What is the Difference between
Hardcore and Casual Gamers and how do we identify them?
These days,
with so many different gaming platforms, games and genres, it’s hard to ignore
the commonly used terms “Hardcore” and “Casual” gamers. But what exactly is it
that we mean when using these terms? Gaming as an industry and a pastime is
becoming increasingly more mainstream and according to ESA (Entertainment Software Association) 72 percent of American
households play computer games. This suggests that the average player is aged
between 18 and 37 and that 29% of these players are aged 50+ (ESA, 2011). These
statistics are interesting but they don’t help us identify the casual or
hardcore market, nor does it help us identify them as players.
Why exactly
do we need to distinguish the difference? Well, in theory there is no need to
but when trying to figure out a market, especially from an aspiring game
developers point of view, it makes sence to split the market. In theory there
will be more money and more games for different people but then again there
will also be smaller markets to work to. With the introduction to more and more
phone and hndheld games its hard to ignore all the so called casual mini and
indi games flying around on the market. Anyone who can make a ball roll across
the screen in Flash is a games designer nowa days. It’s all become too easy, an
ironic statement when looking into the industry itself. Has it all become too
easy? We often find ourselves wanting harder challenges when games appear “too
easy” but when they are too hard we moan all the same. There is apparently no
happy medium so why should we split the market up to mirror this?
The supposed
casual market really came around when the saturation of the original (and only)
gamers died out. The game companies needed more players to make more money and,
in many ways, “sold out” to the public. Trying to make game games that were so
easy anyone could play and become attracted to video games. They started
targeting younger children, females, people who just didn’t spend hours playing
games and people who could get easy acess to games and making those game easy
to play.
Looking back
before gaming became a part of modern culture it is easy to identify who could
have been considered a hardcore gamer. Coin operated arcade machines became
incredibly popular among a small, “hardcore”, demographic between the late
1970’s and the late 1980’s with the introduction of games such as “Spacewar”,
“Pong” and “Pac-Man”. Although at this
point gaming was still unknown to the masses it was called the “golden age of
arcades” (Wikipedia, 22nd October, 2011) and was the only place
gamers could play. Of course the point to remember is that only a small
percentage of the population played games or knew anything about them so does
this mean we must consider them “hardcore” of just people who enjoy playing
games?
A real
divide between Hardcore and Casual gamers came with the introduction of
consoles. When the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was launched in 1985,
the industry saw a rise in percentage of people who were playing games. Back
then video games were simple; the NES had a rectangle control with a D-pad and
two buttons often resulting in basic controls and movement in game. Games were
often either side-scrollers or had top down views with very basic graphics.
Most people who even remotely associate themselves with gaming will tell you
that they played a game on the NES, games such as Super Mario Brothers 3, The
Legend of Zelda or Kirby’s Adventure. These games were all primarily marketed
for children and were easy enough for just about anybody to have a go
themselves. Say hello to the Casual market.
With modern
day gaming rapidly evolving it is fairly simple to divide gamers up by console,
genre or game interests from the previous 10 years to the present day. If we
were to divide between consoles and PC then most modern gamers would consider the Nintendo Wii to attract many casual gamers. Many games on
it are marketed at families and children making it easier for the mass market
to play. Hardcore gamers are considered to typically stick to PS3, Xbox and Pc.
However there are flaws with this theory. If we venture into the games on each
platform it becomes apparent that most platforms cater to the casual market as
well as the hardcore. Examples include genres like quiz and party with games
such as “Move – Start the Party”, “EyePet” and “Buzz!: Quiz TV” which are found
across various platforms. Some people would argue that PC is the only hardcore
gaming platform left.
Many other
factors are considered when trying to identify between Hardcore and Casual
gamers. Hardcore gamers are often stereotyped as playing games for hours every
day, always buying triple A titles, buying brand new releases, special
editions, collectable items, buying games with mature ratings containing
violent complex storylines, becoming fully immersed within a game as a form of
escapism, always taking multiplayer scores and play seriously. Casual gamers
are different, they are perceived as playing for fun with no detrimental
outcomes, “They don’t harshly penalize
failure, they have gradual increases in difficulty, they don’t demand you spend
large blocks of time in one sitting. They don’t have complicated control
schemes or complex mechanics” (Only a Game, 2008) they often play with
friends or family in a tame environment, while there are winners no one is
punished severely. There are also no serious hours put into their games and
they wait for prices to drop on titles. Still, these are incredibly
stereotypical views on the hardcore and casual market, some of the ideas
contradict others and they don’t really identify either side.
French
theorist Roger Caillois talks about different types of play in his book “Man,
Play and Games”. Agon refers to play where competition is key, multiplayer
games such as Team Fortress, Battlefield and Counter Strike demonstrate Agon
play. Typically Agon play is common of “hardcore”, or hobbyist, gamers. They
thrive from competitive play. Ludus is another type of play. Caillois refers to
ludus when play has no other goal than personal satisfaction. While every gamer
seeks personal satisfaction in their game, hardcore gamers don’t fear several
competitors whereas ludus play refers to players who prefer conflict with
inanimate objects within the game. While
ludus play is apparent in all games, we can’t escape the fact that it crosses
over into both hardcore and casual games. This still causes problems when
trying to truly identify hardcore and casual gamers.
Another fact
to consider is professional gamers; people who play games professionally at
tournaments or online. Are these people the true hardcore gamers? This theory
eliminates casual gamers because it is purely agon play. It is fairly
established that casual gamers do not play to better their reputation or gain
stress, both of which are key factors when it comes to professional gaming. But
why should it be that we identify professional gamers as hardcore just because
they are in tournaments? Isn’t every multiplayer game a tournament? Does this
not suggest that it doesn’t matter whether you are “professional” or not,
you’re still competing therefore you are also hardcore?
If we take
video game knowledge into account when trying to find the differences between hardcore
and casual gamers groups we might get closer to a conclusion. Many people have
fairly extensive knowledge of video games however they do not play games
regularly, who or what are they? Are they casual gamers as they don’t put
enough hours in? Or are they hardcore because they have the knowledge? Perhaps
we need to rename them with more appropriate titles. Instead of a division
between hardcore and casual; perhaps it would be best to separate them in terms
of knowledge and play, such as “ the
split between game literate gamer hobbyists
and less experienced mass market players” (Only a
Game, 2008). The mass market refers to casual gamers as, in our modern culture;
they dabble in most elements of gaming despite the fact that they “[do]not fit any stereotype of the adolescent male
video game player. In fact, they often did not think of themselves as playing
video games (even though they clearly were)” (Jesper
Juul, 2010, A Causal Revelation).Gamer hobbyists are those who
are lifted out of the mass market because gaming is their passion as opposed to
a casual pass time.
Ultimately
there are very few core terms to differentiate between the hardcore and casual
gamers, many themes contradict others. Having said this, we can spot what we
perceive as hardcore gamers a mile off, regardless of what they play or for how
long. This suggests that it’s all down to personal preferences and that there
are, in fact, no important identifiers between the 2 types of gamers. I think if you consider yourself a “hardcore gamer” then you obviously have
most of the attributes discussed and therefore know what you are regardless of
what others say or of the contradictions. The term “casual gamer” will be
around for ages though, as well as hardcore despite other attempts at using
clever words to describe the many crossovers between the two there will always
be contradictions that stop us from making the distinction between the 2 groups.
Ultimately its personal choice and what you believe you are.
