I think the myth is that people think Nintendo's completely abandoned the hardcore. I think the real issue is that people have is 2-fold. A) Nintendo doesn't have any big titles coming out this year save Animal Crossing and there's a good chance there's nothing for the first few months of next year. B) Nintendo doesn't NEED the hardcore gamer anymore. That doesn't mean they're not going to cater to people like me anymore, it just means that they could get by without me. Subtle difference. This is something that I think most have known for a while, but the completely casual E3 show combined with "A" and "B" have only exacerbated this feeling of not being needed.
I think most people know we're going to be getting stuff like Mario and Zelda and others. The fear is that b/c of "A" and "B"Nintendo may not be as focused as before on delivering those types of experiences.
Through the power of the internet, the widespread feeling of not being needed has been exaggerated and interpreted as a belief that Nintendo has completely abandoned the hardcore.
My Top 5:
Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Chrono Trigger
My 2 nex-gen systems: PS3 
and Wii 
Prediction Aug '08: We see the PSP2 released fall '09. Graphically, it's basically the same as the current system. UMD drive ditched and replaced by 4-8gb on board flash memory. Other upgrades: 2nd analog nub, touchscreen, blutooth, motion sensor. Design: Flip-style or slider. Size: Think Iphone. Cost: $199. Will be profitable on day 1.
