| sethnintendo said: Core and Casual didn't come to be until the Wii. Before that no one called themselves a hardcore gamer. |
Hardcore is a term that has been around forever and has long been associated with gaming, just in a much different context than people are (mostly incorrectly) using it now. It just means someone who is into something to the point of excess. When I played MMOs, well before the Wii released, the hardcore players were those who were always online or always raiding. Gaming was their focus and a much larger part of their life than for the average player.
Hardcore does not equal to core and never has.
The term "core", to the gaming industry, is really nothing more than a demographic slice. It's a designation based on habits. Different organizations have different critera, I'm sure, but most core players play many different games in a year, for example, mostly in traditional genres. Microsoft defines core players as having high technical knowledge and as being very comfortable with both hardware and software. "Core" is really just a term for enthusiasts, really. It's nothing nearly as bad as people make it seem. It's not really a software term, but people have begun using it to describe games that appeal to the core demographic, or enthusiast gamers.
So, yes, even though it's kind of wrong to say it that way, pretty much all the Ninteno first party titles are core games. I don't think that can be disputed; or, at least, I haven't seen it yet disputed in a way that makes sense.
