Hard core gamer is just another term for what we actually are: video game enthusiasts. I.E. someone who considers gaming to be a way of life. They are versed in the industry, they know about its history, and they spend most of their time either thinking about, or actually gaming.

It's sort of like with cars. There are people who buy a car, drive it until it doesn't work and then buy another one. Then there are gear-heads, which is the car-equivalent term for car enthusiasts.

Is it a way of life? Then you're a core gamer. Is it something on your phone that you screw around with every now and then? Then you're casual. And so forth.

Speedrunners are no more hardcore than that guy who spends $250 dollars on Chrono Trigger and 100% it in the year 2025 on his SNES/CRT combo. They're the same thing, for the most part. The only different is, the seedrunner has some sort of OCD issue that compels them to obsess over fictitious goals (unless, of course, there is a built-in reward for beating a game in a certain time). That's it.

Whatever you think or feel it is.

Someone who plays candy rush each day is a hardcore gamer in my eyes but maybe they dont even consider themselves a "gamer"

While I acknowledge that there are more passionate players than others, I never liked the expression "hardcore gamer". To me, it borns from insecure people that were traditionally made fun of for playing videogames, And when video games started to become more mainstream and popular, they were sad and angry because their beloved and exclusive hobby was being invaded by "inferior" people that "didn't understand what it was all about". So, they started calling themselves "hardcore" in order to make a clear distintction and to claim themselves as clearly superior to those filthy casuals.

That's why I never liked that term. I don't need to use a "title" to feel "more" than anyone. I like video games. End of the story.

In my mind, the phrase "hardcore gamer" mostly makes sense as a way to distinguish between gamer demographics:

• Casual Gamer - One who does play games, but primarily the kind of games meant to be especially approachable, especially games with no upfront price attached.
• Middlecore Gamer - One who plays games on a regular basis, but does not make it their primary hobby and/or limits themselves to a relatively narrow selection of "mainstream" titles.
• Hardcore Gamer - Can be defined in a few ways, but generally speaking is someone who makes games a primary hobby and/or spends a fair amount of time and money on a number of titles.

If these groups seem vague, that's because they should be. They're honestly more useful as a way to describe target audiences than individuals. For example, EA might develop their next sports game with the Middlecore audience in mind, aiming for sports fans who happen to play games enough to invest time and money into a full budget title.

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Alternatively, one can use the Casual to Hardcore spectrum to describe an individual's affinity/skill for a category of games. For example, I consider myself to be a casual enjoyer of puzzle games, since I don't invest a lot of time or money into those sorts of games, but a relatively hardcore RPG/Strategy fan, since I spend more time/money/skill into those genres. That said, this approach is even more difficult to nail down.

G*mers who base their opinion of a game from YouTubers telling them what they should think. Actually playing games is for casuals.

I can game for two digit hours a day. But I can only (or only want to) have sex for two digit minutes per day. And frankly if I had to choose I rather live without sex than games. I guess that makes me a hardcore gamer? 

You're not hardcore until you game during sex. 

But do you know I have the Platinum in Sekiro....hmm...

Good points by all. Especially that it's a categorization to sell games to an audience. I'd consider myself a core gamer who dives slightly into being hardcore when I love a game so much I want to beat it on the hardest difficulty, 100% it or get good enough at it that it becomes trivial in difficulty but I also tend to engage more casually these days, sometimes putting a game on normal or easy if it feels right or I wanna complete the game but I'm not feeling a need to be dying every few minutes and I justify that as my character being more OP and Monster Hunter worlds is getting put on the wait for a sale train, a game in a series I love so and I stalled on getting a PS5 until my PS4 started giving issues, I suppose the hardvore is being filtered out of me with age.
Eh, I'm happy with being a core gamer, I wouldn't wanna ruin the hobby for myself. I could and still would be happy to be still playing sekiro for multiple hours a week cause I can get so obsessed with that game but it's not worth the time that could be spent on fresh experiences.Yet then again I feel Stellar Blade calling out to me to be beaten without using burst or Beta skills now any chip buffs on hard mode so the ember just needs some air.