I used to share Eomund`s definition. I would proudly say that I am a hardcore and show my list of finished games. However Rol`s definition is the most popular nowadays. I see it as a "corrupt" version of the old term.
For me hardcore gamer was someone that would take gaming a little bit too serious. Gaming as a way of life (kinda like some people do with sports). A hardcore game was a game made with those kind of guys in mind. Some examples: Super Metroid, Disgaea, Devil May Cry, Shin Megami Tensei (games that the average guy had no hope of beating). A hardcore gamer would also be open to all kind of genres.
Satan said:
"You are for ever angry, all you care about is intelligence, but I repeat again that I would give away all this superstellar life, all the ranks and honours, simply to be transformed into the soul of a merchant's wife weighing eighteen stone and set candles at God's shrine."
