I'm a 30 year old gamer with prehaps an identity crisis. I play all kinds of games, but was never really good at playing 2D games. As a matter of fact I never complete SMB 2, nor SMB 3. I never really really completed many of the 2D games that where not RPG like.
When 3D came around I found that I was better a gaming. I completed games like Toruk 2 Seeds of Evil, Jet Force Gemini, LOZ OoT and MM, Starfox 64, Tomb Raider, Castalvaina 64, DK 64, Golden Eye (all difficulties and time challanges) you get the point. 3D made me better at gaming for some reason.
Now we are in the high graphic era and I'm still just as good at the 3D games from a single player perspective. I guess its because I'm just competing with the designer. However when it comes to shooting an avatar in a FPS that is attached to another human playing against me, my skill level decreases. KDR becomes a horrible motivator for me to stick with the game.
Maybe I have a identity crises, maybe I'm not as hardcore as I tought. Or maybe the term Hardcore has changed. Hardcore is no longer that game freak that spent hours playing and beating single player games, now it is that player that uses the word frag (rhymes with Fag), POWNed and L33T Sk1llz!. That player that has KDR of 2.0 or higher, is pat of the Clan, and can hurl insults at you through a mic that they would never say to a persons face. That Player that only plays those games that appeal to the darker sides of humaity, and excludes the games that look casual or kiddy.
This is the new golden age of gamers my dollars helped create. Don't tknow if I like it so much, but I guess I will still always be a Game Freak on up rigamortis sets in.