I live a life similar to yours, as far as social activities are concerned but I don't get the rest. Why don't I (usually, mind you, there are exceptions) play casual games? Its not that I refrain from playing them to be "cool" (my God, how pathetic would that be) and its not because I see myself as "better than anyone" (really, HappySquirrel, that is a piss poor definition and generalization from a man of your intelligence) who plays these casual games as a rule.

Most casual titles have no lifespan or real worth to me as entertainment, I play games to get immersed, games like Baldur's Gate, Gothic, Gran Turismo and other monoliths that can keep me busy for a long time and lend depth and variation in each session is what I like. Many casual games also have low production values (note; many, not all, big diff) and are littered with extremely cheap gameplay and/or features. Having good graphics and sfx/music is not the hallmark of a good game, but it at least shows that some thought and effort were put into the production.

There are many seemingly reasonable fellows in here (like HappySquirrel, whom I can't believe haven't made mod yet) that have a hard time grasping the concept of taste, there are perfectly legitimate reasons for people to like different things. I had a very quick car last year and I loved it, but it was a drag driving other cars that were less comfy, responsive and sharp as a result. I've been spoiled with great games for two decades now so I can easily identify which titles I'll probably enjoy or not (I do try lots of games, rest assured). Most games disappoint me greatly, even the big blockbusters do as of late. But, when one of these games do live up to my expectations, I know I have a game with which I can have fun for a long time and that pleases me as a long time gamer (is the term "gamer" a bad word now, I almost feel guilty for liking videogames and it shouldn't be that way).

The generalization of "gamers" on this site is beyond horrid, I wish people could realize that now everyone who doesn't play casual titles on a regular basis need be a hateful, childish idiot, as if not playing these games make you a horrible and unbalanced individual. It reminds me of some of the discussions I've had over games like F.E.A.R, where no one seems to be able to fathom how I could find that title plain boring while I enjoyed Dark Messiah of Might & Magic. The reason folks don't get it is that one game reviewed well and the other didn't, which by default (apparently) should affect how I like the game. Arguments such as those and those used in this thread are old and out of date, some of us aren't depraved, hate-oozing fanboys, we simply have aquired tastes and preferences and anyone who can't wrap his/hers brain around such a base concept does not belong in a discussion concerning it either.

Kinda agree.

i didnt finish many games, does that mean im a casual player?

possibly, but its not about finishing games, its about going a step beyond.

About not getting satisfaction out of Wii Sports. There are several different mini games for each sport that one can get different types of medals on. Get platinum medals on all of those and tell me that it can't be a hardcore game.

I, on the other hand, agree with everything that you said about the new PoP. I was a big fan of the last trilogy and have asked several people on this site to make a comparison between the new game and those games. They all said the same thing. The new game is extremely easy compared to the older ones. The whole point of PoP was to first figure out the environmental puzzle, which was sometimes a task itself. Then you would have to do well timed jumps, chain swings, walll jumps, etc. to get past it. It was often very difficult. Now its more like hit the A button at the right time and watch the prince do some cool looking stuff that you aren't even controlling. I hear that it looks really pretty though, and that's all that matters.

I'm sorry I never said I got satisfaction out of wii sports. I've completed that game to entirity, there is no other challenge but human players because I've simply beat it to death. :P Its a very fun game. Not AAA but fun nonetheless.
I think it is the best of the "Mii" franchise.

Fair enough.  I wasn't saying that it was Batttletoads.  My only point is that it is more hardcore than a push the A button at the right time game.  My point was that the PoP game is supposedly hardcore (because of graphics?) and isn't at all.  It's a shame because they were fairly challenging games.  This bring me to another point.  People keep acting like Nintendo is solely responsible for the dumbing down of games.   This is far from true.  Most Nintendo games are easy to learn but it takes an absolute maniac to master them.  Mario Kart Wii and SSBB are two prime examples of this. 

The real diffence is that hardcore gamers care and fret about the difference while casual gamers don't.

I thought hardcore gamer was just someone who was an avid gamer, played many games and had nothing to do with how good they were. Typically the more games you play the better you are as practice makes perfect

A causal gamer would be someone who plays causally i.e. it is not their favorite pass time. Not necessarily playing a certain type of game. You can be a casual player and still play shmups and beat em ups .

Hardcore gamers are the ones that experience most games i.e. are expected to shell out most of the money for new games. A casual gamer is not going to buy/rent 100s of games every year as it is a secondary entertainment for him/her.

This is a fairly judgemental post and an unfair one. We don't care and fret about the difference (at least I don't), it's just something we talk about because we are hardcore gamers and so we talk about myraid subjects whereas a casual gamer will probably talk this way about cars, or a significant other, or tv.

This is just something we are into, and so we are going to talk about all aspects of it. I don't mean to be rude but you seem to be casual since you don't know what you are talking about "reasonable"

@sapient

That logic follows completely from mine or maybe it leads to mine, so I agree. Although, I think that may be on the low end of the hardcore scale.