What are the differences between a hardcore and a casual gamer?

[Ail]

NPD had a survey out recently where they categorized players by their purhasing and playing habit.

The hardcore segment represented 3% of the 174 millions gamers in the US.
It was the smallest by far.
However it was the one with the most purchasing power as those same gamers purchases in average 24 games in the October-December 2007 period.


Full article is here :

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19802