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How would you define a "Casual" gamer?


Beyondthegrave07

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Let's discuss on how you would personally define a casual.

 

The only thing I can think of is someone who plays popular AAA titles, does not play 2-3 hours a day, and only buys 3-4 games a year. I consider my friend a casual gamer and I think this sums him up well. 

 

What do you all think?

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11 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

I play 15-20 minutes a day, mostly on my Vita. I rarely play on my PS3 or PS4 and barely anything less than a couple years old. My wife says I'm a hardcore gamer.

Lol. Exactly why I created this thread. Not everyone sees it as the same thing!

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1 hour ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

Let's discuss on how you would personally define a casual.

 

The only thing I can think of is someone who plays popular AAA titles, does not play 2-3 hours a day, and only buys 3-4 games a year. I consider my friend a casual gamer and I think this sums him up well. 

 

What do you all think?

I'd say casuals are folks who don't play games as a hobby and instead play as part of social gatherings or other niche situations.
Personally I only buy 2-3 games a year and mostly play popular strategy games (Darkest Dungeon, Xcom etc), yet I'd still call myself more of a hardcore gamer due to the amount of dedication required for the genre.

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I imagine the gaming landscape like a beach: casual gamers are those who just dip their toes in and don't intend to swim, they might just wanna get a tan.

 

Then you have hardcore ones who cut themselves and dive into to the depths of the water wishing to wrestle sharks.

 

And within both groups there's a gray space that acts like a scale for people who lean more into one or the other.

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I would say someone who only plays a few times a week but doesn't really devote their life to it. Of course, that seems an extreme. I'm not as hardcore of a gamer I was one-two years ago due to other interests but I don't follow a lot of gaming news anymore. I guess I would sort of be causal now, at least that's what I would define it

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Someone who is bored or finished watching their favorite shows, completed all "honey do's", kids are in bed, and friends are away. They resort to kill time by picking up a game and playing it to have fun.

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9 hours ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

Let's discuss on how you would personally define a casual.

 

The only thing I can think of is someone who plays popular AAA titles, does not play 2-3 hours a day, and only buys 3-4 games a year. I consider my friend a casual gamer and I think this sums him up well. 

 

What do you all think?

 

Pretty much. 

 

I buy several games a year, so I guess I’m not so casual.

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I wouldn't take the number of bought games into the definition. I have a couple of friends that only play LoL, but they participate in leagues and gather to watch competitions on Twitch. I wouldn't call that "casual", yet they don't spend a dime on gaming.

 

I also would not make the argument that they play AAA games only, since it's pretty easy to find good indie titles on the digital store without too much research.

 

I'd say casual gamers are people that pick up the controller irregularly with the sole intention to have some minutes of fun, but don't get out of their way to get some gaming time in. It might be a hobby, but not necessarily an important or time consuming one. 

They don't necessarily follow gaming news or trends, and certainly don't care for stats and other things this site is tracking. 

 

 

Edited by Arcesus7
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The way I see it, a casual gamer is a person whose passion for video games is minimal to moderate. He plays the games as chill as possible, buys the " uu shiny " games, gaming isn't an important part of his life (his main passion ain't gaming for sure) , definetly enjoys himself and if he stops enjoying what he does he just quits the game and loads something else, he doesn't understand the terms of " salt " when playing online . A really cool guy to be honest xD that doesn't really get the hype around certain games or the fight for " which game is the best in the X series" . He plays the games for the sake of gaming on whatever mode he wants.

Not to be confused with casul from Dark Souls, that's another meme for another day.

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Can I ask what the actual need for segregating gamers into casual/non-casual/whatever is? As in what is it solving to have a category of gamer categorized as "casual"?

 

I'm well aware of the dick measuring contests of calling someone else a casual. I'm asking for any actual utility. Is there something I'm missing? I can think of other categories that make sense for all sorts of reasons, but nothing for "casual". Is it just for the implied (although completely limp) insult?

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14 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

Can I ask what the actual need for segregating gamers into casual/non-casual/whatever is? As in what is it solving to have a category of gamer categorized as "casual"?

 

I'm well aware of the dick measuring contests of calling someone else a casual. I'm asking for any actual utility. Is there something I'm missing? I can think of other categories that make sense for all sorts of reasons, but nothing for "casual". Is it just for the implied (although completely limp) insult?

The only reason I'd use casual as an insult would be for a guy who brags about a game and has no idea what he's actually talking about AND is not a troll.

Example : I met a person who was going " Y'all idiots don't know shit about dark souls  "constantly bragging when nobody asked for his opinion and in his actual playthrough he levelled up Resistance(useless stat) and got bodied by Taurus demon 20 times or so. To note , he wasn't a troll , he really believed in what he was saying. I consider that one a casual.

Ok some people call others "casual" for some other dumb reason (omg you only spam hadouken you Casual ) or " dick measuring contests " as you said xD  the so-called "Elitists". I prefer not to talk about those instances because keyboard wars start. 

 

And why to segregate in general... hmm for example if I want to do a co-op session in For Honor for example and I really want to body the opposite team , I won't really pick a casual gamer. All respects to them (no really, playing games casually is really good for the sanity at least xD  ) but I might actually need team players who know the strats and gimmicks of their heroes.

 

That is my opinion ,unless I misunderstood the topic of the thread altogether, in which case sorry!

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Being a casual gamer doesn’t need to be derogatory.

 

I define a casual as one of the following:

 

Someone who mostly only plays mobile games as a time waster.

 

Someone who games with friends, usually on some kind of multiplayer “party” game.

 

Someone who plays a single game for years, typically a multiplayer FPS, somewhat irregularly or without caring to “compete.“

 

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3 hours ago, B1rvine said:

Being a casual gamer doesn’t need to be derogatory.

 

I define a casual as one of the following:

 

Someone who mostly only plays mobile games as a time waster.

 

Someone who games with friends, usually on some kind of multiplayer “party” game.

 

Someone who plays a single game for years, typically a multiplayer FPS, somewhat irregularly or without caring to “compete.“

 

 

And I guess that goes back to me asking if there is a function for defining someones gaming habits that way. Like does it provide an actual utility to you (or anyone?) in some way?

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17 hours ago, DaivRules said:

 

And I guess that goes back to me asking if there is a function for defining someones gaming habits that way. Like does it provide an actual utility to you (or anyone?) in some way?

I don't think there needs to be a greater purpose for defining it...it can be useful as a descriptive term...for example:

 

one of my clients a while back was playing ps4 when I showed up at his house...i asked him if he liked earning trophies...he said he loved it and i was almost sure that I had found my new best friend...further prying into his gaming life revealed that, at psn level 8, he was actually more of a casual gamer...he just liked the ding and pop up notification every time he randomly achieved a trophy's requirements...

 

or...

 

gaming addiction has cost me my job, my home, my family, my friends, my physical and mental well-being...i've decided from now on I will strive to live as...a casual gamer...

 

let's help end the stigma around casual gamers...without them, no one's rarity would be nearly as impressive...haha...

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Always thought that I am a casual gamer. I don't hype for big series like CoD or Fifa etc., for icons like Witcher or God of War etc., do not follow any club of a genre in general. Buying only few games that are 100% in my taste, avoiding 90% of gaming industry. Usually playing 1 or 2 at the time. Gaining trophies only because want to feed my addiction to game avoiding seeking for a spontaneous inspiration, but usually lost myself in it and let go platinum and completion because of further bored. Also think that casual gamer can play hardcore games, but be totally outside of hardcore legacy, can play big games from time to time, like GTA, but not making cult out of gameplay, like some fans.

Edited by Bloodytears1666
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Casual Gamer: someone who plays inconsistently, doesn't care about statistics

Hardcore Gamer: someone who plays almost every day and studies game stats, like damage output in shooters and small trick-spots on maps

One can play all kinds of masterpiece level games and be casual, the other can play only one shooter like CoD or Battlefield, but still be super hardcore

Both are equal in the industry 

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