These two terms are thrown around very loosely on any gaming site. So who are the hardcore gamers? Is a hardcore gamer someone who plays FPS, RTS, Action, WRPGs, some JRPGs, and some racing sims and casuals are the people who play the other genres? Is a hardcore gamer the person who goes out and buys games that only get 8s-10s on review sites? Some will tell you that the hardcore gamers are the ones of ages 16-25 year old males. You can't confuse hardcore and casual with demographic. Although many understand what is being meant when the terms hardcore and casual are used, the definition of either is incredibly shaky.

The truth of the matter is that you cannot define someone as hardcore or casual by what they play ir who they are. That is like telling someone they aren't an acoholic because they don't drink vodka. That is like defining someone as a casual smoker by what brand they smoke.

From a market standpoint, this is a sales site, casual and hardcore are defined by how much of a product they purchase. A casual smoker only smokes a cigarrette on occasion, while a chain smoker goes through pack after pack. A hardcore gamer probably buys 10+ games a year while a casual gamer only purchases 1-3 games a year.

Are there a lot of casuals on the wii? Yes there are. There are casuals on any system. Not everyone can afford to buy that many games a year. Companies compete for the purchases of the casual. If DQ monster and pokemon come out in the same year, the hardcore will probably end up with both. On the other hand, casuals with ask others which one they should buy.

Are kids casual? I would say no. Kids generally spend there money on toys and video games. Also they have a lot of free time, so it is highly likely that they will complete a game in a relatively short amount of time. Which means that it won't be long before they make there next purchase.

So how would you define hardcore and casual? Which one are you? Which demographics do you think are mostly hardcore or casual?

Well, I do agree with you that a large majority of owners (even the 360 and PS3) are casuals.

There is a difference between the core gamer and the hardcore gamer. The core gamer is a matter of self-indentification. If you identify yourself as a gamer, note it as one of your hobbies, one of the things that defines you, then you are probably a core gamer. Follow the industry, keep up on what games are best, know your tastes, play regularly, and incorporate it into your lifestyle. A hardcore gamer is a core gamer, but a core gamer is not a hardcore gamer.

A hardcore gamer is a different level of avid, someone who is part collector, but also plays his collection, someone who attempts to optimize their experience every generation, someone who has a Wii, 360, PS3, PSP, and DS, and are up on all of them. The hardcore gamer is the rarer, more obsessive breed of core gamer.

There is the Traditional Casual Gamer, that friend you know who bought a 360 for Madden or Call of Duty, or bought a PS2 for SOCOM, or a GameCube for Smash Bros and Mario Kart. They don't play avidly and keep up with things, but they do play core games

Finally there is the New Casual gamer, which is the gaming media's stereotype of a Wii owner. Someone who plays Sports or Fit, or Bejeweled or Tetris, Scene It or Guitar Hero. The new breed of casual gamer who are only into gaming due to the recent developments towards mass-market-dom.

See my thread on the subject:  http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=59782&page=1

I agree that purchases should represent "casualness", but apparently this is not the case: 

The Wii, that is supposed to be the most casual, has a decent software attachment rate right between PS3's and 360's. (and a leading "overall software sales" number).

Actually, these games that are considered casual, (Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc),  are getting played as much as some "hardcore"-labeled games. 

BTW, even the purchases factor is misleading. I know people who bought The Sims 2, and no other game, or console ever. (not even the EPs). Yet they played with it every day, for months or even years. 

Are they casual gamers? Even though they, play it REGULARLY, even visited fansites titled for "HARDCORE Sims fans"? :P

Casuals are those who play on irregular occasions, for example, Guitar Hero at a house party, or a flash game found while browsing the net.

For example, my sister, who played The Sims 2, that I bought for myself, for a few hours before getting bored, and also plays games on her mobile phone, would be a casual gamer. 

Hardcore as far as I know are those gamers that enjoy those parts of games that are seem like work to other people and actually feel a sense of reward from it.

Casual as far as I know are those gamers who play games as just a small part of their day/week/etc.

Game Overthinkin' much? ;P

 Actually, yes. :)

I think a hardcore gamer is just someone that plays games alot more than the average person. My friends can probably be described as casual gamers - they don't do it very often and arn't really interested in buying the latest/best games. They don't visit websites/forums or read revies, so they buy games based on their genre and through word-of-mouth.

Some games are naturally harder than others so of course you'll see a difference in what they play.

It's easy for hardcore gamers to get a bad rep in person.....well, at least around where I live. Maybe it's just the people I hang around with. I'm also the only gamer in my entire family - they all kinda view it as a waste of time.

Core gamers are gamers that play a game a lot.
Casual gamers are ppl that don't a game often.

If u only have warcraft & play it 7+ hours a week u are a core warcraft gamer. Simple as that. If u only have a few games doesn't mean ur not a core gamer. It could mean u only really like a few games, that u are poor, or that u don't like to / don't know how to pirate.

Hardcore just refers to the amount of time you spend on a game and the dedication you have to it. You're casual if you just play games for fun every now and then in short bursts.
So you can own a PS3 with MGS4 and an Xbox 360 with Halo 3, but if you only play them every so often for like half an hour you'd be casual, while at the same time your mom could be a hardcore gamer if she plays Bejeweled for 8 hours a day.