my interpretation of a hardcore gamer is someone who plays q3 in 800x600 flatshade mode for visibility, has a mouse/kb setup which is arse awful to type with just setup for games.
actually lets take it a step further:
they walk around the supermarket thinking "man i could do with some body armour about now" or "this spot'd be perfect for a quick camp".
they are constantly distracted from making love to thier SO by thinking "maybe those new radeon drivers are out by now".
they will sit at thier beloved computer, playing thier chosen game while they bleeds to death and paramedics beat on thier door,
simply to "just get to a save point".
they sit watching thier best friend be brutally murdered thinking "i wonder what fps i'm getting".
thier life revolves around games, they shy away from personal contact in order to be closer to thier secret digital lover.
i'd say that kind of person was a hardcore gamer
