I think other mediums and genres have different labellings of them.  Core has terms like "hobbyists" applied to them.  It is likely the casual side doesn't get much of a label put on it.  And there are hardcore movie watchers.  Some people are REALLY into movies. I think a really stronger form of hobbyist would be "affectionado".  There are movie, wine, and book affectionados.  And you would have maybe dabbler on the casual side.

I'd argue, based on what they say and write, that most of the people who podcast and write articles consider themselves "hardcore," though. They certainly seem to glorify calling themselves that term, anyways. Those same folks routinely (though not universally) praise iOS games, for reasons that are largely lost on me.

I honestly, truly do not see what difference you're alluding to here.

Exactly, but those are far less polarizing terms. If I'm a movie buff, I love all things movies. So why not video game buff? Instead of hardcore? Immediately one can recognize a video game buff as someone who loves all things video games. Whereas a "hardcore gamer" is a much more amorphous term, one that can easily be turned into an insult.

Everything. The casual gamer puts family and friends first, video games being one way among others to get people together. The core gamer keeps his social life to a minimum so as to play more games, which is his most important activity. And when he does meet friends, it's only to play or discuss video games. He doesn't have a girlfriend because no real girl could possibly rival female game characters. Plus, with Project Diva f AR reality, he can insert cute girls in his daily life.

They also differ on how they manage their money. A Casual gamer buy mundane things such as clothes, food or insurance and then games with the remaining budget. The core gamer puts all his resources in gaming and doesn't know the correct price of products other than video games. He doesn't eat anything except Calorie Mate because Snake does in Metal Gear Solid 3.

The core gamer may know Japanese, strange gaming vocabulary, complicated strategies and all kinds of button inputs, but he doesn't know how to use an iron, a washing-machine, an oven or a social insurance program and has to rely on casual gamers to teach him about those.

Notice : everything I've just said is ludicrous and only applies to me.

I look at it this way:

To 'hardcore' games are a lifestyle.

To 'casuals' games are a diversion.

Core gamers are willing to spend hours and days playing one particular game.

Casuals generally want to play for shorter periods (sometimes minutes but could stretch into hours if they're 'hooked' by the game). Casuals do not intend to play a game continuously day after day (but may if 'hooked'). Hence casuals look for games that are simple to play - quick learning curve, but it's elitest think it has to be easy to play. Mastering the game can be very difficult and very addictive but getting into the game must be easy to do.

It's also elitest to think 'casuals' buy any crap. Simply not true. Look at Wii game sales. Poorly made games sell like crap even on Wii. Well produced, fun, simple to play games may sell millions though (Just Dance).

Same on iOS.

Angry Birds, Temple Run, etc are all great examples of 'casuals' picking the high quality (if simple design) games out of the mass of crap games on iOS. True, word of mouth counts, but that's how the 'casual' market works, as they don't tend to look at review scores on websites like this (on their phone app market - yes)

'Core' in comparison will read all the previews, reviews, etc. and pre-order games. Etc., etc.

Then you have the 'mid-core' gamers. All those CoD and Madden players who play little else.

"Hardcore" gamers are like heavy metal fans and "casual" gamers are pop music fans ...

Neither form of music is necessarily "better" than the other, but one takes itself far more seriously

"Hardcore gamers" is just a word that certain types of couch potatoes like to call themselves to sound cool.
"Casual gamers" are a label that these couch potatoes give in an attempt to disparage gamers who actually have a life.

I was honestly horrified for the first sentence or two, until it got extreme enough to be obvious. Well played!

I believe part of it is that it captures the attitude of insecure young adult males who have esteem issues, wanting to feel that they are awesome and need a way to put down people.  Hardcore has connotations of being a badass.  Also, the core part refers to a target demographic that makes up a bulk of sales.  It means serious business.   The videogame industry itself is arguably a teenager on the seen, or young adult, and it still has maturity issues that other mediums don't have.  It hasn't matured yet.  Perhaps finding a way of being serious, without the "extreme" side of things, would help.  Heck, it likely has to do with esteem issues in regards to being taken seriously with one's hobby.  If you are a game enthusiast, people look at you suspect, as you still need to "grow up".  Books, movies and so on, don't have that stigma.  So, it also could be wearing the stigma like a Scarlet A also.  Again, esteem issues.

Hardcore gamers have more knowledge of the industry. It goes beyond, "I like Call of Duty so that's the best franchise, ever." Hardcore gamers will make profiles on gaming websites, know the release dates for certain games, know when their company is doing good or doing bad, or actually know what Capcom, Konami, Platinum Games, etc. are.

Casual gamers: Probably won't check reviews, look online for info, give DLC a second look, or even play online. Their experience is basically, "This looks fun so I'll buy it" or "I saw somebody playing this and it looked like they were having a good time".

There's varying levels of both. There's the Hardcore gamer that plays a certain game for an insanely long amount of time, mastering the nuances and intricacies of a single specific title. There's the casual gamer that buys every game but never plays them. There's the hardcore game that only plays one genre. There's the casual gamer that knows about the industry.

While I don't think there's such a thing as a hardcore game or a casual game, I do think there's such a thing as a hardcore gamer and a casual gamer. There are probably some pretty hardcore Wii Play fans out there if you know where to look.......and I do.