11 signs you're no longer a hard-core gamer.
Saturday, April 26th, 2008 - 1:52pm
And that middle-age is fast setting in…
Here's a fun list...that's eerily astute.
Man, I would have laughed if someone suggested that 9 of the 11 points were absolutely true for me, but there you have it (didn't agree with 7 & 9). The good news is that the list is mostly about the demands associated with growing older, and not one's passion for gaming.
How did you guys fare?
I got 4 out of 9. Getting there.
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Sorry, double post.
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Actually, I pretty much fit into that list quite well. Although even in my prime I was never huge into multiplayer, I am well aware that my reflexes are a fraction of what they used to be. Combine that with me being so used to mouse/keyboard that console-style shooters still give me lost of trouble, I can see a time when playing games on Easy will be to frustrating for me to bother anymore. Depressing just to think about.
And as you said, it's more the case of getting older, since listening to podcasts about Gaming, reading EDGE magazine and Next Gen during the week, and posting on forums like this one makes me unwilling to claim I'm a "casual" gamer in most senses. Although maybe that could be #12: You spend more time reading and discussing video games than you actually spend playing them. Which I am victim of as well.
I would think the first rule of PR is to ignore forum people, because they vacillate between crazy and liar. - Elysium
I'm a pretty passive aggressive gamer. I consider myself somewhat hardcore, but I like to go against the grain.
That list is not yet for me, to my relief. But I did play a @#$%-ton of Quake and SNES.
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I'm not too lazy to play a Wii, I've played enough Nintendo gaming crap (Seal of Quality, my ass). I need a newer company's gaming crap.
I still play the games from "the Golden Age of Gaming". That was last week, wasn't it?
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One. Winning isn't everything. Everything else doesn't apply....that means either I am still hardcore, or I'm immature.
The golden age of gaming is pretty much right now for me. For as many years as I've been a gamer, I've never been happier about the quality of games coming out.
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One. I find the idea of videogames based on board games perfectly acceptable. Though most of the time I use Carcassonne as a chat room.
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I don't know how exactly they define "hardcore", but I certainly don't agree. I think many people here are not hardcore according to the list, but we all buy tons of games, and posting on message boards devoted to games is hardcore by any sane standard.
Essentially anyone posting on GWJ is going to be considered a "core gamer" in terms of marketing and game playing demographics. I think this list should be called "11 signs you're no longer a freakishly hard-core gamer"
/edit: also, if you own a PS3 and 360, you're hardcore. The end.
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Ok, quick question;
On average, how many hours do you guy play on a weekly basis?
I'm 30 and play about 2-3 hours a day. Playing on weekends is now a distant, fading memory.
What about you guys?
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I got married last October and redeemed my hardcore gamer card shortly thereafter. I have 8-9 on the list...
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The moment that you own multiple gaming platforms at the same time, you are super hardcore. You are talking less than 10 percent of the overall gaming public.
In my life, there's room for only one hardcore hobby, and it's definitely not gaming.
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Yeah, but gaming doesn't cost $250 an hour excluding the hotel room rental.
I would think the first rule of PR is to ignore forum people, because they vacillate between crazy and liar. - Elysium
It totally nailed me on "You've pre-ordered GTA IV but don't mind if it doesn't turn up on launch day".
I'm delighted to report that not a single one of those applied to me. Evidently I'm more hard-core than I thought. Or less mature than I thought.
And for the record, any female in my life understands from the get-go that gaming is a big part of who I am and what I do. Fortunately I've got some great female friends (and more) who not only understand that, but are gamers themselves. Yay progress!
And I'm going to keep gaming, no matter what. Sure, it might be one hour a week that I had to trade sleep for, but it'll be a hardcore hour, dammit!
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I thought about that one in a different situation, but my wife is on vacation and coming home Tuesday afternoon. I can grab it at midnight or 9:00 AM. Or Wednesday. Or next weekend. Or when it goes Platinum in 2010.
Wouldn't "hardcore" mean something like showing up the day a game like Earth Defense Force or some JRPG is supposed to come in, and being annoyed that it's been delayed in shipping or in production?
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I wonder if not minding the wait for the eventual PC version counts.
Seven of them nailed me. But then, I expected to hit a majority. I've been playing more lately, but I can go for long periods without turning on the 360. Other than football, I really enjoy single player much more than online gaming.
On the other hand, I think I enjoy gaming today more than I ever have.
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I think that one is more a huge amount of nostalgia for older games, since it also means you acknowledge a lot of those games don't actually hold up.
I would think the first rule of PR is to ignore forum people, because they vacillate between crazy and liar. - Elysium
7 out of 11. I don't think I was ever a hardcore gamer.
McChuck wrote:
I'm in a bit of a weird spot, because the only one they're really getting me on is prefering playing against the computer, and I've always been like that. I love some good multiplayer action now and again, though. Beyond that, I still can't stand the PS3, love to play with my Wii, don't really care about GTA IV(no 360 yet), and my FPS experience is nothing like that.. it's more like Run, shoot, kill, die*repeat*
But the thing of it is, I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer, even though I really feel that only 2/11 get me. So what's up with that?
Coldstream wrote:
I'm hitting most of the stuff on the list but I have to say, as much as I've always been obsessed with computer games, the stuff that's coming out now blows my mind.
As good as elite was, why would you want to look back at that stuff? Looking back at that is ultimately as disappointing as looking back at the TV you remember loving as a child (Airwolf, Thundercats etc.): oh dear, I liked a load of crap and I thought it was great.
I've never been big on the on-line multi-player but I just started playing COD4 and it's brilliant even if I'm stuck in the spawn-run-die rut but what a game to start with.
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The list got me to a T too. The realisation that I spend more time thinking about playing games than actually playing games was even more disconcerting.
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Same here, I'm still finding it near-impossible to headshot people with a joypad instead of a mouse. 4 out of 9 for me.
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I found work arounds for many of these, so I don't know how to apply to me.
I've always preferred playing against the computer. Designers can work on their AI, damnit.
Not playing as girlfriend (well, wife) is at home? 20" HDTV and headphones in the living room to complement to big TV.
Reflexes not fast enough/ annoyed by 12 year olds? Friends list of equally decrepit 20 and 30 something mates, and only really play with them. Maybe we will let a whippersnapper in, but only so we can gang up on the little sod.
And so on.
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Your expoits are legendary in that arena. I mean, noone else here has your crochet skills.
Doesn't your hand need a break every once in a while though?
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Well, I have tw... Wait a minute...
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