During the Casual Connect conference in Seattle, web-oriented game developer and distributor Big Fish Games released results of its research project into the spending and playing habits of so-called hardcore and casual gamers.

Conducted with market research firm NPD, the study surveyed 2,611 gamers and determined that lines between casual and hardcore are blurry at best, and gamer demographics are broader than conventional thinking has held. As Big Fish chief strategy officer (CSO) Paul Thelen stated during a Casual Connect keynote, the traditional casual approach of "'one size fits all' doesn't work."

Rather than simply separating gamers into casual and hardcore, Big Fish created 14 casual gaming segments and four core gaming segments - when it comes to demographics, business models, and platforms, the gaming market is diverging, not converging, the company claims.