I think a big part of the problem in all of this is that nobody seems to have the same meaning for various words. Which is pretty sad when we have dictionaries that clearly define what words mean, but it's far more convenient to reshape a word to mean what you want it to mean, I guess.
Case in point: Matt is using the colloquial concept of "hardcore", that is to say, the concept of gamers who only want experiences like what have been seen previous to the Wii's existence but taking advantage of the Wii's controls. Meanwhile the PR representative uses the term "core" in its correct context to refer to the group of users who have been customers of Nintendo (or of the industry at large) since before the emergence of the DS and Wii.
A brief glossary of what various terms actually mean might help clear things up.
Hardcore: A small group of a given activity which holds certain values to be of fundamental importance, with all other values held to be unimportant unless they enhance these key values.
Casual: A largely disinterested approach to an activity, where one participates on one's own terms.
Core Audience: The central group of an activity which consists of those who regularly participate in the activity and have done so for some time (in particular, before a value shift that brings forth an expanded audience). Also called "traditional" audience.
Expanded Audience: New participants in an activity who have been drawn in by new values.
As you can see, the former two have no direct ties to the latter two. It's entirely possible to be a "casual core audience gamer" or even a "hardcore expanded audience gamer". Hardcore and casual measure dedication to values, while core and expanded measure the values themselves. This is why Nintendo does not use the term "hardcore" in the same context as game journalists do. Because it is a measure of intensity, not of values. You cannot pander only to the "hardcore", because there are "hardcore" for every kind of value you can imagine. Yes, even Wii Sports has a "hardcore" following, of both core and expanded audience players.
Sky Render - Sanity is for the weak.
