DieGrootHammer
Daddy TK
If you thought that the world of gaming consisted of only hardcore and casual gamers, boy do I have news for you. This topic has been one I've been reading into lately, and the results from Google searches are astounding. Kotaku lists 27 types of gamers, VGChartz lists 4, Wikipedia lists 6 of which there are further sub-classed types, Spike has 10 different types etc. The list goes on and one. But looking at all these lists, they all share commonalities. Common themes that potentially can be grouped together in a more coherent way. And so I, DieGrootHammer, have come up with my own list of gamer types based on some scientific research and game theory.
Casual Gamers
The casual gamer is one that partakes in gaming on a non-frequent basis. They are they type of person that would play the odd mobile game on their phone, perhaps the odd small game on their laptops, or even actually own a console for those once in a blue moon gaming sessions. They spend rather little on gaming in general, are easily swayed into some form of leaderboard or achievement hunting, and don't really care for the social aspect of gaming. They really just play for fun every now and then
Core Gamers
The biggest group of gamers. This is the type of gamers that plays games regularly, and enjoys either playing with friends or on their own. They are the ones that walks into a gaming store, looks at all the new games, and buys the one that either looks the coolest, or that everyone is talking or playing. They are extremely susceptible to hype, marketing and pre-ordering. They are not they type of person that will go online and spend their time looking for or researching any information about the games. They are the average gamer. They gamer that plays all the "cool" titles. They are the gamer that sees a trailer for a game and climb onto the hype train all the way. They do watch some gaming content on YouTube, but only the most popular of streamers or channels. And definitely not all the time. Also, they tend to be either console gamers or own a mid-level gaming PC. Definitely nothing too grand.
Hardcore Gamers
The difference between Core and Hardcore gamers are simple: information. Hardcore gamers not only love playing games, they love the worlds and the communities surrounding the games they play as well. They love reading about gaming news, they frequent gaming news sites, they watch a whole bunch of different gaming related YouTubers. This is also where you will find the most PC gamers, and they tend to have the more powerful PCs. They are also the most likely to own multiple consoles. Everyone reading this post I think is safe to assume is a hardcore gamer.
Hobbyist
These are the type of gamers that obsess over a very specific type of game, or even just one game only. They put in 1000's of hours into single titles. They are active in the niche community of their interests. These players almost exclusively play only a single game, or a very specific type of game. They are usually extremely good at that one game, and have turned that game into their hobby. They read up on the finer nuances of the game, they buy expensive equipment to add to their gaming experience. They are the experts of their field.
Multiplayer Gamers
The gamers that play games almost exclusively for the multiplayer experiences. According to the research done by Richard Bartle, they are classed into 4 types of gamers; Achievers\Competitors, Explorers, Social, Killers. They play games competitively, or socially, or to be the best PvP, or grief people relentlessly, or explore and live in the fantacy world created.
Now, I would hazard a guess and say that most, if not all people here on the forum are either Hardcore or Multiplayer gamers. But what do you think about this classification, and do you agree with me? Do you think there should be more, or less, or are you the special snowflake that will not bend to stereotypes and classifications?
Casual Gamers
The casual gamer is one that partakes in gaming on a non-frequent basis. They are they type of person that would play the odd mobile game on their phone, perhaps the odd small game on their laptops, or even actually own a console for those once in a blue moon gaming sessions. They spend rather little on gaming in general, are easily swayed into some form of leaderboard or achievement hunting, and don't really care for the social aspect of gaming. They really just play for fun every now and then
Core Gamers
The biggest group of gamers. This is the type of gamers that plays games regularly, and enjoys either playing with friends or on their own. They are the ones that walks into a gaming store, looks at all the new games, and buys the one that either looks the coolest, or that everyone is talking or playing. They are extremely susceptible to hype, marketing and pre-ordering. They are not they type of person that will go online and spend their time looking for or researching any information about the games. They are the average gamer. They gamer that plays all the "cool" titles. They are the gamer that sees a trailer for a game and climb onto the hype train all the way. They do watch some gaming content on YouTube, but only the most popular of streamers or channels. And definitely not all the time. Also, they tend to be either console gamers or own a mid-level gaming PC. Definitely nothing too grand.
Hardcore Gamers
The difference between Core and Hardcore gamers are simple: information. Hardcore gamers not only love playing games, they love the worlds and the communities surrounding the games they play as well. They love reading about gaming news, they frequent gaming news sites, they watch a whole bunch of different gaming related YouTubers. This is also where you will find the most PC gamers, and they tend to have the more powerful PCs. They are also the most likely to own multiple consoles. Everyone reading this post I think is safe to assume is a hardcore gamer.
Hobbyist
These are the type of gamers that obsess over a very specific type of game, or even just one game only. They put in 1000's of hours into single titles. They are active in the niche community of their interests. These players almost exclusively play only a single game, or a very specific type of game. They are usually extremely good at that one game, and have turned that game into their hobby. They read up on the finer nuances of the game, they buy expensive equipment to add to their gaming experience. They are the experts of their field.
Multiplayer Gamers
The gamers that play games almost exclusively for the multiplayer experiences. According to the research done by Richard Bartle, they are classed into 4 types of gamers; Achievers\Competitors, Explorers, Social, Killers. They play games competitively, or socially, or to be the best PvP, or grief people relentlessly, or explore and live in the fantacy world created.
Now, I would hazard a guess and say that most, if not all people here on the forum are either Hardcore or Multiplayer gamers. But what do you think about this classification, and do you agree with me? Do you think there should be more, or less, or are you the special snowflake that will not bend to stereotypes and classifications?
