Xbox Gamers: The Hardcore Crowd

Dick Ward from XboxFocus.com writes:

"Hardcore gamers are typically self proclaimed, and always on the border of obsessive when it comes to games. They come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, colors and creeds, but have one thing in common – a deep love for gaming. Just as there is no genre that defines all games, there is no type of hardcore gamer that defines them all. For simplification, I've divided them into a few archetypes. Bear in mind, no one archetype will define a player - most gamers are a mix between the three."

[roflcopterattack]

We are the hardcoriest bunch...I guess. But I know loads of core gamers too. And for the record, "core" is the dumbest and least original term I've ever heard.

[Condoleezza Rice]

There are hardcore Wii,Ps3,Dreamcast,360,you name it;there are hardcore gamers in each,as well as 'casual' gamers.

[Timesplitter14]

The hardcoreness of a system depends on the quality and intellectual value of its games, IMO.

Hardcore gamers are exactly the opposite of the average 14 y-o Halo player. The hardcores know how some games can be true works of art. This is what they are looking for.

This is why I strongly disagree

[Bnet343]

Xbox 360 is a hardcore gamers system, that why they struggle to get the young gamers that like games like ratchet and clank and teenage girls that like romantic games like final fantasy.

[Timesplitter14]

Keep telling yourself that while I play games that actually require brain activity. Because of course R&C is the only PS3 game, just like Bomberman Zero is the only X360 game...

[Amanosenpai]

Hardcore: Spend their time in gammer websites (like N4G)
Casual: Spend their time in sports, school wathever...
Hardcore: Spend their money in "HARDCORE" games
Casuals: Spend their money in Horses and BTraining games

Im confused...

[boogeyman999]

I would have added some more classifications like the guy who plays more than anyone in the world, yet sucks a lot.

[Venomous Fire]

id say yea, Xbox owners are on average more hardcore than anyone else, but a good thing is we have a bigger diversification than other systems

[bomberman447]

Those are some pretty accurate statements. Sadly i dont fall into any of those categories, but for me that is a good thing.

[pwnmaster3000]

wen is E3

on topic

i think ms is not going for hardcore anymore i think there going for casual and rpg people, and maybe a little of bit of hardcore but there focus is on casual and rpg

[Max Power]

July 15-17

[pwnmaster3000]

thank u

[thenickel]

Yeah but also don't forget Ubidays May28th thru 29th

[pwnmaster3000]

thanks for that to bro

[Dualshockin]

I strongly disagree.

[CRIMS0N_W0LF]

http://www.n4g.com/industry...

[v1c1ous]

cause of all the Haze news on n4g *sigh*

[Timesplitter14]

The true hardcore gamers IMO are well described in this article as "The Escapist", but without the fanfict and weaboo stuff. They are simply people who are looking for an inspiring story or world. They want their games to have an intellectual aspect. Big online players and tournament players are often the worst kind.

BUT, the Xbox would be the very last choice for the real hardcore. #1 would be PC, #2 would be a tie between old Nintendos, Sega and Playstation, and #3 would be the Xbox.

[myabsolution]

Huh? you can be hardcore no matter what console youre on.

you could be a ____ (anything) owner and have every game, spend hours on each.

[OOG]

id have to disagree......there may be the hardcore nintendo players and sony players....but most are not like xbox players....

Xbox is driven by online play and has games such as halo which have brought competitions to a more main stream audience.... I cant call systems that are more dominated by single player to be the more hardcore systems but I guess they are all hardcore in their own ways....I just picture more xbox gamers to be way more competitive then most. Thats just my opinion though.....

But yea personally I think behind pc xbox is the closest for hardcore gamers to compete like they do (at least at the hardcore level im thinking).....but ya know people will disagree because we all have different points of view.

[Timesplitter14]

Just saying that the games on Xbox tend to be more casual. (Halo, Gears, shooters, etc...) While PC games are far more complex (Fallout, Deus Ex, RTS, Baldur's Gate...) and PS and Nintendo games usually have deeper stories and emotion (Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Metal Gear, FF, Zelda...)

EDIT : But what does online competition has to do with being hardcore?

[myabsolution]

achievements alone make xbox gaming different, and adds a level of "hardcore" to some games. completely optional...

so really you saying xbox games are not hardcore as much as others, is pure fanboy B.S.

hell, I own about 40 of em.

[OSIRUSSS]

Anyone that buys a expensive machine, with that big of a failure rate just to play some exclusives that are also on PC...That's F'n HARDCORE!!!!

[Breakfast]

lol

[rucky]

Hahahahaha! That's kinda funny

[Shaka2K6]

*Fixed*

[Timesplitter14]

care to provide any intelligent justification?

[Deadman64]

Doubt it. Sounds like a fanboy trying to start a fight.

[INehalemEXI]

Missing archetypes, The gamer that dwells in the world of various MMO's power levels himself and guild members to gather phat lewtz and bring his guild up to snuff to Raid the most ominous of dungeons to gain yet phater phat lewts to pwn in pvp arena's and gain the #1 spot on the server ladders.

Theres also other archetypes for MMO players who by many definitions which I have not the time to describe.

The Raider is usually the most hardcore in MMO's.

The Loremaster -

The Soloist/Lonewolf-

The Farmer-

The Grinder-

The Bot/Gold Farmer-

All these types of people populate mmo's by the millions. With average playtimes that are unhealthy honestly. :D

The Achievment Ho - should be an archetype , those who have the patience to play even the most horrible game just to gain those Achievement points.

Hardcore can be defined in many ways. The system has little to do with the amount of hardcore gamers.

MS has connected its community well with XBL and tracked stats, achievements closer then ever before on any system. This is a good legacy. MS has brought the hardcore gamer alot to the table.

MS is young in the game though Hardcore gamers have been around long before the Xboxes arrived on the scene.

[Bathyj]

If Xbox gamers are so Hardcore, why do the majority of them hate PS3 so much?

Shouldn't a real HC gamer embrace all consoles if they have good games?

[Breakfast]

lol...that`s a dumb comment to make. As if the 30 xbox owners on n4g, are a show for the whole world.

How bout when i state that im exited for gears 2 and fable 2, and get 60 disagrees..lol...does that mean the ps3 gamers also dont embrace other consoles

n4g is not real life.

[OOG]

funny thing to say.......I actually know more Xbox gamers that own Playstations as well.....but tend to see more dominate Playstation people only own a playstation and will be biased because MS owns xbox........but ya know thats what I have seen..........

@timesplitter...............

what does selling more have to do with people being more biased???? I bet you on a general survey......more sony fans are biased gamers based just purely on percentage and I dont need to count japan cuz well we know what its like there....it is shown by this site already...Doesnt effect me though I just like to play games....but the ones who will be biased are the ones who are not true gamers because if they were they wouldnt care as long as the games are fun

[Timesplitter14]

@ OOG

That's inevitable since the PS2 sold tree times more than the Xbox

EDIT : That was concerning your observation that more Xbox owners also had PS2's. If all PS2 owners also had Xboxes, the Xbox would have sold as much as the PS2.

[Big Jim]

I think PS3 and 360 gamers are equally hardcore. But honestly, not trying to flame at all, are there any hardcore nintendo gamers left? I just can't see the Wii lending itself to hardcore gaming. Take away Zelda and Metroid and what games does the Wii have that it is possible to spend a lot of time on and get obsessive about? I'm not insulting the Wii, I'm just saying that its not possible to get hardcore over wii sports or carnival games or something like that. The target audience of the wii is not the hardcores.

[OOG]

there are still those weird old hardcore 40 year old virgins for nintendo....like that dude in that gametrailers video we seen that was chilln in the bath tub talkn about how nintendo rocks....

[FCOLitsjustagame]

There are the die hard nintendo fans who I would call extremely hardcore. But not so much hardcore "gamers" as just hardcore nintendo supporters.

I mean sure, they are nintendo fans and the nintendo characters look all fluffy and nice but if you say anything bad well then you better hold on because they are like gremlins who ate too late and will tear into you for daring to step on the holiness that is Nintendo. Of course there are PS3 and 360 fans that are the same way but nintendo seems to have more of these types (or maybe they are just louder. Maybe its because the consoles are so small, its like some of them (this particular small group) have little man syndrom or something.

Anyway I think the article was half-arsed, like they started it but got bored with it halfway and just quit. There are more archtypes then what they list, the ones they list make up only a very small portion of what I would consider "hardcore". Maybe that was supposed to just be the list of the most extreme of the hardcore (pros, importers, addicted). But when people talk about hardcore or core gamers vs Casual gamers I think the category of the hardcore is a bit more broad.

[DICK]

THIS guys beter hav a fire extingisher handy so dey can put out the flames a xbo 360 might cause;)

[n00bPwner]

PS3 gamers are the true hardcore crowd.... hardcore movie watcher crowd, that is.

[InYourMom]

Congratulations to the submitter of this article who pulled this title out of their arse and completely sku'd the meaning of this article.

This article is NOT proclaiming that Xbox Gamers are hardcore they are simply looking at the various types of xbox gamers and this article is looking at the hardcore group.

You would be a fanboy or an idiot to believe that the 360 is only a hardcore system. It has proven itself and anyone with eyes can look at the 360 catalogue and see that it is not all hardcore games.