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Forums - Gaming - Enter "Hardcore" Gamers...

neerdowell on 03 May 2009

I just wanted to perform a little test for anyone that considers themself a hardcore gamer. Obviously that entails a definition as to what classifies as hardcore; According to thefreedictionary.com, hardcore means...


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.
3. often hard·core (härdkôr, -kr) A form of exceptionally harsh punk rock.

I am going to be focusing on the first definition here, loyalty; To me, being loyal to gaming would imply dedicating a significant portion of your time and efforts to it, not by what type of games you play; so your "hardcoreness" will be measured by what percentage of your life you have dedicated to gaming... 

So a list of games I've played, as well as whether I've beaten them (referenced by ***) or played a significant portion (over 50%, referenced by *). Or what was supposed to be one before I realized how insanely long and ridiculous of a list that would have been, so there's roughly a fourth there.

For a rough summarization, I've roughly beat 50 rpg's in my life, played an additional 25 (20 hours of more invested), and at least 50 other titles (at 10 hours a piece let's say). Calculated up this comes out to be roughly 3500 to 4000 hours of my life at least (it's actually very much more likely somewhere between 6000 to 10000, but that would be way too difficult to actually back up), or 2%...2%, that's a little disappointing...makes me wonder if I even count under my own definition. So here's your chance to put me to shame and prove your hardcoreness. Feel free to disagree with my definition and explain why you still count  if you don't meet mine.

Altered Beast (***)
Addam's Family
Aero the Acrobat
Bubsy(***)
Super Mario Brothers
Super Mario World
Super Mario Brothers 3
Yoshi's Story(*)
Super Mario Galaxy
Legend of Zelda
Ocarina of Time(***)
Majora's Mask(*)
Sonic the Hedgehog(***)
Sonic 2(***)
Sonic 3(***)
Sonic and Knuckles(***)
Grandia(*)
Grandia 2(***)
Grandia 3(***)
Xenogears(*)
Xenosaga: Episode 1(***)
Xenosage: Ep. 2
Xenosage: Ep. 3
Road Rash
Road Rash 2
Road Rash 3(***)
Chakan
Shining in the Darkness(***)
Shining Force I(***)
Shining Force 2(***)
Shining Force 3
Shining Soul(*)
Shining Tears(*)
Shining Force Neo(*)
Golden Sun(***)
Golden Sun 2(***)
Lufia
Lufia 2
Lufia: The Ruins of Lore(*)
Dual Orb 2(***)
The Treasure of Rudras
Bahamut Lagoon
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 4 & 5(***)
Final Fantasy 6(*)
Final Fantasy 7 - 10(***)
Final Fantasy 12(*)
Dragon Quest 8
Dragon Quest 5
Shadow Hearts 1 - 3 (***)
Phantasy Star 1(*)
Phantasy Star 2(***)
Phantasy Star 3
Phantasy Star 4(***)
Sonic Unleashed(*)
Sonic the Hedgehog Remake
Resident Evil 1 - 5(***)
Silent Hill  1, 3-4
Silent Hill Homecoming(***)
Dragonball Z: Burst Limit(***)
Dragonball Z: Budokai tenkaichi 2(***)
DBZ: Budokai tenkaichi 3
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Naruto: Clash of the Ninja 2(*)
Enchanted Arms(*)
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun 2 and 3 (***)



How do you breathe again?

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The Ghost of RubangB on 03 May 2009

I am an unfailingly loyal member of the hardcore of the casual gaming movement.

I don't believe that a hardcore exists, but I do find it amusing that you're claiming to be hardcore while admitting you haven't beaten a single Mario game.



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Words Of Wisdom on 03 May 2009
The Ghost of RubangB said:
I am an unfailingly loyal member of the hardcore of the casual gaming movement.

I don't believe that a hardcore exists, but I do find it amusing that you're claiming to be hardcore while admitting you haven't beaten a single Mario game.

I do.

I don't believe it's a black and white distinction though.

Let's liken it to golfing.  Golfer A plays once a month with friends.  Golfer B owns a set of custom clubs and plays several times a week, and competes in tournaments.  Both are golfers, but one is far more dedicated to the hobby.

It's kind of like that... only with video games.



Mummelmann on 03 May 2009

Wow, this would take me hours upon hours just to compile.
To try to give it a little perspective from my view; I have roughly 1500 hours or so in Diablo II in my day and that's just one game (allbeit porbably the one I've spent the most time on in total).
There are also games I play through several times (Oblivion, BaK, FF etc.).



Hisiru on 03 May 2009

you are NOT a hardcore gamer unless you beat Contra 4 in the DS (hard mode).



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JPL78 on 03 May 2009

I would ask a bunch of questions.

Are video games your favorite type of entertainment?
Do you play almost every day?
Do you prefer to spend most of your disposable income on games?
Have you played your whole life?
Do you enjoy most genres of games?
Do you follow video game news sites or magazines often?
Do you know at least some of the history of video games?
Do you watch television shows about video games?
Do you daydream about video games?
Do you discuss video games online?
Are you constantly planning the next games you will play?
Do you own multiple systems at the same time?
Do you play retro games?
Do you beat a majority of the games you play that you like enough to beat?
Do you challenge any games on their hardest difficulty level?
Have you ever purchased a video game soundtrack?
Have you ever read a book based on a video game?
Do you have any clothing or accessories with video game characters on them?

Eh, I'm sure there's more but I'm tapped for the moment. I would think there are different levels of hardcore as well. I answered yes to every question except "Have you ever read a book based on a video game?"

That said I fully recognize that there are people who would be considered much more hard core. I wouldn't be able to do an actual list of games I've beaten or played a lot because I lost count back in the NES days. Although I wish I had documented that through the years.

 

edit: I meant novel not strategy guide, but that might be a question as well.



neerdowell on 03 May 2009
JPL78 said:
I would ask a bunch of questions.

Are video games your favorite type of entertainment?
Do you play almost every day?
Do you prefer to spend most of your disposable income on games?
Have you played your whole life?
Do you enjoy most genres of games?
Do you follow video game news sites or magazines often?
Do you know at least some of the history of video games?
Do you watch television shows about video games?
Do you daydream about video games?
Do you discuss video games online?
Are you constantly planning the next games you will play?
Do you own multiple systems at the same time?
Do you play retro games?
Do you beat a majority of the games you play that you like enough to beat?
Do you challenge any games on their hardest difficulty level?
Have you ever purchased a video game soundtrack?
Have you ever read a book based on a video game?
Do you have any clothing or accessories with video game characters on them?

Eh, I'm sure there's more but I'm tapped for the moment. I would think there are different levels of hardcore as well. I answered yes to every question except "Have you ever read a book based on a video game?"

That said I fully recognize that there are people who would be considered much more hard core. I wouldn't be able to do an actual list of games I've beaten or played a lot because I lost count back in the NES days. Although I wish I had documented that through the years.

 

 Yes to all except the two bolded.



How do you breathe again?

griffinA on 03 May 2009
JPL78 said:
I would ask a bunch of questions.

Are video games your favorite type of entertainment? No, equal to movies and music
Do you play almost every day? No
Do you prefer to spend most of your disposable income on games? NO
Have you played your whole life? Yes
Do you enjoy most genres of games? I guess, I only hate a few genres
Do you follow video game news sites or magazines often? Yes
Do you know at least some of the history of video games? Yes
Do you watch television shows about video games? No
Do you daydream about video games? Sometimes
Do you discuss video games online? Yes
Are you constantly planning the next games you will play? Yes
Do you own multiple systems at the same time? I own multiple systems, but not current-gen ones
Do you play retro games? Hellz yes
Do you beat a majority of the games you play that you like enough to beat? wait......what?
Do you challenge any games on their hardest difficulty level? Occasionally
Have you ever purchased a video game soundtrack? No
Have you ever read a book based on a video game? Yes
Do you have any clothing or accessories with video game characters on them? No

Eh, I'm sure there's more but I'm tapped for the moment. I would think there are different levels of hardcore as well. I answered yes to every question except "Have you ever read a book based on a video game?"

That said I fully recognize that there are people who would be considered much more hard core. I wouldn't be able to do an actual list of games I've beaten or played a lot because I lost count back in the NES days. Although I wish I had documented that through the years.

Am I teh hardcore?

 



"Pier was a chef, a gifted and respected chef who made millions selling his dishes to the residents of New York City and Boston, he even had a famous jingle playing in those cities that everyone knew by heart. He also had a restaurant in Los Angeles, but not expecting LA to have such a massive population he only used his name on that restaurant and left it to his least capable and cheapest chefs. While his New York restaurant sold kobe beef for $100 and his Boston restaurant sold lobster for $50, his LA restaurant sold cheap hotdogs for $30. Initially these hot dogs sold fairly well because residents of los angeles were starving for good food and hoped that the famous name would denote a high quality, but most were disappointed with what they ate. Seeing the success of his cheap hot dogs in LA, Pier thought "why bother giving Los Angeles quality meats when I can oversell them on cheap hotdogs forever, and since I don't care about the product anyways, why bother advertising them? So Pier continued to only sell cheap hotdogs in LA and was surprised to see that they no longer sold. Pier's conclusion? Residents of Los Angeles don't like food."

"The so-called "hardcore" gamer is a marketing brainwashed, innovation shunting, self-righteous idiot who pays videogame makers far too much money than what is delivered."

TWRoO on 03 May 2009
JPL78 said:
I would ask a bunch of questions.

Are video games your favorite type of entertainment? yes
Do you play almost every day? Erm.... most days (maybe 75%) but whether that counts as almost every I don't know.
Do you prefer to spend most of your disposable income on games? yes
Have you played your whole life? ????  little bit difficult to have done that, but the past 13 years out of 21 must count surely.
Do you enjoy most genres of games? yes
Do you follow video game news sites or magazines often? yes
Do you know at least some of the history of video games? yes
Do you watch television shows about video games? As far as I am aware, there in only 1 show about video games here in the UK, and it is a terrible show.
Do you daydream about video games? yes, but then I daydream about lots of things.
Do you discuss video games online? yes
Are you constantly planning the next games you will play? ???? I suppose so
Do you own multiple systems at the same time? Nope, unless you count past systems I still own
Do you play retro games? Some yes
Do you beat a majority of the games you play that you like enough to beat? yes
Do you challenge any games on their hardest difficulty level? yes
Have you ever purchased a video game soundtrack? Nope
Have you ever read a book based on a video game? Whut? I didn't even realise there were books based on games... I would imagine they are terrible terrible books.
Do you have any clothing or accessories with video game characters on them? Nope, well yes to accessories, but they were free and I don't wear them... oh wait, I suppose keyrings count as a yes.

Eh, I'm sure there's more but I'm tapped for the moment. I would think there are different levels of hardcore as well. I answered yes to every question except "Have you ever read a book based on a video game?"

That said I fully recognize that there are people who would be considered much more hard core. I wouldn't be able to do an actual list of games I've beaten or played a lot because I lost count back in the NES days. Although I wish I had documented that through the years.

 

 



neerdowell on 03 May 2009
The Ghost of RubangB said:
I am an unfailingly loyal member of the hardcore of the casual gaming movement.

I don't believe that a hardcore exists, but I do find it amusing that you're claiming to be hardcore while admitting you haven't beaten a single Mario game.

 

 I think you might have missed the point a little; the whole idea was to attribute hardcore gaming to an actual measurable metric that makes sense rather than attributing it to playing a particular type of game (such as Mario, Halo, shooters in general, games that sell well and are hyped as the end-all-be-all, online gaming...). This means that even those who own a wii, which is usually considered casual could by this definition be considered hardcore.

You on the other hand somewhat argued in favor of those that consider the Wii casual by defining my lack of hardcoreness simply because I don't care much for Mario. You've applied the exact same reasoning that defines Wii as casual simply because of the games that are available.



How do you breathe again?