...is getting pretty rediculous. I realize that many people on this board consider themselves hardcore gamers, and there are differing opinions about what counts as a hardcore gamer and what doesn't. However, regardless of who you think is hardcore and who you think is casual, insulting casual gamers has got to stop. Saying that they are ruining gaming or games developed with them in mind are destroying the industry is both absolute rubbish and at the same time biting the hand that feeds.
Casual gamers are the ones who carry this industry and they don't seem to get any respect. They account for the largest percentage of money spent on video games (not individually, but combined) and yet receive the smallest share of the respect and attention given out by other gamers as well as most developers. I saw the same bull-crap attitudes all the time while playing various MMO's. Everquest was carried by casual players, and yet almost everything in it was designed with the hardcore players in mind. Hell, the hardcore players even had the temerity of complaining when one of the expansions was designed for casual players instead of them. Just as a quick aside, I was a hardcore EQ player...3 accounts, 4 years and over 250 days played on my main character with 10 months in the top guild on my server (for those math challenged, that averages almost 6 hours a day over those 4 years...its a wonder I finished university at all haha).
If you like hardcore games, you better bow down and kiss the ass of the next 100 casual gamers you see because they are the reason you have games to play. I don't care if you buy 30 games a year and spend thousands of dollars on video games, you still barely make a dent in the overall picture. If a thousand hardcore gamers buy 30 games a year, but a million casual gamers buy one game a year, who do you think is carrying the brunt of the sales here?
That is all...feel free to continue with the usual "casual's are ruining my hobby" crap, but don't be surprised if you wake up one day and have nothing worth playing...
Disclaimer: This is my opinion and nothing more. Feel free to disregard it if you choose. If you expect me to provide links, you'll be waiting a long time since not only do I have none, I doubt they exist to be found. This is purely annectodal evidence on my part and is based primarily and solely on my personal experiences...however since I am always right, if you reject my opinion don't blame me if you suddenly burst into flames or a missile accidently lands on your house, as you have now been amply warned that my opponents have a strange habit of dying suddenly and mysteriously. If you want proof, just ask them.
