Our Precioussssss....?

[James]

I'm an experienced gamer.

I've played solidly on many systems over many genres. I've watched the industry grow and at one point from the inside. Now, I stand as what you would call a 'casual gamer'. I love GTA. I think FF is amazing (yes, and my first one I bought was FF7 - the one marketed to the mainstream) and I quite enjoyed Enter The Matrix. So where do I stand? I have also watch RPG's grow from the tiny bud that was Chaos. I was there when RARE was pretty much a company called Ultimate. I watched Ocean transform the movie tie in into a marketable franchise.

Yet - horror - I think the mainstream market at the moment is fine indeed.

Am I "casual"? Am I "hardcore"?

Does someone who watches Lord Of The Rings for fun any less a worthy than someone who has read the books 15 times? I enjoyed the remake of the Thomas Crown affair rather than the original with Steve McQueen - heathen!!

My point? It's easy to great these smug divides 'casual' and 'hardcore' but in the end it's just an attempt to create a hierarchy. At what purpose? Tribalism? The need to prove that the console/computer is 'our precious' - our ring - and should not be touched by the stupid idiot in the puffy jacket who smokes his Silk Cut (as if it makes him more sexy)....

Are our game platforms... the precious?

Is there logic behind the divide, or is it just irrationally clinging onto a ideal which makes one feel more superior?

Just something to think on. Do we really have such an obvious split in gamers?
Tell me... :)

[Artimus Gigan]

The first Final fantasy I played was 8, then I went out and bought 7 and an Anthology, I have never really played any of those LOTR games, Enter The Matrix Was Crap, I dislike Tomb Raider, GTA is fun for a short time, until the destruction ends up getting boring. The whole hardcore vs casual thing has errupted because them casual folks be thinkin' they be hardcore fer jest playin' GTA fer six weeks! What in tarnation are they thinkin'?

[Paper Geno]

The only Split I see is the FanBoys/Girls and the people who play 24/7 and the people who play whenever they want. I dont think being hardcore makes you better then Casual. Or being HardCore making you have no Life. I think the problem with humans is that most of us are very "one sided" we like to be catorized so people made the whole Casual hardcore crap just so there can be a catagory for them. And with the whole this system sucks go with this one I think its just people who havent played that other system and are just trying to look cool, but theres alot more to it, I hope iam making sense? As for what you said yeah sure I agre. ( I hope i read it right though lol)


oh and ArtimusGagian your right, IMO GTA really helped the desturction of Nintendo and the whole "OMG!!!!11 I need Violence not stupid mario kiddy crap iam a Big tuff guy and I dont have time for Kids stuff."

[Frank Castle]

I think that the casual gamer tends to stick with a couple different genres and doesn't try to play anything outside that boundry. Hardcore gamers on the other hand have tried every genre and are not afraid to try something new. By the way the FF franchise has in my opinion gotten better because it's gone mainstream. Just my opinion.

[Artimus Gigan]

How has FF gone mainstream?

[Frank Castle]

How has FF gone mainstream?
At my high school everyone has played FF X or FF X-2 it's a real big thing around where I live. The games seem to appeal to pop culture just by looking at the cinematics or even listening to one of Yuna's songs from FF X-2.

[Artimus Gigan]

Strange I can't find a single person who's played through a Final Fantasy...

they got close but have never tasted a single victory, it's just gotten deeper as the technology advances(hence the CG scenes), the whole yuna song thing I'm not quite sure that's with the pop culture thing in total, every final fantasy since 8 has had atleast one vocal track in game, it sort adds effect in the scenes it's in.

[Paper Geno]

Iam with you Gigan My whole school are action 1st person shooter hounds. :-(

Except me and some friends

[Frank Castle]

My school is full of Cube and XBOX haters and everyone has a PS2 so that has a lot to do with the whole FF mania at my school.

[Artimus Gigan]

Iam with you Gigan My whole school are action 1st person shooter hounds. :-(

Except me and some friends
It'sworse here, it's all about GTA

[Frank Castle]

It'sworse here, it's all about GTA
My school is still a little like that. Last year when Vice City came out everyone was saying how awesome it was and the whole freakin' school was hooked except for me and my best friend we just couldn't see how a game with a crappy story and mindless gameplay could be fun. I eventually tried it out and it sucks so bad.

[Artimus Gigan]

I just bought it for the destruction, I was appeased, but only for a little bit, there wasn't eough...

[SSJPabs]

How much of it is seeing the "casual" gamers invade something that was the province of very select group?

What is the Penny-Arcade that deals with that? I can't find it...

EDIT: Found it.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2001/20010606l.gif

[Paper Geno]

How much of it is seeing the "casual" gamers invade something that was the province of very select group?

What is the Penny-Arcade that deals with that? I can't find it...

EDIT: Found it.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2001/20010606l.gif


ROFL that comic is so true

[Artimus Gigan]

I don't get it, except for the no pants part that i can relate to, the whole other things I just can't, but again the emphesis on no pants while it's only 1/3 of the total strip(pun not intended) is still a very relative reference indeed.


besides chances are while they got the gear, chances are you have many games that they have not even heard of or played, but does that really matter if a game is mainstream or a nitche? A good game is a good game no matter how you slice, and if it's a good game I'll buy it.

[Master Moron]

My school is still a little like that. Last year when Vice City came out everyone was saying how awesome it was and the whole freakin' school was hooked except for me and my best friend we just couldn't see how a game with a crappy story and mindless gameplay could be fun. I eventually tried it out and it sucks so bad.

So, you're saying you don't like freedom in games?

[Frank Castle]

So, you're saying you don't like freedom in games?
I love freedom in games it's just that in GTA everything just gets so repetitive and the lack of a good story just takes it further downhill. It ultimately comes down to wanting to beat down a generic civilian for the millionth time or turning the PS2 off. That's just my opinion.

[Artimus Gigan]

freedom is good, JakII, Beyonf Good and Evil, and Kya are great examples, GTA isn't the only game that offers it...

[Frank Castle]

freedom is good, JakII, Beyonf Good and Evil, and Kya are great examples, GTA isn't the only game that offers it...
I loved Beyond Good and Evil because it had an involving story and still had the freedom. It's a very hard thing to balance it in games.

[Artimus Gigan]

But as recent examples are proving they are mastering the technique, within the enxt generation there should be more games like BG&E

[Frank Castle]

But as recent examples are proving they are mastering the technique, within the enxt generation there should be more games like BG&E
That's true. When they perfect the genre it just might pull a lot of franchises out of the gutter that need that certain freedom element like Batman for example.

[blee337]

My long answer: The casual market is necessary to have the "niche" titles released. If X publisher sells 2 million copies of "The latest greatest 4", they are much more inclined to take a chance with porting "Japanese Hard as Sin shoot me up." I hate watching the same comercial for True Crime a million times......but I sure do like playing Ikaruga.

Short answer: They are games. Have fun playing them.

[Captain Harlock]

I think the current pool of gamers are divided into four ways:

- The 'casual' gamer who only plays the popular games because of silly factors of blood / gore / adult situations. Or it's the cool thing to do because the game has a high popularity. Often called 'the wannbe'.

- The 'fanatic' gamer who obsesses in an unhealthy way. Foaming out the mouth if anyone spits out blasphemy about their favorite game.

- The 'social' gamer who enjoys games of all variety because of the entertainment factor and actually has meaningful knowledge of video games. Has the ability to accept other people's views without going into a frenzy. Enjoys to share gaming experiances with others. Generally intelligent in the aspect of gaming.

- The 'lone wolf' gamer who likes to play games alone, keeping to themselves. Sticking to what they like best.

That's the way I sort of view gamers as a whole. While none of these types are meant to be offensive, they can often be obnoxious if brought to extremes.

[Mynd Hed]

Honestly, I've heard so many different (and often conflicting) definitions of what constitutes a "casual" or "hardcore" gamer, and what constitutes a "casual" or "hardcore" game, and met so many people who don't seem to respect any gaming boundaries, freely enjoying games identified as belonging to each category, that I honestly don't think the divide exists. I think it's something perceived only by a certain kind of mind, with no real substance to it.

There are no hardcore gamers. There are no casual gamers. There are just people with varying degrees of time on their hands, filling that time with whatever games they, personally, find the most entertaining. And what the heck is so wrong with that?

[Artimus Gigan]

Tell me have you ever gone 72 hours without sleep because of Final Fantasy V


I'm in the process of doing so...

[blee337]

Tell me have you ever gone 72 hours without sleep because of Final Fantasy V


I'm in the process of doing so...

That doen't make you hardcore. That makes you.....well.........with way too much time on your hands.

[James]

Honestly, I've heard so many different (and often conflicting) definitions of what constitutes a "casual" or "hardcore" gamer, and what constitutes a "casual" or "hardcore" game, and met so many people who don't seem to respect any gaming boundaries, freely enjoying games identified as belonging to each category, that I honestly don't think the divide exists. I think it's something perceived only by a certain kind of mind, with no real substance to it.

There are no hardcore gamers. There are no casual gamers. There are just people with varying degrees of time on their hands, filling that time with whatever games they, personally, find the most entertaining. And what the heck is so wrong with that?Oh Mynd, you make me happy - now I know I'm not alone in my belief on gamers. That's precisely what I see - except you manage to say it in such a compact and concise style.. one might say 'SJJ-Lite'... all the taste, just half the fat... couldn't have said it better. :)

That said, there has been some great points in here. I stick to the viewpoint offered by Mynd, by I can see the alternate perspective - especially with the use of the Penny Arcade strip. I can appreciate that feeling - certainly the market has opened up and I do HATE how TV - not just MTV - sells/shows games.

There is a show on Sky One in the UK and the two guys presenting must take the award for the most false hip hop gansta rapper in the zone wannabe's ever to hit the screen. Why people just can't talk about games without catagorising I really don't know. Would it be so hard to do a show about games which was neither 'hip' nor patronizing?

[Proto DUDE]

There is a show on Sky One in the UK and the two guys presenting must take the award for the most false hip hop gansta rapper in the zone wannabe's ever to hit the screen. Why people just can't talk about games without catagorising I really don't know. Would it be so hard to do a show about games which was neither 'hip' nor patronizing?

They've been doing that since The Legend of Zelda.

It's really rad. Those creatures from Ganon, are pretty bad. Octoroks, Tektites, and Leevers too, but with your help, our hero pulls through! Yeah, go, Link, go! Get Zelda! WIKKY WIKKY WIK!

And they have a show here that's neither hip nor patronizing. It's called XPlay.

[Frank Castle]

They've been doing that since The Legend of Zelda.

It's really rad. Those creatures from Ganon, are pretty bad. Octoroks, Tektites, and Leevers too, but with your help, our hero pulls through! Yeah, go, Link, go! Get Zelda! WIKKY WIKKY WIK!

And they have a show here that's neither hip nor patronizing. It's called XPlay.
XPlay isn't a bad show if you just pay attention to the reviews.

[Artimus Gigan]

That doen't make you hardcore. That makes you.....well.........with way too much time on your hands.

Determination and endurance are part of it

[randomguy]

Determination and endurance are part of it

Yeah, but not the admirable kind. You know, the kind that might be required to, let's say, learn a foreign language, master a trade, learn an instrument, fix a car, etc.

I'm with Mynd. I don't think there's any kind of relevant divide.

[Frank Castle]

Yeah, but not the admirable kind. You know, the kind that might be required to, let's say, learn a foreign language, master a trade, learn an instrument, fix a car, etc.

I'm with Mynd. I don't think there's any kind of relevant divide.
I have to disagree there. A lot of people really practice hard for a lot of videogame tournaments that are held around the world and some people make a living off that.

[Artimus Gigan]

but the living they make off of the tounements while it may seem to be alot of money they may need to divide it among the other team mates whicha re usualy 6-10 of, and that's not counting taxes...
50,000 can usualy ammount to 10,000 on a five member team, but that's usualy small and they go up against teams with more members, and a five member team winning against the larger teams isn't that good, while a team of 10 would only get 5,000 each, but 5,000 bucks doesn't really last long. So they have to win alot more tournements

[Frank Castle]

but the living they make off of the tounements while it may seem to be alot of money they may need to divide it among the other team mates whicha re usualy 6-10 of, and that's not counting taxes...
But most of the teams travel together for months at a time so they have to share the money with eachother and even though they don't make a lot of money they are happy. :)