or game reviews. This could lead them to buy crappy games because of good marketing. It could also lead them to buy only games from certain series or genres or certain publishers. In other words, we're all right, but we're mostly describing the symptoms.

 

Even among casual gamers there are often specific games or series that a gamer will be passionate about. These are titles like Halo, Final Fantasy, Tekken, etc. Everybody knows about them, including casual gamers, and even someone who doesn't own any game systems or know much about gaming current events will sit down for an all-day Halofest, or burn through a weekend playing Final Fantasy. So even casual gamers can spend hours playing games.

 

Then there are the non-gamers, an extreme case of "casual." They can't even put forth the energy to learn a game unless it looks really fun and also really easy/intuitive. Perhaps they think gamers are drooling pimple-faced basement dwellers, or maybe they just don't want to look stupid in front of someone much better than they are.

 

I think it is like sports fans:

 

Hardcore- the ones who check the stats after every game, know each team's rosters, know about injured players, make calls before the refs do...

 

Casual- generally like the sport, have a favorite team, will watch an important game if they aren't doing anything else or if their friends have it on...

 

Non-fans- think the sport is boring/beneath them/confusing, can't sit through more than 15 minutes before getting frustrated or asking a hundred questions during really exciting moments, ask you to check what else is on during every time-out...

 

The difference between gaming and sports is that gaming has much more diversity, so even if someone doesn't like a particular genre they can still be converted. With sports a non-fan will pretty much be a non-fan. Unless you get them very drunk and invoke mob mentality.

[Babooo]

All these posts are so goddamn long so I'm gonna keep mine short:

 

A casual gamer is someone who enjoys games but does not know too much about them. Plays videogames but has other interests and does not follow the games industry. Mainly plays games that are in the top ten and doesn't give a shit about any other sort of games.

 

Hardcore player is someone who closley follows the videogame industry, spends alot of time playing and knows alot about gaming in general, thus playing a more diverse range of videogames which includes games other than those in the top ten.

 

IMO of course.

[Hellfire]

I think a casual gamer isn't even a gamer. Its just someone that plays ocasionally and pays no second thought to it. They don't buy gaming mags, they don't see gaming sites or go to message boards. They just buy something they think it's cool when browsing through the supermarket.

I'm playing less and less, because I don't have time nor money. And frankly most games are getting boring and predictable.'

[darksnowman]

Yeah I think everyones just about covered it.

 

Its hard to be total hardcore to the extent of owning all consoles. I mean, Im just Nintendo in my buying, but not the extent that Im blind to the fact that there are decent games on other computers.

 

I would consider myself hardcore because I like games, I have done for quite some time, I research whats coming and whats hot and whats not... I look below the kiddy exterior/ incredibly cool exterior to find out how the game plays and what kind of experience it provides.

 

Im finding less and less time to actually put into my gaming nowadays but I still keep up to date with whats happening and all.

 

For the record, I got all hundred and twenty stars in Mario 64 but not many more than the required amount in Mario Sunshine. Im pretty sure I completed F-Zero X on every mode... but Ive not done everything in GX...

[dabookerman]

Its all to do with what u do with the games you already know, being rich doesnt make u a hardcore gamer.

[Blue_Ninja0]

I would consider anyone that makes gaming his main hobby a hardcore gamer.

 

I haven't read all the posts, but i think this point wasn't covered yet:

The negative inpact that the casual gamer has in the hardcore gamer.

With this i mean, the casual gamer, being usually uninformed will not have a problem judging the game by it's "cover" and buying anything that's trendy even if it crap. What happens from this?

 

Examples:

- FIFA sells a lot, EA does not need a lot of effort to make FIFA 2007 the best football game out there because it will sell anyway, "we" hardcore gamers will suffer from this

- King Kong DS and other similar crappy games sells alot, game developers are incentivated to develop cheap games based on popular movie licenses for example, instead of a good King Kong game, we got a bad one, we will suffer from this

-Eternal Darkness is a great game that was not bought by the casual gamer, probably most of us wanted a sequel, probably we won't get it, we will suffer from this

 

Just 3 examples on how the casual gamers are "intimately related" to the hardcore gamer. Although, if it weren't for the casual gamer, there would not be enough sales to sustain a videogame market and we would suffer... again.

[Kurtle Squad]

The answer is simple.

Budget constraints.

Hell if i was rich i would buy any game, i would have the whole back catalogue of every game on every system.

 

But i cant afford to buy a game for £30 or £40 and to only play it for 3 hours.

 

So would I Sad ey?!:heh

 

And I agree with what Blue Ninja said.

[dabookerman]

Although, if it weren't for the casual gamer, there would not be enough sales to sustain a videogame market and we would suffer... again.

 

I doubt that, the casual gamer has only made video games mainstream, video games were doing just fine during the snes/mega drive era

[Kurtle Squad]

But that's because EVERYONE had a Megadrive At least around here.

[Yoshiking]

The way I see it a casual gamer is someone who buys whatever is "in" with the times and is a gamer only for the purpose of social respect. Like buying a PS2 for the simple reason that everyone has a PS2, and without it you might be left out. In my dictionary a casual gamer is a "fake" gamer, of sorts, who has no opinions on games and games only because as I said, the cool kids do.

Also they don't know anything about games whatsoever and act like they do. I know many people have different opinions on this though..

[DCK]

I wouldn't say casual gamer is strictly defined, really. The term works differently in different situations, but in general it means a gamer who doesn't really do much with gaming.

[Hero-of-Time]

I personally agree with Baboo comments.

 

Hardcore gamers seem to follow the industry very well and are very well informed in regards to what games are coming out and how well they have been recieved.

 

I dont think that you can define a hardcore gamer purely on the size of of his games collection. I have seen many topics on various boards saying such things as " Im a hardcore gamer because I own X amount of games " Its the quailty of the titles in your collection not the size of it.

 

Casual gamers have always been seen and talked about alongside most of EA games due to them releasing various sports titles and movie tie-ins. To a certain extent it is true alot of people do buy EA games beacuse they are the "in" thing. Thing is though with the sports titles I know many people who buy them because they actually do enjoy playing them.

 

Now I ask you this, think of your favourite gaming series and ask yourself would you buy a new version each and every year if they released one? Sure you would, I am the same and I think most people are. So you cant really put casual gamers and EA hand in hand all the time....just most of the time

 

Hardcore is easier to define IMO but a casual gamer could mean alot of things.

 

Awesome topic by the way, now all we need is are you a fanboy topic.

[mcj metroid]

im not sure anyone is.My belief is that a casual gamer is someone who is un informed about gaming.The fact that u are here talking on a gmaes forum with a decent knowledge of gaming shows that u are not a casual.They go for brand names they recongnise.its a problem really because licenced games often end up being bad,but i think recently they have improved a bit.king kong was good and i think over the hedge isnt too bad

Many people believe the playstation created this with the adult image.Games are too expensive for casuals to consider buying original games.

i have so much to say on this subject and im getting all jumbled up here.ill summarise my opinion

casual=

un informed

buys licensed games

plays games occasionaly

never looks at reviews

can be a problem but then again we need them

[Jack]

casual=

un informed

buys licensed games

plays games occasionaly

never looks at reviews

can be a problem but then again we need them

What does buying licenced games have to do with being a "casual" gamer? A lot of people on here wank themselves silly about Jump Superstars, and that's a licenced game. In fact, it's because of being a licencing nightmare that the game won't come out in the US or Europe. This topic reeks of elitist knobs scared of people taking an interest in their hobby because they want to be "hardcore".

[Hero-of-Time]

What does buying licenced games have to do with being a "casual" gamer? A lot of people on here wank themselves silly about Jump Superstars, and that's a licenced game. In fact, it's because of being a licencing nightmare that the game won't come out in the US or Europe. This topic reeks of elitist knobs scared of people taking an interest in their hobby because they want to be "hardcore".

 

Not at all the more people that take an interest in gaming the better. What the problem is, especially in this country is the titles that always make it in the top 10. You just have to compare the "quality" of the charts with Japans and you can see the difference and its the so called "casual" gamer that puts these titles where they are. This is why many a good/quirky title never gets to see the light of day over here in Europe because our tastes are so different to everyone elses.

[Jack]

Quality's entirely subjective though. You might not like FIFA or Need for Speed, but a lot of people do. And I'd argue that a lot of quirky titles do make it out over here. We Love Katamari, Trauma Center, and Phoenix Wright being three recent examples. Christ, I've even seen bus adverts for Loco Roco. It's not like Japan has a monopoly on weird games.

[Hero-of-Time]

True, but its still a very small amount that has made it over. Fifa games and Need for Speed do have a following but how do you explain the amount of tie-in rubbish that always enters our top 10 charts?

[mcj metroid]

What does buying licenced games have to do with being a "casual" gamer? A lot of people on here wank themselves silly about Jump Superstars, and that's a licenced game. In fact, it's because of being a licencing nightmare that the game won't come out in the US or Europe. This topic reeks of elitist knobs scared of people taking an interest in their hobby because they want to be "hardcore".

 

cmon u know the difference between games like fifa and games like jump superstars.

casuals buy brands they recongnise hence why the film games sell ect.Hardcores know better unless told otherwise

[Jack]

True, but its still a very small amount that has made it over. Fifa games and Need for Speed do have a following but how do you explain the amount of tie-in rubbish that always enters our top 10 charts?

 

Here's the most recent top 10 all format chart I could find, for June 11-17:

 

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6152931.html?sid=6152931

 

1: 2006 FIFA World Cup

2: Hitman: Blood Money

3: Tomb Raider: Legend

4: Dr Kawashima's Brain Training

5: Pro Evolution Soccer 5

6: Sensible Soccer 2006

7: MotoGP 06

8: Animal Crossing: Wild World

9: Championship Manager 2006

10: Football Manager 2006

 

Look at that! Two quirky DS games in there. In the all-format chart nonetheless. Brain Training is outselling Sensible Soccer, an established property. And other than the football games featuring licences for real player names, I don't see a lot of "tie-in rubbish" in there. All of these games started off as games, not as films or books.

 

cmon u know the difference between games like fifa and games like jump superstars.

 

I really don't. Enlighten me.

 

casuals buy brands they recongnise hence why the film games sell ect.Hardcores know better unless told otherwise

 

And "hardcores" buy brands they recognise. Mario. Metroid. Final Fantasy. These are all brands, you know. I bet you recognise all of them.

[JetSetWilly]

A casual gamer may also be defined by the hardware that they buy. A simple equation based on brand awareness. Buy a PS2 because that's the market leader. There's nothing wrong with this. I am a "casual" mp3 hardware buyer. I wanted an mp3 player, had no interest in doing loads of research into pros and cons, functionality etc. Apple released the nano, it looked great, it was an mp3 player, I wanted one so I handed over my cash. Of course, this does not mean that buying a PS2 automatically qualifies you as a casual gamer, anymore than buying an iPod means you must prefer Girls Aloud to The Beatles.

 

All types of entertainment have this dichotomy between the casual (read: popular) and the hardcore. Is the new Superman movie better than The Godfather? I would say no but the box office numbers would suggest otherwise. Is the Sun a better newspaper than the Guardian because it sells more? Is Harry Potter a better book than For Whom the Bell Tolls?

 

There's a level at which you can entertain a lot of people very easily. That is not meant as derogatory or elitist, it merely reflects the amomunt of effort that people are generally willing to put into being entertained. Games like FIFA and, dare I say it, GTA do that very well. If you're harder to entertain you'll want more than FIFA (though that's not to say you can't be entertained by it) and you'll invest more time in finding the games that interest you. I think it's at that point you cross-over into the "hardcore" group.

[Hero-of-Time]

Jack, if you cant see the difference in quality between a game like Jump Superstars and Fifa then there really is no hope for you.

 

Again with the Mario platformers, Metroid and FF games used as an example these games are made with passion and are always high quailty titles.

 

The fact that you cant admit that the UK charts is terrible compared to the other countries saddens me. I do admit that the DS has made an outstanding breakthrough since its release so you do have a point there but for the most part the charts do suck.

 

Say you put a game like Ico or We Love Katamari out the same week as say a Harry Potter game or the next kids film tie-in, without a doubt the games that should be bought would get pushed down the charts by the Harry Potter game and the kiddie film. I would like to be proven wrong really I would but the fact is the majority of the UK seems to " casual "

 

At the end of the day though liek a few people have stated already its all down to opinion. One person may love the tie-ins other may hate them. Lets all just play the games and enjoy it each at our own level.