I suppose I get to be a casual then, because I fail on all five counts that sieanr has presented. Or perhaps there is a continuum and i'm not as far toward hardcore as others. Either way, Sieanr has presented valid criteria for the hardcorest of hardcore. Shall we call them the Elitist? At least here we are looking at the depth to which a gamer goes to establish hardcore/casual status. While I do think Sieanr's rubrik is a little narrow and exclusive, at least it distances itself from the traditional and en vogue "kiddy vs. mature" standard that is being used of late.

It's a good introspective question to ask. To me, a hardcore gamer is someone that spends a majority of their extra income and time with either a said console, or gaming in general. Someone that is a "fanboy" of a particular system, that buys over 5+ games a year. However, my 7 y/o niece would be in that catagory, as she gets around 40+ games a year :- So then the point is moot.

I think the diffrence is the complexity of the games they like. I like games that take 20+ hours to learn. X3 is probibally one of the best games I've ever played. http://pc.ign.com/objects/736/736739.html The fact it is given less than a 10 is because they couldnt figure out. That is one of the ONLY games that I can say. If you like RTS, Space sim, Space fighter, Empire builder, Sim City... (if you like ANY of those) X3 should be on your collection.

Shmups are very, very simple but very difficult to master. The same can be said of many 2d platformers, fighters, ect. Is someone who can beat Super Mario Bros. in less than 5 minuets "hardcore"? I don't think it has anything to do with complexity of their favorite games, in many instances they fly in the face of that assumption and I think it has everything to do with dedication - and that is something difficult to measure. Yes, my list is a little extreme, but it's meant to illustrate how subjective "hardcore" vs. "casual" is. And to all these people saying "whoa is hardcore with the Wii", people said the exact same thing about the PS1 and 3d gaming. Claiming Hardcore games will go away is nothing short of stupid.

If you buy more than one game per quarter, I think you qualify as a hardcore gamer.

if you spend time arguing about games and game sales on a freaking message board, you might just be a hardcore gamer.

I think the act of reading alone is enough.

Nah... That's not enough. I would say 1 a month. That would be 4 a year. My mother is NOT a hardcore gamer, but she does buy 1 game every 2-3 months.

Measuring it by number of game purchased per month is stupid. A "casual" can go on a buying spree of SNES games and pick up 20 in on day for not much dough. A "hardcore" gamer can save up for 6 months to purchase Panzer Dragoon. Again, in my mind dedication is what matters, not something as trivial as purchases per month/year.

Okay...while we decide what makes a hardcore gamer truly hardcore...let the record show that this has nothing to do with graphics or killing or guns. It has nothing to do with plumbers or pikmin, pokemon or pinatas. It may have something to do with how many hours a gamer plays, or to what extent one goes to get a game. It may have to do with how much time one puts into gaming, both in game and in forum. And it may have to do with how many games a person buys a year. But it does not have to do with how much blood is spilt in a game, nor how realistic said blood is. A 360 fan is as hardcore as a DS fan, all other things being equal (Hours played, money spent, imports bought, etc.) Couldn't this be true?