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Are You a Casual Gamer?

Sat, 02/23/2008 - 1:14pm by geeksugar
1,262 Views - 45 comments

The term "casual gamer" is being thrown around more and more these days, mostly due to the popularity of the Wii, and I think, the growing popularity of gaming in general. The Wii is really the first democratic console — we've seen senior citizens get in on the action, physical therapy patients use it, and now, Wii Fit is set to become the first video game since Dance Dance Revolution to make you lose weight, instead of pile it on.

A casual gamer is different from a hardcore gamer in obvious ways — both in time devoted and the interest level.

Interest in video games is generally a hobby for casual gamers, whereas the interest is almost professional for hardcore. So my readers, I'm curious! Do you define yourself as a casual gamer or a hardcore gamer?

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45 Comments Add a Comment

  • KadBunny's picture
    KadBunny
    5

    I'm more than casual but less than hardcore, so I'd say both and neither. Smiling

    I don't just play for the heck of it; I care about the in and outs of games and the people who make them, and I lose my temper trying to get an achievement, but I only devote a few hours at a time. I'm not super competitive either, except with my own skill and my friends. No bloodbaths in Live for mee; I just don't have the guts.

    My boyfriend however is the epitome of hardcore. He's a videogames journalist and racks up achievements like nobody's business. Laughing out loud

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • caroline's picture
    caroline
    6

    i play xbox360 when my boyfriend let me have a turn Smiling
    except rockband and guitar hero, i always play those!! his brother has the wii and plays with me all the time.. but the bf lovesss his gears of war, i even call his xbox the other girlfriend! Smiling

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • designergirl's picture
    designergirl
    7

    I'm mostly a casual gamer- I get really obsessed with a game if I like it, but they're are very few games that I like. So, about every 3 months, for a couple of weeks I play all the time and then stop for another couple of months.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Zaianne's picture
    Zaianne
    8

    I'm a casual gamer, I don't play all the time but I am interested in games and play a few. I can play a game hours at a time if the mood strikes and I took a lot of gaming classes in college. My boyfriend is more hardcore than I am, even if he does argue I took more gaming classes then he ever did. He owns a Wii and just recently got a 360. I'm lucky if I can get a decent conversation from him now. Sticking out tongue

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • nikkie45's picture
    nikkie45
    9

    it really depends on the day and the game. oh and how much free time i have.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • julibul's picture
    julibul
    10

    I'm definitely more than a casual gamer, but I don't spend a huge amount of time gaming (mostly because I have a whole crapload of work to do being at college). I've been a gamer since I was 5, but I've always been most interested in the in-depth games with story lines and characterizations. I get really into those, more so than a casual gamer. But I also play things like DDR, Guitar Hero, Mario Party, Mario Kart and other games that require less brain power but are still fun.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • KHast's picture
    KHast
    12

    I'm not casual, but I'm not hardcore either. I love gaming, but I only like specific kinds of games. I spend time putting together "game nights" with a bunch of my friends (I'm the only female interested), and we'll spend hours blowing each other up and shooting our way to the top! Viva la FPSs!

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • i am awesomeness's picture
    i am awesomeness
    13

    I suppose I'm a casual gamer. I like playing Guitar Hero in the dorms with my friends, but I'm not nearly as good as they are(I'm still struggling on the easy level! haha, except the '80s edition is easier, and I can play that on medium). I wish I could play more often though, but I get kinda nervous and give up when there are lots of people around so it's not often that I get to play by myself.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • tdamji's picture
    tdamji
    14

    neither. when i played zelda, i played it for a few hours everyday and now i am playing Fire Emblam now and it is so addictive - so i've been playing it a lot. really, like nikki said - depends on game, time i have and day.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Valynn's picture
    Valynn
    15

    Well...I get pretty fangirl-ish over releases, and I did stand out in the cold for a Nintendo Wii. Not a day goes by that I don't play SOME sort of game, and I've been that way since I bought my first console with my first summer job. Now I have 2 boys, and they know the rules when it comes to mommy's games and gaming time. But if they need me, they do come first. So I'll call myself hardcore without the "l33t hardcore" attitude!

    BTW, if anyone is looking for other gamers to play with, send me a message. We'll trade gamertags!

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • MandyJoBo's picture
    MandyJoBo
    16

    I'm casual, but my fiance and I are really into MMO's and when a new one comes out that we like, I'll play hardcore for a few months until I get bored with it.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Semirose's picture
    Semirose
    17

    I'm mostly casual, but with some games I'll just keep playing until I finish. And then after I do that I won't touch my wii for a couple months. I do play with my ds lite a lot though. I've always been this way, my gameboy always saw more action than my N64 or NES back in the day on a regular basis, but then there'd be intense periods of gaming.

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Kaori's picture
    Kaori
    18

    I'm usually a casual gamer, but when I find something that I really like, I go all out. I won't do anything but play the game until it's over/I'm terribly sick of it. I try avoiding that though ^^;;

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • DoctaJones's picture
    DoctaJones
    20

    I absolutely love video games and have been playing them pretty hardcore most of my life. But stuff like college, work and friends, not to mention the staggering cost of new consoles have taken a toll on my gaming life. I think at heart I'm still hardcore, but I have to admit I barely qualify as casual anymore.

    Still eyeing that 60 GB PS3 though...

    38 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • klk2103's picture
    klk2103
    21

    I would have to say I'm more than a casual gamer...My subscription to GameTap shows that Laughing out loud. I feel a little biased I guess though -- due to my slant, I wouldn't call people who play GuitarHero and DDR "gamers" per se. O_o My nerdiness tells me that I would be more inclined to call someone a gamer if they played games like Diablo 2, World of Warcraft, Doom, FEAR, etc etc...games that don't require any extra movement XD

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • chellybean's picture
    chellybean
    22

    I despise video games! My boyfriend has an xbox 360 and a ps3 and all I hear all day is guns & yelling! Ahh!

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • k squared's picture
    k squared
    23

    I'm a casual gamer myself, occasionally I'll get the wii to myself when my brothers AREN'T playing halo 3 live all hours of the day..

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • kitkatherine's picture
    kitkatherine
    24

    i love gaming, i'm not hardcore, i'm more... an avid gamer. i love playing video games, but i'm into like viva pinata and luigi's mansion right now. i love all games, and i love playing with my boyfriend - i hate when games are one player, but my two faves are one player... still my boyfriend enjoys watching me - he thinks i'm funny. but i have friends who are "casual gamers" because they really only play when they are over here!

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • robit's picture
    robit
    25

    I fall into the "more than casual, less than hardcore" category. I love video games, but school and work leave little time for them during the year. During the summer, I'm more likely to play them because I have more time. I always have my DS on me though - it fits in my purse and it's perfect if I have an unexpected wait somewhere.

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • potc crazyy's picture
    potc crazyy
    27

    Gasual gamer. I only play games at my friends' houses... usually DDR (yay for asians!). I'm pretty good in my group, though.

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Yaro67's picture
    Yaro67
    28

    I would love to have the time to be a hard core gamer but with 40 - 45 hours a week at work and another 20 - 30 hours a week in school, who has the time?

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Morgaine29's picture
    Morgaine29
    29

    I am a casual gamer, with occasional forays into hard core every so often when I have the time.

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • blueskyotome's picture
    blueskyotome
    30

    I'm barely a gamer at all by most standards (Kingdom Whatnow?), but sort of hardcore when it comes to DDR. In college, I played almost every day -- in my room on days that I had classes, and at the arcade on days off. Now I DDR a few nights a week to stay in shape. (For all that, I'm still at that awkward stage between Standard and Heavy, argh...)

    Weirdly, though, even though I've never played any version of it and don't plan to, I always have my ears up for news about the Silent Hill games. I wonder if anyone else is like that -- you're into the plotlines, characters, and overall world of a game or series, but for whatever reason you've just never sat down and played it?

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • duplinger's picture
    duplinger
    31

    Ok so I bought my husband a new cobalt DS lite, and told him it was for valentines day. I am trying to figure our how I am going to get him to let me keep it while he goes on the road> LOL j/k it's really for him I know he'll share!!Eye-wink)

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • glam sugar's picture
    glam sugar
    32

    I'm pretty hard core although I don't seem to have much time to play video games lately.

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • wickedcupofjoe's picture
    wickedcupofjoe
    33

    I'm a hardcore gamer with a casual gamers life. LOL

    BK (before kiddo) I was a hardcore gamer. Matter of fact, I spent the last week of BK playing non-stop Gauntlet while sitting in the recliner (I had 2 weeks maternity before I gave birth!). Sadly, I can't play as often with the kiddo here. He either wants to play or he can't play what I am playing. I still have Legend of Zelda for the Wii brand new waiting to be played. *sniff*

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • koolbr33z3's picture
    koolbr33z3
    35

    I'm a gamer-chick, but I guess I fall somewhere in between the casual-hardcore spectrum...maybe a little bit closer to the hardcore side but not by much. It depends on the free time I have. Since I have had more free time lately, I've been playing games more. I finally got around to playing and finishing Mario Galaxy, and I recently beat Devil May Cry 4, which by the way is an awesome game. There only certain games that I like playing so I'm waiting for some other games to come out before I pick up the controller again. In the meantime, I'll probably keep playing Rock Band with my hubby. ^_^

    38 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • Baby Girl's picture
    Baby Girl
    36

    I've moved into the casual gamer category now. I was hard core about 10 years ago with Gran Turismo.

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • bransugar79's picture
    bransugar79
    37

    I never played video games before I moved in with my fiance. I used to play maybe like an hour of mortal combat or sonic th ehedgehog with my brother when he was littel but I couldn't really stand much more than that. Now I'm totally lookign for new games to paly and I spent like 7 or 8 hours playing Resident evil 4 which is the most awesome game I've ever played aver. I'm still not anywhere near hardcore gamer and I'm not really sure I'ma casual gamer either. I think I'm agamer by association because if my bf wasn't soooooo into games I still wouldn't play at all.

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • gab6784's picture
    gab6784
    38

    I am definitely more than casual but less than hardcore but not by much lol. I have always loved video games and play them to the very end. My husband and I are really into MMO's but because we have a baby I can't spend ridiculous amounts of time playing games. I do manage to play a few hours a day though Smiling

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Meike's picture
    Meike
    39

    Casual to almost never, I don't have any of the latest generation consoles and I like very few franchises, Zelda and RE namely.

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • freegracefrom's picture
    freegracefrom
    41

    Hm, I think I'm a casual gamer with leanings towards hardcore. I tend to think of hardcore gamers as being people that play 'Halo' or 'World of Warcraft' or people that play hours every day. I like rhythm games, Final Fantasy, Zelda, etc., but I don't like multiplayer war games. Some days I'll play one or two hours and sometimes I'll go more than a week without playing anything at all.

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • EllePixie's picture
    EllePixie
    42

    Actually...Eye Toy Kinetic for PS2 came out after DDR and is an extremely interactive fitness game. Just saying...

    38 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • hil34's picture
    hil34
    43

    I don't have a gaming system except for computer games, so I just play at friends' houses.

    38 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • ecutif's picture
    ecutif
    44

    I'm def a casual gamer. I play with the fiance and without the fiance. Right now, I'm loving Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii!

    38 weeks 19 hours ago Report Comment