I do not think that you can separate the whole market in casual and hardcore.
I started gaming with the NES and subsequently purchased almost every console available. I own a PS3, a WII, a PSP and a DS and I still have most of my PS1 and PS2 games in my collection. For the last 2 years I have played and beaten around 25 games per year although I work 40 h per week. At the Moment I have like 17 games at home that I still have to beat. Some would consider me a hardcore gamer.
With the arrival of the trophy system and getting my first fulltime job I started to rethink my gaming habits due to time constraints. Against the new trends I have to admit that I totally hate online gaming, sandbox games, dialogue systems or moral systems, nonlinear games and I am not willing to invest more than 25-30 hours into a game, if it isn't a JRPG. .... after some heavy gaming disappointments l have now decided that I will likely never buy an Activision, EA, Bethesda, Bioware, THQ or Take-2 Game again... In the end I simply could not enjoy Oblivion, Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, InFamous, GTA 4 and refused to buy Fallout, New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption, War for Cybertron, Front Mission Evolved etc. I also have no interest in Egoshooters like COD, Killzone or Battlefield. For a hardcore gamer I would dislike almost all of the "big games" of the last 2-3 years. On the Wii I had a tough time with Wii Play, Wii Sports, Smash Brothers and Mario Kart, since I totally lost interest after the first hour. Those games are too shallow to keep me interested for a longer time. Even my wife couldn't enjoy the Wii... so we are clearly no "Casuals" also....
I do not seem to fit in either category. I am more like a niche gamer. I choose my games according to its developer... I like Naughty Dog and Insomniac since PS1 days and grew up on Capcom and Konami since the good old Nes. My No1 Developer is still Square-Enix, and against the trend again I like their latests works more than the PS1 and SNES games... But I also like Katamari and the Lego games which are not so hardcore.... In the end it depends on the game. It has to be somehow complex and offer some depth, but it should not be too difficult and long at the same time...
I can't stand motion gaming so far and I am not at all excited for 3d gaming. I am about to sell my Wii because I hate the controller but somehow don't want to miss out some JRPGs like Dragon Quest X if it should arrive. I bought a DS because of some Square-Enix games and I don't like the Stylus and the Touch Screen that much... I don't like the 3DS having 3d, but the next Kingdom Hearts and a new resident evil will be on the 3DS... so I will probably buying it although I do not like the concept of it... just like with the Wii. Hmmm, maybe that is some sign of heavy hardcore fandom...
