I guess basic definitions are beyond you.

enthusiast -

1. One who is filled with enthusiasm; one who is ardently absorbed in an interest or pursuit: a baseball enthusiast.
2. A zealot; a fanatic.

hardcore -

1. The most dedicated, unfailingly loyal faction of a group or organization: the hard core of the separatist movement.
2. An intractable core or nucleus of a society, especially one that is stubbornly resistant to improvement or change.

Now, do you think "an intensity of pursuit of any activity above and beyond what is typically average" is closer to "One who is filled with enthusiasm; one who is ardently absorbed in an interest or pursuit" or "An intractable core or nucleus of a society, especially one that is stubbornly resistant to improvement or change?"

See how his definition doesn't relate to the actual definition of hardcore at all?

"hardcore; by my own definition is defined as an intensity of pursuit of any activity above and beyond what is typically average (Perhaps I should add average of enthusiasts?)"

So therefore a hardcore gamer is just someone who pursues games or a game (singular) in an intense fashion. Cyber athletes would be the extreme high end of this definition in relation to gaming while someone who worked to cut their lap times in Mario Kart or played Fire Emblem with a high intensity of thought would also fall under this definition.

Buying a whole lot of games and using the hard setting on all of them does not.

Your definition has nothing to do with the ACTUAL MEANING of the word.  You can't arbitrarily assign words new definitions.  That kind of kills the whole idea of communication.  What you did is tantamount to me saying "librarion; by my own definition is defined as a vicious killer who murders countless victims and sucks their blood."  Can I do that and then, using that definition, carry on a conversation with someone else?  No.  We'll be talking about two entirely different things.

Oh I see what you did there, you failed high school comprehension.

Clearly, his definition fulfills both (1) and (2) of the "enthusiast" and (1) of the "hardcore" definition. The intensity of a pursuit above normal levels is highly correlated to loyalty towards that said pursuit. It is probably also worth pointing that language is more a fluid concept than a stable one, definitions and language change and develop over time with words gaining new meanings. This is easily seen by the fact that dictionaries are regularly and routinely edited.

What you should've done is left out that first definition of "hardcore" and you might've got away with your silly post. But alas you just didn't think that far ahead ... maybe next time ...

Care to guess who it was........?

Here you go.

I agree with you Tarheel.  It seems many people here like to pick and choose the meaning of words to fit their needs.

(Anyone remember this gem?: I guess it all depends on what your definition of "is" is.)

If it wasn't Sky Render then it wouldn't have been worth making this thread, right?

The win is strong with Reggie....

A lot of pointless discussion... about the definition of 'hardcore'.

The point that Malstrom missed in this article is the different motivations for people to play games. You may play to escape reality and to explore fantasies, or you may play to test your skills and overcome obstacles (like doing sports), and there's other motivations too, like winning (against human players in multiplayer).

Most 'hardcore' players to a degree play games like sports, and that's where (part of the) fun comes from. A game that requires much lower skills than you already have so you can play through without any effort is no fun for most people who seek a challenge.

bah, i would like them to prove it