by ArtiSiN

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: April 30, 2009

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong. Who could have known that a couple of primitively designed paddles made of sprites would help usher in an industry rivaling motion pictures for most profitable industry? Video games have become as commercial as Coca-Cola; as American as baseball; and subsequently as diverse as the societies they reflect. To illustrate, as the video game genre grew from a quiet nerdy niche hobby to a boisterous mainstream hobby, so did the games and the players. Some people play them when they are bored, while others play religiously, or for sport. The types of gamers are classified by the games, rate and reasons in which they play. Therefore, gamers can be divided into many different categories. However, the main three can be classified as: the casual gamer, the hardcore gamer, and the professional gamer. Certainly, you have met one of these gamers or you may be one yourself. If not, I suggest you call one of your friends over and ask if they want to play some video games. If they agree, watch them carefully and you may just find out what type of gamer they are.

The casual gamer is the majority group of gamers. Therefore, video games are made with them in mind, lending them access to a wider variety of choices. The casual gamer usually plays games that are easy to pick up and play, or are heavily hyped such as Tetris or Halo 3. However, they do not devote the kind of time to the game a hardcore or even professional gamer would. This gamer buys based on popular selection, plays for a few hours, then neglects the game for days or even weeks. Blasphemy! Furthermore, if the game is of a high difficulty the casual gamer may become too frustrated to ever continue playing it again. They play when there is nothing good on television, or on a cell phone while waiting in the lobby of the dentist office. It seems that for the casual gamer video games are more of a hobby rather than a lifestyle.

The hardcore gamer is the true gamer. Hardcore gamers are usually found playing role playing, strategy games, or intense shooters online. For instance, the emergence of services such as Xbox Live has found many hardcore gamers battling it out on fighting and shooting games, logging many hours and arm pit stains along the way. Consequently, you can still hear the frustrated screams of the casual gamer getting pawned in Halo 3 by the hardcore gamer. More often than not, his/her social life lacks because of this unquenchable thirst for gaming. Not

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