“Hardcore” and “casual” are words I wish were never invented for gaming. Now they are everywhere, and we cannot get rid of them. It is important to remember that prior to 2004, they are not used as they are today.
Before, games were described as either ‘dark’ (adult) or were ‘kiddie’ (for kids). These were the Gamecube and N64 years. But what about before that?
Interestingly, I think there was more diversification. On consoles, the ‘difficult’ games were the ‘true arcade games’. They were like the space shooter games everyone played but couldn’t get past the first couple of levels. Oh, and these games had to be played with an arcade stick. I recall games like Final Fantasy or non-arcadey elements were considered the ‘child’ or ‘casual’ games of that period. Contra wasn’t considered ‘hardcore’ then because of its content but because it was considered an arcade game. The Sega Genesis marketed itself as THE ARCADE MACHINE as if that was the only way to build its legitimacy.
One difference with console games of today and twenty five years ago is this:
Today, PC games on consoles are considered ‘adult’ and ‘hardcore’. Arcade games on consoles are considered ‘casual’ and ‘childish’.
Twenty five years ago, PC games on consoles were considered ‘childish’ and ‘casual’. Arcade games on consoles were considered ‘adult’ and ‘hardcore’.
What caused this shift in polarity?
Malstrom's Articles News 