With this gen bringing in a whole new level of "casual", you gotta adapt...

GTA, Madden, FPS's and the FF series are definitely not casual games though.  They're mainstream, but that's not synonomous with being casual; just well known.

I doubt you could present them to any senior citizen casual gamer in the world and expect them to understand what's going on, or what to do.

Would they be softcore?

There's a lot of these type of gamers that the OP describes.

Most of these people play a lot more games than I and many others forum-goers do, but they aren't interested in information, hype, discussion and all the other things surrounding the games.

I would call them ignorant hardcore.

It is funny how the REAL hardcore games barely sell anything:D

If only I could post porn on this site, you would know the true boundaries of the cores... (sigh)

no bondage plz.

Hardcore just means killing, bad language, drugs and crashing cars.

Basically all things that in real life would get you in trouble with the law, that's why they are seen as cool.

Anyone that can name me a 'hardcore' game that does not include these I will personally send them a Mars bar :P

@ above poster who i can pronounce his username.

I don't think that is what hardcore has to mean. Take madden for example, that game is sorta hardcore. Anything that is played in Fraternity dorms is hardcore for the sheer Bro'ness of it.

I don't believe in labels though. I find that I enjoy games a lot more if I don't think of them as shooters or RPG's. I think of games as final fantasy or halo.