Why the "Hardcore" Gamer is Dying

[bigjon]

I think hardcore is a combination of alot of factors.

The factors I consider are-

1. Emotional Capital- How much does a player invest himself into a game, does the play really CARE about the outcome, and invest himself to complete it.

2. Depth of gameplay- A hardcore gamer finds ways to maximize gameplay. Example from my experiance- In Final Fantasy Tactics I was the guy who in order to make my Knight Uber powerful I lvled him to lvl 99, then found a lvl down trap, lvled him down as a time mage, and then back up again as a Knight (makes a HUGE difference if you have not already tried this)

3. Quanity of gaming- You don't have to diverse to be HC gamer, but the quanity you play needs to be high. I would say it does matter if you play 6 games a total of 200 hours (in one month) or one game (Diablo 2....) the fact you played 200 hours and you prolly wish you played more is a sign you may be Hardcore.

 

All 3 of these things are signs, but I think you can have just one and be hardcore. For example, I think someone who works alot of hours but when he plays games he follow example 2 (DEPTH) he can be hard core only playing 15 hours a week (I fall under this category right now)... Well I doupt that cleared up much.