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Forums - Gaming Discussion - What's your definition of a hardcore gamer?

My definition of a hardcore gamer is someone who doesnt limit themselves to one platform or one genre of games.

Basically someone who consumes games of all kinds and across multiple platforms (not limit to 1).

It used to be playing for hours but you can honestly describe a person as a hardcore gamer on how they consume, not on how much.



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BasilZero said:

My definition of a hardcore gamer is someone who doesnt limit themselves to one platform or one genre of games.

Basically someone who consumes games of all kinds and across multiple platforms (not limit to 1).

It used to be playing for hours but you can honestly describe a person as a hardcore gamer on how they consume, not on how much.

What about people who piss in bottles to raid in wow or worse and piss themselves during a battle royal match. Or worse, the people who stay all day from morning when they wake up til night when they go to bed and play Final Fantasy 14 online or other MMOs and now CRPGs or MMO CRPGs That's one game they choose but you'll never find a gamer more dedicated or locked in and oblivious to life outside of the game. I seen people in my FF14 free company pull 18 hour days for weeks at a time often doing all nighters where they'd skip sleep and continue going. I can't think of anything more hardcore than that tbh, they have to be surrounded by trash and probably without hygiene and proper nutrition all because of how addicted they are to those games. One game. If that game died they'd give up on gaming cause gaming to them is just that one game. These people don't even use their phone and have little attention on the world outside the game or use their phones as a distraction they are that locked in, to them the Internet is just a means to stream the game or check news on the game and update their payment info or by micro transactions. Discord is the only app for them so they can bark orders at people foolish enough to let them lead them in raiding groups. The last time they spoke to a person in real life was one random afternoon in 2007 or a delivery driver who was particularly friendly some months back. They've had the smell of dick cheese bothering them for years but they can't understand where it's coming from cause they won't bother cleaning themselves thoroughly. 

Last edited by LegitHyperbole - on 26 February 2025

LegitHyperbole said:

What about people who piss in bottles to raid in wow or worse and piss themselves during a battle royal match. Or worse, the people who stay all day from morning when they wake up til night when they go to bed and play Final Fantasy 14 online or other MMOs and now CRPGs or MMO CRPGs That's one game they choose but you'll never find a gamer more dedicated or locked in and oblivious to life outside of the game. I seen people in my FF14 free company pull 18 hour days for weeks at a time often doing all nighters where they'd skip sleep and continue going. I can't think of anything more hardcore than that tbh, they have to be surrounded by trash and probably without hygiene and proper nutrition all because of how addicted they are to those games. One game. If that game died they'd give up on gaming cause gaming to them is just that one game. These people don't even use their phone and have little attention on the world outside the game or use their phones as a distraction they are that locked in, to them the Internet is just a means to stream the game or check news on the game and update their payment info or by micro transactions. Discord is the only app for them so they can bark orders at people foolish enough to let them lead them in raiding groups. The last time they spoke to a person in real life was one random afternoon in 2007 or a delivery driver who was particularly friendly some months back. They've had the smell of duck cheese bothering them for years but they won't bother cleaning it out. Lord knows who they pay for things but they manage much like a heroin addict. 

Then they are NEETs.



BasilZero said:
LegitHyperbole said:

What about people who piss in bottles to raid in wow or worse and piss themselves during a battle royal match. Or worse, the people who stay all day from morning when they wake up til night when they go to bed and play Final Fantasy 14 online or other MMOs and now CRPGs or MMO CRPGs That's one game they choose but you'll never find a gamer more dedicated or locked in and oblivious to life outside of the game. I seen people in my FF14 free company pull 18 hour days for weeks at a time often doing all nighters where they'd skip sleep and continue going. I can't think of anything more hardcore than that tbh, they have to be surrounded by trash and probably without hygiene and proper nutrition all because of how addicted they are to those games. One game. If that game died they'd give up on gaming cause gaming to them is just that one game. These people don't even use their phone and have little attention on the world outside the game or use their phones as a distraction they are that locked in, to them the Internet is just a means to stream the game or check news on the game and update their payment info or by micro transactions. Discord is the only app for them so they can bark orders at people foolish enough to let them lead them in raiding groups. The last time they spoke to a person in real life was one random afternoon in 2007 or a delivery driver who was particularly friendly some months back. They've had the smell of duck cheese bothering them for years but they won't bother cleaning it out. Lord knows who they pay for things but they manage much like a heroin addict. 

Then they are NEETs.

My point is, it's one game and yet how can anyone be more hardvore than that?



LegitHyperbole said:

My point is, it's one game and yet how can anyone be more hardvore than that?

Plenty of people who only play MMOs like WoW, FFXIV , etc and none of them have played any other notable games such as Mario, Pokemon, etc.

Not just MMOs - there's several people who only play certain games such as the EA Sports games and GTAV - I know one person who only plays the annual NBA 2K games and GTAV on his Playstation, doesnt have anything else.


I would consider them casual gamers and hardcore "Insert name of game" players.



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BasilZero said:
LegitHyperbole said:

My point is, it's one game and yet how can anyone be more hardvore than that?

Plenty of people who only play MMOs like WoW, FFXIV , etc and none of them have played any other notable games such as Mario, Pokemon, etc.

Not just MMOs - there's several people who only play certain games such as the EA Sports games and GTAV - I know one person who only plays the annual NBA 2K games and GTAV on his Playstation, doesnt have anything else.


I would consider them casual gamers and hardcore "Insert name of game" players.

Okay, with this in mind I got one for ya. Would you consider a gamer who plays on mobile phone but plays multiple games and spends 6+ hours a day and frequently switches up games as a hardcore gamer?

by your definition, I am a hardcore gamer. Not an opinion by many in this thread. 



LegitHyperbole said:

Okay, with this in mind I got one for ya. Would you consider a gamer who plays on mobile phone but plays multiple games and spends 6+ hours a day and frequently switches up games as a hardcore gamer?

by your definition, I am a hardcore gamer. Not an opinion by many in this thread. 


There's no definite answer to the definition of a hardcore gamer is - if you search it up, you get different results from different sources.

"Dedicated gamers who play for the thrill of mastering the game and competition." - https://help.playtestcloud.com/en/articles/2451616-gamer-types-how-we-classify-them

"The hardcore gamer is a combination of the escaper and the achiever. This type of gamer is mainly motivated by achievement and escapism, but role-playing is also an important part of their gameplay. They have high self-esteem and high impulsiveness which affects their decision making and control. They define themselves through their gaming life and reputation; their sense of self is boosted by their virtual world achievements and status." - https://gamequitters.com/types-of-gamers/

"The first rule is to understand that for hardcore gamers playing games is a passion. They spend huge amounts of time not only playing video games, but also watching other players (especially on streams). Hardcore gamers are closely connected with the video games industry, they attend events, pre-order new titles and are a part of the video games culture" - https://instreamly.com/posts/types-of-gamers-casual-and-hardcore-gamers/

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By the way it is defined above, I wouldnt consider myself a hardcore gamer in the examples provided above however....

Your topic title says "Whats your definition of a hardcore gamer" - my opinion wont be swayed just because others disagree with me or what outside sources define it as, my opinions are of my own, whether you agree or disagree is irrelevant to my own beliefs. I'm gonna stick with what I believe.

My definition of a hardcore gamer is one who plays more than 1 platform and more than 1 specific genre (with no limitation to 1 genre or subtype of game). 

The number of hours per day doesnt matter. Playing multiple games at the same time doesnt matter either.

Playing a platform doesnt undermine if you are "hardcore" or not - platform shaming is pointless. The number of platforms/services and the number of types/genres of games is what defines a person on what type of gamer they are, not what their specific preference is (be it mobile or PC gaming).

A casual gamer is one who plays on one platform and likely doesnt play that much in terms of genres or a number of games (i.e. MMO players, people who only play specific franchises on one platform)

A core gamer is one who may specialize on one platform but plays a multitude of genres of games (i.e. focusing on multiple types of games on one platform)

A hard core gamer is one who plays on more than 1 platform, plays multiple genres of games with little to no limitations of the type of games.

I've fallen under each of the above categories at different points of my life.

I was a casual gamer in the late 2000s and early 2010s because I only played MMOs and online games with little to no interaction with console games

I was a core gamer in the 1990s when I only had a SNES and played only Nintendo first party games like Mario, DK, Zelda, etc and a handful of third party titles (Square Enix and Capcom)

I would identify myself as a hardcore gamer right now because I play on PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series and iOS - almost equally (i.e. I swap between platforms) and I would play almost all available genres (except for a couple - i.e. MOBAs, MMOs).

Like I mentioned before, platform shaming is pointless because every platform has a good number of games - even mobile.

For an example this is what I own/play on iOS/iPhone/iPad



BasilZero said:
LegitHyperbole said:

Okay, with this in mind I got one for ya. Would you consider a gamer who plays on mobile phone but plays multiple games and spends 6+ hours a day and frequently switches up games as a hardcore gamer?

by your definition, I am a hardcore gamer. Not an opinion by many in this thread. 


There's no definite answer to the definition of a hardcore gamer is - if you search it up, you get different results from different sources.

"Dedicated gamers who play for the thrill of mastering the game and competition." - https://help.playtestcloud.com/en/articles/2451616-gamer-types-how-we-classify-them

"The hardcore gamer is a combination of the escaper and the achiever. This type of gamer is mainly motivated by achievement and escapism, but role-playing is also an important part of their gameplay. They have high self-esteem and high impulsiveness which affects their decision making and control. They define themselves through their gaming life and reputation; their sense of self is boosted by their virtual world achievements and status." - https://gamequitters.com/types-of-gamers/

"The first rule is to understand that for hardcore gamers playing games is a passion. They spend huge amounts of time not only playing video games, but also watching other players (especially on streams). Hardcore gamers are closely connected with the video games industry, they attend events, pre-order new titles and are a part of the video games culture" - https://instreamly.com/posts/types-of-gamers-casual-and-hardcore-gamers/

-----

By the way it is defined above, I wouldnt consider myself a hardcore gamer in the examples provided above however....

Your topic title says "Whats your definition of a hardcore gamer" - my opinion wont be swayed just because others disagree with me or what outside sources define it as, my opinions are of my own, whether you agree or disagree is irrelevant to my own beliefs. I'm gonna stick with what I believe.

My definition of a hardcore gamer is one who plays more than 1 platform and more than 1 specific genre (with no limitation to 1 genre or subtype of game). 

The number of hours per day doesnt matter. Playing multiple games at the same time doesnt matter either.

Playing a platform doesnt undermine if you are "hardcore" or not - platform shaming is pointless. The number of platforms/services and the number of types/genres of games is what defines a person on what type of gamer they are, not what their specific preference is (be it mobile or PC gaming).

A casual gamer is one who plays on one platform and likely doesnt play that much in terms of genres or a number of games (i.e. MMO players, people who only play specific franchises on one platform)

A core gamer is one who may specialize on one platform but plays a multitude of genres of games (i.e. focusing on multiple types of games on one platform)

A hard core gamer is one who plays on more than 1 platform, plays multiple genres of games with little to no limitations of the type of games.

I've fallen under each of the above categories at different points of my life.

I was a casual gamer in the late 2000s and early 2010s because I only played MMOs and online games with little to no interaction with console games

I was a core gamer in the 1990s when I only had a SNES and played only Nintendo first party games like Mario, DK, Zelda, etc and a handful of third party titles (Square Enix and Capcom)

I would identify myself as a hardcore gamer right now because I play on PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series and iOS - almost equally (i.e. I swap between platforms) and I would play almost all available genres (except for a couple - i.e. MOBAs, MMOs).

Like I mentioned before, platform shaming is pointless because every platform has a good number of games - even mobile.

For an example this is what I own/play on iOS/iPhone/iPad

Yeah, it's pretty crazy what's gotten ported to mobile and you can output your android screen easily to work on your TV with something like Samsung DEX and hook up a controller which many of those ports support, even specialised controllers that turn your phone into a sort of switch or portal like device. It's easy to forget this. 

I remember buying San Andreas while in hospital and it wasn't ideal to control but was a damn good port and the graphics were solid. I could see myself buying one of those portal like controller devices and get by easily on mobile games if all I was left with was my phone. 



LegitHyperbole said:
Dante9 said:

A hardcore gamer, or whatever you would like to call it, would at least require a dedicated gaming machine of some sort. They would also regularly dedicate some of their free time for the purpose of gaming, because they enjoy it so much.
I think that pretty much sums it up.

This is the first reply I take issue with, this would mean only the well off PC players can be hardcore. 

No no, you misunderstand. I meant any gaming machine, not just a PC. But a phone does not count, because it's not primarily a gaming machine.



Dante9 said:
LegitHyperbole said:

This is the first reply I take issue with, this would mean only the well off PC players can be hardcore. 

No no, you misunderstand. I meant any gaming machine, not just a PC. But a phone does not count, because it's not primarily a gaming machine.

But,neither is a pc right?



 

My youtube gaming page.

http://www.youtube.com/user/klaudkil