What's on your mug?

A person who devotes a large portion of their time towards gaming and gaming variations. A hardcore gamer might often attempt to optimize their playing style, often by the use of gaming gear or mods/addons; this practice is often common for casual gamers, but to some lesser extent. "A casual gamer is someone who schedules the game around their life, while a hardcore gamer schedules their life around the game." -TotalBiscuit (a.k.a TotalHalibut; The Cynical Brit)

Jim plays World of Warcraft and devotes the majority of his time to his raiding guild, including altering his real life schedule to suit his guild's needs. Hence, he is, to some extent, a hardcore gamer.

By The_Cynical_Gamer

A Hardcore gamer is a knowledgeable, active and committed individual with a high degree of interest or commitment in playing video games.

Nintendo abandoned the Hardcore gamer when they made the Wii

By Mavronumon

Apparently, what any gamer who was playing video games prior to 2006 is. A "hardcore" gamer generally puts money down on games with actual gameplay involved. They have a somewhat excessive amount knowledge of videogames in general, but these gamers are proud enthusiasts and enjoy discussing the games they play. "Hardcore" gamers select games from specific genres and trusted publishers and have been part of the gaming industry for decades. I guess that's why they're hardcore now. Who knows. This is contrary to the casual gamer, who has risen in prominence with the help of the Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone. These gamers favor titles such as Wii Tennis, Wii Sports Bowling and Scrabble iPhone edition. Oftentimes, they are discouraged by the learning curve more traditional videogames require and stray away from them.

Hardcore Gamer: Diner Dash!? Really? Casual Gamer: Megaman 9...? Why?

By geno_whirl

\A gamer who plays a variety of video games, based only on gameplay, not graphics, story, popularity,etc. They respect the old school, and own multiple consoles, old and new(not a fanboy.) They enjoy playing FPS's, JRPGS, Fighting games, etc. The term also applies to PC gamers.

You are not a hardcore gamer cause you play casual shooters, MLG isn't hardcore, playing ONE game isnt hardcore.

By MaidenPriest420

Individuals who put a large amount of time into playing video games; this is what most people refer to as a "true gamer." Contrary to popular belief, hardcore gamers are not people who only play games with extreme violence and gore; hardcore gamers prefer to play games from different genres and franchises. They also feel that gameplay in a video game is the most important aspect of any game; as long as the game is fun (meaning difficulty and graphics don't matter), they will continue playing it. The complete opposite of a hardcore gamer is the "casual gamer."

Gamer 1: Welcome to the gamer's club, what do you play? Gamer 2: I've been playing Call of Duty ever since it came out; they new one's going to be epic! Gamer 1: Lol! Your a fucking casual, gtfo! How can you stand that shitty gameplay and those less than impressive graphics; never talk to us hardcore gamers ever again!

By Person12599