You're a "Hardcore" Gamer When...

[Lifefable]

So recently I had a discussion with a girl a while ago about videogames(OMGZ A GRRL GAMER /joke) she reported playing things like Tekken 6, Soul Calibur and other such things but all the while there was a certain disconnect in the conversation, something wasn't clicking between me and her, then it struck me. She called herself a gamer when she obviously wasn't as immersed into the culture as much as someone like me that has roughly 10 years experience. That's when the thought struck me; what makes a hardcore gamer?

Obviously you play games, but what sets the hardcore gamer apart from the casual gamer?

This is what I have so far, a sort of list
*You've Played over 30+ titles (Revised due to Imat's valid point)
*You've Devoted 8 hours into a single game in one sitting
*You've actually memorized codes for your favorite games before (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A)
*You've ever held a conversation with fellow gamers about how FFVII was the best/worst title of all time
*You measure the cost of things in terms of the equivalent number of games (For example, something that costs $150, to you, means it costs 3 games.) -Quay
*Noon is too early..... way too early. -DrunkWithPower
*You yell "camper" at the bad guys in movies. -DrunkWithPower
*You buy a mini-fridge to put next to your computer desk for your Dew because going to the kitchen takes too long; Your REALLY are a gamer when you buy a coffee pot to put on top of the mini-fridge. -Wolfiesden
*You gain a meditation like ability while playing. -Sisnax
*You always look for weapons, escape routes and potentially dangerous enemies while on the street. -Sisnax
*You can memorize locations and maps in their heads and can bring them up any time they get lost. -Sisnax
*You always take the hardest route knowing there will be something good at the end. -Sisnax
*You give out your clocked time on a single game and get nothing but dropped jaws and stares. -Le Tueur
*You have used the word "Pwnd" to a friend outside of gaming. -Ambrosebaal
*You find yourself looking at a location/spot that would make a potentially sweet sniper spot. -Distorted Stu
*You have just too many empty cans and bottle around your gaming area. -Distorted Stu
*Your mouse wears out every 6 months. -Ghaldar
*You named your dog Wario. -Ghaldar
*You refer to your wife's nagging as wagro. -Ghaldar
*you call some one a Peach (A slut), You're also a gamer if you understand where that reference comes from. -Snowfox
*When you get your paycheck and automatically set aside a percentage for your habit. -AmayaOnnaOtaku
*When your boss is coming your way, you automatically think "oh crap I got aggro!" -AmayaOnnaOtaku
*Your car/cubicle is covered in gaming related material as an homage to various games. -AmayaOnnaOtaku
*Part of your tax rebate check goes to upgrading your gaming systems. -AmayaOnnaOtaku
*You can relate to the jokes of Crtl-Alt-Del and/or Penny Arcade. -AmayaOnnaOtaku
*You hear a plane over head, thinking its a UAV and you instinctively think if you have Cold-Blooded equipped. -Toonlink
*You hit on a girl and you roll a Charisma check before hand. -Toonlink
*You have the Tetris Type A music as your ringtone. -Toonlink
*You get that little feeling of "Holy Shit..." when you find a copy of "Stadium Events" at a garage sale for $.50 -Toonlink
*Your wardrobe consists of 80% game or game related apparel. -Toonlink
*You don't know whether you should rest or drink another energy beverage. -MasterOfWhaEver
*You go to a store and think Potential Zombie Weapons everytime you walk through the tool or gardening aisle. -Cosplay Horatio
*You have a crowd of people watching you play Rockband at the game section of any shop. -Cosplay Horatio
*You've attented a CS/Quake LAN party only to watch a fight break out.

I leave the rest up to the community to post their thoughts and I'll add them list later

Large Edit for clairity: I think What I?m trying to say is yes everyone can be a gamer some for relaxation; some play professionally others like to play to enjoy the experience/story of a particular game. What I'm asking is what kind of things a gamer would do to cross that line into a hardcore gamer, someone who that you and your friends both think plays "A bit too much", no I?m not trying to label an entire genre, no I?m not trying to make excuses to my own gaming habits; I play too much and I know it. What I?m trying to define is what makes someone a hardcore gamer and to what degree? much the same as "What makes a B-boy a B-boy" or a "Metal head a Metal head" while obviously there is no clear cut line that makes someone something most people can still define what a person may be at a glance in normal life without much knowledge on the person in question

I.E. a guy with piercing and long spiky hair may be a-

The Lizard of Odd described labels the best I believe

 

[DrunkWithPower]

noon is too early..... way too early. Oh, and yell "camper" at the bad guys in movies.

 

[Kiefer13]

You're a gamer when...you play games.

Simple enough, really. Can't say I've really ever been a fan of social labels though. They only serve to prevent people from being seen as individuals. It's all about what you consider yourself to be. I personally would consider myself a gamer, but I'm sure there are people with near-identical gaming habits to myself that would not consider themselves such, and also plenty of people that would consider themselves gamers but using a vastly different definition of "gamer".

 

[Dudemeister]

You are a gamer when you play games for fun.
That's it.
Why do people like you have to make up qualifications to make you feel better than others?

 

[Proverbial Jon]

to me a gamer is someone who enjoys games, that girl is a gamer, your a upptiy recluse.

I have to agree.

A textbook definition, if there exists such a thing, would be that a gamer is somone who plays games. I would class this girl as a gamer.

Obviously there are levels of gamers, some of us like to immerse ourselves in the world of gaming or perhaps devote more time to the pursuit. Perhaps she simply has more going on in her life!

I currently own an Xbox 360, PS2, PS1 & Gamecube. I have well over 100 games for the consoles combined, some are a full set with every game in a particular franchise. I've played many more than once and sometimes spend way too much time doing so!

I would consider myself a gamer, I should also consider finding some hobbies that involve going outside or interacting with people once in a while! I guess it's all subjective.

 

[CheckD3]

What you have is the description of a hardcore gamer. A gamer is someone who plays video games to have fun. Obviously there are people out there who like different genres and only play so much compared to yourself or anyone else, but just because they play 1 game doesn't mean they aren't a gamer. Would you call someone who got into video games with MW2 and plays it at least 5 hours a day average and ONLY MW2 not a gamer? No, why? Because they play games.

A casual and hardcore gamer is a big difference, however. Someone who plays only so much and only so many games and isn't as immersed in the culture as someone like, well myself (who owns 60+ games, plays them and as many as I can as often as I can, and post/read/explore them even when I'm NOT playing) as I am a hardcore gamer. It's like being a level 5 person on MW2 to being a level 35 3rd prestige. Both players are gamers, one is more hardcore and plays more than the other...

 

[The Cheezy One]

i made a thread like this
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.175022-What-makes-a-Gamer
didnt really take off though
good luck!
OT: playing intense games, not just mainstream
stalker, bioshock, etc.

 

[Quay]

When you measure the cost of things in terms of the equivalent number of games.

For example, something that costs $150, to you, means it costs 3 games.

 

[Lifefable]

Little rephasement is in order I think "True" is a bit hard I think. What i'm trying to say is yes everyone can be a gamer some for relaxation, some play professionally others like to play to enjoy the experience/story of a particual game. What I'm asking is what kind of things a gamer would do to cross that line into a hardcore gamer, someone who that you and your friends both think plays "A bit too much"

 

[Daemascus]

A gamer is someone who thinks of games as their main source of entertainment. Casaul gamers just think of it as another form of entertainment, like watching TV or reading a book.

 

[Wolfiesden]

You are a gamer when ...
... You buy a mini-fridge to put next to your computer desk for your Dew because going to the kitchen takes too long.

You REALLY are a gamer when ...
... You buy a coffee pot to put on top of the mini-fridge.

Memorized codes Heh been doin that for decades. IDKFA for the win

 

[Sisnax]

* True gamers gain a meditation like ability while playing.
* True gamers always look for weapons, escape routes and potentially dangerous enemies while on the street.
* Gamers can memorize locations and maps in their heads and can bring them up any time they get lost.
* True gamers always take the hardest route knowing there will be something good at the end.

 

[Sjakie]

to me a hardcore gamer means that you play more than just one type of game. if you only play MW2 and fps games like that, it doesn't make you a 'gamer', that just makes you Modern Warfare player.
In general everybody who plays a game is a gamer, but if your a 'hardcore' (for lack of a better word) gamer, you play a multitude of different styled games.
Sure, you can be a fully devoted MW2 player, but if you dont know anything about other games, i will call a person that: a devoted MW2 player, not a gamer.

 

[Imat]

Obviously you play games, but what sets the hardcore gamer apart from the casual gamer?

This is what I have so far, a sort of list
*Completed over 30+ titles
*Devoted 8 hours into a single game in one sitting
*Actually memorized codes for your favorite games before (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A)
*Ever held a conversation with fellow gamers about how FFVII was the best/worst title of all time

I leave the rest up to the community to post their thoughts and I'll add them list later

completing 30+ titles is hardly necessary. I know several hardcore gamers who have never finished a game, or play a game which is unfinishable (DotA, LoL). I would say there are plenty of extremely hardcore gamers in DotA and LoL.

Also, I'm not entirely sure I've completed 30+ titles...I've played well over 50 titles according to xfire alone, and I'd easily duble that when adding in various console titles and game I played before Xfire, yet I've not completed the vast majority of them. Yet I'd say that I qualify for the title hardcore, otherwise I am nothing.

 

[Xeros]

1. Check
2. Check
3. 19, 65, 9, 17, C, Start. Check
4. Double Check.

Hardcore: When gaming is more than just your hobby, it's your lifestyle.
That's my opinion anyway.

 

[Marik2]

*Devoted 8 hours into a single game in one sitting

Um I've played a shit load of games and I have never devoted 8 hours in one sitting. Some people don't have much time do that I play my games in small doses and still beat it.

 

[The Lizard of Odd]

A gamer is someone who thinks of games as their main source of entertainment. Casaul gamers just think of it as another form of entertainment, like watching TV or reading a book.

That's it exactly. To me, there are 'casual gamers' and 'gamers' as described above, and then 'hardcore gamers' or otherwise described as 'gamers with more time and money and obsessive behavior than other gamers'. Not really saying that in a bad way - it's just true. (I'm somewhere between gamer and hardcore gamer myself)

Labels are helpful for communicating and understanding others when you don't have the time/opportunity to really get to know them better. If you use them as a shallow means of making yourself feel better, then yes, labels are shallow. I think there are proper uses for them though.