I'd like to take a moment to address something that, frankly, irritates the hell out of me: the recent divide of the gaming demographic between the "hardcore gamer" and the "casual gamer."
And no, it's not what you're thinking. Well, probably.
I'm not going to argue that this division doesn't exist (it does). The problem is, we seem to have reversed the meaning. Somewhere along the line, casual gamers adopted the moniker "hardcore," and the real hardcore gamers? Honestly, I'm not sure they even exist any more. Well, before we go any further with this, perhaps it's best to define the terms.
What is a casual gamer? A casual gamer is someone who doesn't really care about games. (That plurality is important!) He or she will only ever play a handful of titles out of one or two genres. He or she will not be interested in the medium at all, and will not explore older games due to the shallow level of interest he or she has in the medium. Basically, the casual gamer plays games, but doesn't know or care to know much else.
And the hardcore gamer? The hardcore gamer is someone who has been playing games for a long time. He or she has played hundreds of games from every era and every genre. He or she has explored the medium from every possible angle. From Japanese visual novels like the sublime Clannad, to almost impossibly dense strategy games like Universalis. The hardcore gamer actively seeks out old "classic" games: he or she cares more about content than style. To the hardcore gamer, gaming is more than a simple hobby--it's a pastime. It's something to research, to ponder, to discuss.
At least, that's how I define the terms. Seems pretty simple and straight-forward, doesn't it? I think so, at least. But that brings me to the chewy caramel center of my little diatribe: the reversal. The people who, today, identify themselves as hardcore gamers--I see them as casual gamers. No different at their cores than the soccer moms who sit down for ten minutes of Peggle or Wii Fit every other thursday. I am talking, of course, of the "Shooter" crowd.
When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 console in 2005, they gave birth to a new era of gaming. Just as the Wii introduced gaming to older audiences, the 360 broadened the gaming demographic to pretty much everyone in the much-lauded 18-34 demographic. Young men who had never played games before because of the "geek" stigma attached to the hobby soon found it socially acceptable--encouraged, even--to pick up a controller and play some Halo.
This stereotypical individual is commonly seen through the stereotypical lens of the "jock" or the "frat boy." They got into gaming with the 360 and Halo 3, and ushered in the era of the First Person Shooter.
And do I really need to say much more? For the first several years of the the current console generation, all of the big games were first person shooters: Halo, Call of Duty, Resistance--and there was little else. Like RTS games? Too bad. Like RPGs? Too bad. Like adventure games? Too bad.
For a while there, gaming seemed dead. Every game: look down the barrel of a gun. Every game: lots of brown and red. Every game: Fuck, fuck, fuck, dialog writers only know one fucking word.
In much the same way that "Nintendo" was once synonymous with "video games," First Person Shooters became synonymous with games, period. This new breed of gamers lapped up the shooters and didn't just care little for the other genres--they didn't even seem to realize other genres existed! These are the people who call themselves "hardcore gamers" today.
But they're casual. Casual as it comes.
These are the "hardcore gamers" who will profess to love a genre, yet refuse to play the classic, older games of that genre because "old games suck."
These are the "hardcore gamers" who throw tantrums when they play any game that doesn't let them murder someone within the first few minutes.
These are the "hardcore gamers" that toss out racist epithets on Xbox Live; Who disconnect before losing matches; who fixate entirely too much on the minutiae of differences between nearly-identical shooters. Who think taking a generic shooter's leaderboard as the premier measure of social status makes them hardcore, but fail to realize that just playing one or two similar genres, no matter how much, does not make you a hardcore gamer.
And the worst bit about it? For as casual as their exploration of the gaming medium is, these "hardcore gamers" take themselves far, far, far too seriously.
Today, "hardcore gaming" has come to mean ultra-simple controls, quick-time events, poorly-written drivel filled with violence and profanity, and "hyper-realistic" environments (lots of brown and dust). The move toward appeasing these "hardcore gamers" has ruined several venerable franchises already, and has helped more than anything else to transform the once vibrant assortment of gaming genres into one big, homogenous pile of samey dullness.
I'm sick of it.
And I don't see a way out.
So I'd like to end with a simple request: If you consider yourself a "hardcore gamer," fill out the following checklist. If you don't check of 10 or more items, start thinking of yourself as a "casual gamer." Please.
__ I play first-person shooting games.
__ I play third-person shooting games.
__ I play racing games.
__ I play turn-based strategy games.
__ I play real-time strategy games.
__ I play adventure games.
__ I play action-RPG games.
__ I play turn-based RPG games.
__ I go out of my way to play older, "classic" games in genres I like.
__ I have played games produced before 2000.
__ I don't consider myself a fan of any particular gaming company over another.
__ I recognize the bigotry of "east versus west" that currently permeates the gaming community.
__ I frequently play games older than 5 years.
__ I have played hundreds of games over a period of many years, across multiple genres, giving me refined taste and perspective.
Son Heung-min Fortnite collaboration confirmed for June 21 with exclusive skin and Snap Ceremony emote bundle.
The Nintendo Switch 2 may receive support for docked mode 4K and 120 Hz output at some point in the future.
hopefully VRR via a firmware update is released for docked play as well (like the PS5 did post release)
There's actually a pretty long list of games on PS5 that support 120hz. Even more with 60+hz unlocked, and that isn't even counting PS5 Pro.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS...
Yes, according to the dock teardown. It contains HDMI hardware chip of Realtek RTD2175N that supports 4K 120hz. And the HDMI included on the Switch 2 is HDMI 2.1.
Nintendo Switch 2 breaks US launch sales record, selling over 1.1 million units in its first week. This breaks the record set by PS4.
I'm happy for Nintendo. Even though the Switch 2 has received so much hate just to bring it down, it hasn't won. Even though some are saying they'll boycott Nintendo, it hasn't affected sales. Especially now, with word of mouth that the system is good, demand for the Switch 2 will definitely increase more.
But But the internet told me the switch 2 was going to be a failure.
Such a good system im having a blast with it and really enjoying my first ever playthrough of yakuza 0
Sold through or to the stores? Asking because they're tons of them at my local Best Buy. When the PS5 and Series consoles launched, you couldn't find them anywhere.
The article clearly says sold. If it were shipped, it would say shipped.
Nintendo had been saying the last year or so that they would be flooding stock so that scalpers would not be an issue. They've followed through with their word. It's not cutting edge tech, so it's been easier for them to sit on stock for a while until it accumulated to a massive number available to be shipped.
Good for them, I'm still not buying.
Looks to be a pretty safe and boring upgrade over Switch 1 which I don't think they can top it on how plain looking it is design wise.
Shame since Switch Lite showed they still know how to make a handheld that looks good and is actually portable in a classic Nintendo sense.
That's why I got one over Switch 2's block of charcoal.
Then there's the prices of it all and the whole Key card thing destroyed any sense of game ownership.
There'll be a number of revisions for the s2 like a s2 lite or oled also seems inevitable
Unless they drop the prices and actually has a more portable variant that can also dock then maybe I'll reconsider but as of now, nope too big too boring and expensive to make it worth this early, not enough of its own games atm as well.
Who knows removing the dock capabilities would lower the cost of the unit pretty significantly.
The cost of the dock, reduction in shipping costs etc bug savings which will enable a cheaper system
All checked for me.
I play first-person shooting games.
I play third-person shooting games.
I play racing games.
I play turn-based strategy games.
I play real-time strategy games.
I play adventure games.
I play action-RPG games.
I have played games produced before 2000.
I don't consider myself a fan of any particular gaming company over another.
I recognize the bigotry of "east versus west" that currently permeates the gaming community.
I have played hundreds of games over a period of many years, across multiple genres, giving me refined taste and perspective.
Yeah, all checked. I doubt you'll find many around here that don't tick all those boxes, to be honest, this is a pretty enthusiast-driven site. Who, other than hardcore gamers, would visit a gaming new aggregator multiple times daily and participate in the community?
I think your definition of hardcore is far too rigid. My definition is someone who plays often, plays many different games thoroughly, is open to try most genres but doesn't have to be a fan, and has significant knowledge of the industry. And yes, that's a description that fits me pretty well.
I don't see why someone can't stick to a handful of core genres they prefer, and simply keep up with new releases, which gives anyone more than enough to play.
Not only that, but your definition of casual basically sounds like the equivalent of a racist, rage-quiting Call of Duty zombie. Those aren't casuals you're describing. You're describing idiots. To me, a casual is someone who enjoys games, but primarily sticks to a few games of choice. Their attitude or behavior or preference for older games has nothing to do with it.
I stick primarily with first and third person shooters, arcade racers, and I dabble in other genres with stuff like Mortal Kombat, Fallout, Mass Effect, Command & Conquer, LittleBigPlanet and Portal but I wouldn't consider myself someone who actively plays games from those genres. Most of those games actual share similarities the the genres I prefer. I'm respectful online. I prefer Sony since they cater to the kind of gaming I like. I've played hundreds of games since I was seven, but I rarely go back to play the oldies unless I'm revisiting a handful of old favorites, since I'm perfectly content with what I have to play today. Plus, I find it hard to get into games since I feel they don't hold up well to modern games. I'd consider myself hardcore.
I can check off exactly ten of those boxes, but if someone can't check off the action-RPG player box just because they don't play Mass Effect or Fallout like I do, I don't see why they are any less hardcore than I am.
The only games I don't like are turn based RPG and RTS games. I have just never got into those games. I do like RPG adventure,and every other genre though.
I checked off 11 of those items on the list.
I would consider myself a hardcore gamer as I play almost every day for at least 2 to 3 hours, and have 90 blu-ray PS3 games and around 20 PC games.