Quitting "Hardcore gaming" is the best thing I've done in a long time.

[greenmedic88]

YoyOne said:

greenmedic88 said:
Usually quitting obsessive gaming ("hardcore gaming") just means a shift in interests and priorities. Not everyone who grew up playing video games is still playing them into adulthood. Most probably stop playing some time around after graduating from college unless they happen to end up working in an industry that supports gaming as a hobby.

Point being, it's generally not gaming that's changing to the point of being unplayable, unappealing, no fun, etc. it's the individual. There will always be games and genres of games being developed that cater to any and every kind of preference.

I've been gaming for over 30 years; I have never once bitched and moaned about how changes in gaming paradigms or the industry in general make me want to "quit" gaming. I just go through periods when my interest wanes (as is current) and picks up in cycles.

Well yes, "hardcore" and "casual" refers to the time spent by player on their games.

So by extension, "casual" games are games intended to players not spending a lot of time on their games. But people use "casual" and "hardcore" words the wrong way, as if "hardcore" would mean "mature".

For example, saying Animal Crossing is "casual" can't be more inaccurate, as it is a truly addictive game with a really high completing time. Most gamers play it for over 70 hours, for not saying over 100 or 150 hours. The same goes for Pokémon (just take a look at 3DS activity log threads !).

Any time a player spends more than a work week's worth of hours on a single game over a relatively short period of time (say a month or less) is by reasonable definition, pretty "hardcore" at least as far as playing habits go. 

Personally, I've always been of the notion that the definition of the core demographic does not only include playing habits in terms of percentage of free time dedicated towards playing games, but also in terms of percentage of disposable income spent spent on the hobby. The chronic gamers typically go through a lot of games and spend a fairly significant portion of their disposable income on them as well. 

It's a bit rarer to find the type of gamer who obsessively and compulsively plays one particular game and only that particular game, but this is not saying they don't exist. There are your Pokemon addicts, WoW addicts, etc. who almost treat these games like part time jobs, and even fewer who treat them like full time jobs with regards to how many hours a week they play on a regular basis.