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Thread: What is a "Casual Gamer"

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    What is a "Casual Gamer"

    I see this term thrown about a lot here on Hexus, mainly in the hardware section when people are looking for advice on a cheap gaming system build or just an upgrade but what exactly is a "casual gamer" because the term is usually followed by "who wants to play BF3" now to play BF3 at what I would see as reasonable your taking an investment of around £250-£300 minimum on a new GPU. So in that case does "casual gamer" mean I don't care about the graphics, or how well it runs just as long as I can install it and get about 10-20fps?? Because I have always considered myself as a casual gamer but I dropped 400 big ones on my latest GPU so I could play the games as the developers intended.... does this mean by todays standards I'm no longer considered a "casual gamer"??

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    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    A casual gamer is one who is not worried about measurebating about framerates and having maximum image quality settings and only plays games on and off. They are usually more worried about the game itself and whether it is fun and is playable. They are probably among the purest form of gamers.

    However,do not think a person isn't a hardcore gamer just because they don't want to spend loads on hardware and measurebate a lot. Buying expensive hardware only makes you a hardware enthusiast,not necessarily a hardcore gamer,but you can be both.

    One of my mates has probably dozens if not hundreds of games and he has an HD5850 1GB like me. He is hardly a casual gamer and neither am I.

    Also,the whole 10-20FPS is silly talk - just because you don't want to spend £250+ on a GPU, and actually know how to switch off stupid options, which gives you 3% improvement in image quality, for a 30% hit in framerates,also does indicate you are not clueless too. I remember Crysis. Run it in DX9 with some edits to the config file and you could almost get the same image quality as running the game in DX10 but with much higher framerates.

    I have NEVER spent more than £150 on a graphics card,and don't intend to spend more than £200 to £250 on a graphics card. In fact the market under £200 to £250 is probably the most important market for graphics cards.

    If PC gaming, in its current state, needed current £250 to £300 graphics cards to run most games at anything under medium settings at 1920X1080,then it would deserve to die quickly. It probably would also die too,as PC gaming would be considered overpriced by most people. PC gaming should be for everyone and companies should be giving us value for money,not charging for incremental improvements.

    Also,many games are probably not as optimised as they should be,otherwise it would also negate the reasons for people having to buy expensive hardware(AMD and Nvidia do sponsor many games too). Moreover,many engines are designed to scale beyond current hardware capabilities to keep them relevant for years.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 07-06-2012 at 12:22 AM.

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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    In my opinion the difference between a hardcore and casual gamer has nothing to do with the amount of money you spend on your hardware.

    A hardcore gamer to me is someone who spends a lot of time playing and actively seeks to optimise their in game experience and performance. Sure, it can be argued that a more powerful system will assist in this but I don't think it's a prerequisite. You can be hardcore and play on a lower spec system with the graphics options turned down. I would consider many of the EQ1/2 and WoW players I used to play with to be hardcore gamers but of lot of them had sub-standard systems in my opinion, ie. Playing at anything under 60 FPS is sub-par in my books and they would raid with 10-20 FPS! Hardcore for me is more about knowing how the game works so you can devise the best strategy to "win", so knowing the maps, how the AI behaves, best gear, etc.

    On a similar note, a casual gamer is someone who doesn't care about "being the best they can be". Having fun is more important than "winning". This usually goes with less gaming time as well.

    I consider myself somewhere in between. I don't have the time or inclination to be as involved in gaming as I was in the past (ie. Pre-marriage and family) although I still strive to do well with what gaming time I have. I do spend whatever I need on hardware to make sure my gaming experience is enjoyable though. I like pretty graphics and having to turn any visual setting down often results in a hardware upgrade.

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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    I would never describe myself as a casual gamer (I own far too many of the damn things and spend far too much time playing them to describe it as casual).

    And I do spend a fair bit on graphics cards. Mainly because I want to spend my time playing games, not tweaking them. Back in the old days I did, but now I want to take a break and play a game. Reading those 20 page tweakguides and then altering all of the .ini files to get it perfect, monitoring my FPS during play with FRAPS and then redoing the whole thing to reach optimum quality and FPS... not anymore, thanks.

    I've got a GTX570, and just stick everything on maximum settings, maximum resolution, and if it works, then great. If it feels sluggish I'll kill the shadows and drop the AF and AA right down and try again. That's about the limit of my interest in FPS

    So I guess by Mooseman's terminology, I'm a casual gamer, even though I wouldn't describe myself as such.

    To me, it just means people who like gaming, but aren't planning to buy all of the real big hitters (the Crysises and BF3s) and push them to their limits. Maybe someone who's playing loads of games, but they're Football Manager, RollerCoaster Tycoon and Tropico 3, and therefore they don't need a good graphics card... which would make me a casual gamer. Damn.
    Last edited by jim; 07-06-2012 at 12:16 PM.

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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    I guess a casual gamer is just that, a casual gamer. These days I tend to find myself jumping on the pc to play games for an hour or 2 at a time and not the massive stint I used to be playing. I also find myself playing more intuitive indie games as opposed to the high end graphics pantomime of the big blockbuster releases. As a result, I think getting the most cost effective hardware is more important than the latest and greatest kit on the market, i.e. I simply wont utilise the latest gear enough before it becomes superceded by the next line of top end hardware so why spend the extra money.

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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    There isn't really a standard definition.

    My own would be someone who viewed gaming as an entirely secondary use of the computer, so would not buy any different components with gaming in mind. This is the largest segment of PC gaming by far, and the segment that is targeted by publishers of casual games (not exclusively though).

    By increasing the gaming capabilities of the base level of PC hardware, by including a GPU in the CPU for example, you increase the scope of what you can offer to these casual gamers.

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    Re: What is a "Casual Gamer"

    Its very simple...



    Anyone who plays less than you:

    Casual scrub, not fit to even boot a machine, one who clogs up your server with noobish scrub-talk and ruins your game by asking for changes to cater to them. To be shot on site and derided at every opportunity.

    Anyone who plays more than you:

    Hardcore psychopath, probably middle aged, almost certainly a virgin, no life parents basement dweller. Wrecking your game by demanding that it accommodate more things to satisfy them.




    Yeah, ok I know you're referencing hardware, but it still needed to be said

    Interesting question actually, I'd never thought of it like that. I always assumed people bought about the best they could afford/justify/felt comfortable with for longevity reasons.

    If forced, I'd say there's not a 'casual' demographic as such, merely the extremely serious one and everyone else. I realise that is a bit of an oxymoron however. the former group are the kinds of folks you see on the likes of [H]ard OCP with stupid (but quite cool) systems.

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