I'm getting the same talking to a brick wall / regret feeling I get whenever I reply to a post or try to argue with MikeB. Just ignore the previous post I made and define a core gamer whatever way you want.  I happen to agree with Microsoft's, EA's, Ubisoft's, etc's definition and in that definition Microsoft's claim is very hard to argue against for North America.

I just wanted to add one thing...  What does this have to do with the conversation?  It makes absolutely no sense in the context of this discussion unless you're trying to claim that 14 year olds can't be core gamers or that what a person says in online games can exclude them from being a core gamer.  Are you actually trying to make ridiculous claims like that?

Personally,I think being a 'hardcore' gamer is not about the types of games you play,it´s about how you play,how much time you devote to these games and about your willingness to try out different types of games and try to be really good at each one of them.

 and many of us are damn proud of it

fixed

My dad loves Need for Speed and Gran Turismo and my mom loves Trackmania United and Super Mario platformers, I really don't see them as "core gamers".
I am a core gamer by my own definiton but I know only a handful who are (2-3 tops).

i guess a core gamer is someone who gets really invested into them and wants to be great at them or is interested in the story of a game. also u would call games with a lurning curve hardcore to someone who has never played before so i guess racers and shooters count

Taken from Wilkepedia (below) - i notice in both definitions it doesn't state it's defined by the type of game you play so where is this Industry Definition you constantly throw into the conversation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_gamer 

 Hardcore gamer is a widely used term applied to describe a type of video game player. There is currently no unanimously agreed upon definition for the term (see Usage of the Term). Some describe hardcore gamers as those whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing or reading about video games. This type of gamer prefers to take significant time and practice on games, in contrast to a casual gamer. Many hardcore gamers pride themselves on mastering the rules or use of a game, although this is not a strict requirement. Conflicting opinion argues that it is not so much the time spent on games however, as casual gamers can spend hundreds of hours on games without ever mastering them.

This pretty much sums up what the industry thinks core gamers are:

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000801/adams_01.htm##