So my question, I assume, is pretty straight forward; At what point is it to much. 'It' being the game players obsession over the game. There are many different types, groups, and or categories of gamers (Or all being one in the same) however for the sake of typing (on my phone) we'll use just two. Casual gamers and hardcore gamers.

Now the word obsession may not be the right word to use. Any game can be addictive, some more than others. I'm speaking in general terms. Another word may be more appropriate; I'm referring to the game players drive and 'motivation'. At what point is playing too much. This being the amount of time your playing. Can you get 'too' involved in this/any game? What defines too much or too involved? Obviously this is a loaded question not based on any facts, except only comparatively maybe, and one completely based on opinion.

I know some players who will log maybe 5 hours a week of game play (casual gamers) whereas I know others who have logged more than 40+ (hardcore gamers) I myself have logged over 100+ hours in a single week. A few times I even spent my entire weekend, waking up Friday morning and not going to sleep until Sunday night, playing EVE. I've logged some crazy hours in EVE yet I've met a few others who have logged more. So what makes the difference between a hardcore gamer and one morbidly obsessed? (If there is such a thing)

Example: I know a guy who made flash cards of EACH and every ship in eve as well as drones and mods to memorize dmg types, attributes, etc, to better understand game mechanics. I personally see nothing wrong with this and got copies of said flash cards. Ofc they helped. Knowing all these things in advance and not having to seek references prior to commiting to an engagement are truly helpful.

However, it being helpful or not is neither the issue or concern. It's whether or not this level of commitment to a game is good or bad, or healthy or unhealthy etc, etc,. I'm only curious because me (hardcore EVE player), a friend (casual EVE player), and my mom (hardcore WOW player) were discussing it and I wanted some outside input. Sorry for the length and feel free to comment or troll. Thanks.