People label "casual" for almost any wii release?

[Sullla]

To show how meaningless and stupid these terms are, here's a summary of soulsamurai's posts in this thread:

1) casual games are easy to pick up and play, as opposed to hard and unusual games
2) defined by how the game itself is played, not how it is played
3) there is a difference between a gamer and a non-gamer
4) casual games are games that appeal to casuals and are easy, hardcore games appeal to hardcore gamers and are harder/take more effort
5) casual games are easy to pick up and play and attract people who normally wouldn't play video games
6) casual games require no skill to play and easy to master, they take no effort, anyone can play without getting frustrated
7) playing a game for 1000 hours does not make someone hardcore, they must be skilled at multiple game genres and be able and willing to accept new ideas for games
8) hardcore requires time and actual effort, time alone is not a factor

Let's see... we know from #2 that "casual" is an inherent element of games, and has nothing to do with how they are played. #1, #4, #5, and #6 all tell us that these games are easy and don't require skill - I guess we can eliminate titles like Wii Sports and Tetris, because they definitely involve skill. #7 seems to be talking about people and not games, I'm not really sure how being skilled at multiple game genres make a game casual or hardcore. Sounds more like a litmus test for certain population demographics than anything else. From #8 we know that a hardcore game must involve a significant timesink, unless of course the game is casual, in which case requiring a significant timesink doesn't matter. And it's always refreshing to know from #3 that there is a difference between a gamer and a non-gamer. I could have sworn that Pogo was a game - perhaps it is actually a form of work instead? If my boss catches me playing Pogo online, I'm sure he will accept my explanation that this is really a "non-game."

The reason why these threads never go anywhere is because the terms are meaningless. They're buzz words created by the industry to try and ignore the success of games that the core gamer doesn't like. Halo 3 outsold by Wii Play and Pokemon? Oh, that's because Wii Play is casual (i.e. it doesn't count). Grand Theft Auto getting beaten by Mario Kart and Wii Fit? They're casual games, thus they are not "real games" and we can ignore them.

Here's the real definition of casual and hardcore:

- A hardcore game is a game I like to play.
- A casual game is a game I don't like.

Use these definitions and you'll have a much better idea of what's going on.