It doesn't have to contain all aspects and even some non hardcore games have some of these as well. Tekken would be concidered a hardcore game. While button mashing does allow someone to pick it up immediately, it only scratches the surface of the games actual gameplay. Fighting games in general are accessible to everyone but learning the moves, engaging competition of more experienced players, and mastering the combat is more of the hardcore territory. The fact people can button mash doesn't deteriorate the total game. It might get you by in some games but it is essentially not learning how to play the game and until the divide is broken between button mashing and actually figuring out a fighter, the gamer isn't engaging in a hardcore gaming activity...neccessarily. It is a difficult labeling of sorts.

I'm sorry but that spells audacity.

tech problems, subscriptions, lack of titles; are perfectly valid points for critisism, that's not hate.

hate is an irrational & illogical reaction based on sentimental reasons.

I would say Microsoft, whatever they do is not good for gamers or the games industry. Most of their games are considered irrelevant (Kinect, XBLA, Multi, PC or if in this list Halo/Fable/Gears/Forza) and will never "reach" the quality of Sony titles. They get criticised for being irrelevant in Japan (who cares really), some still think RROD is a thing of today and tomorrow. Xbox Live for being a paid service and be "packed" with advertisement.

Both Sony and Nintendo gets a lot of hate too. Sony for their "poor" online. Their games are not selling as much as the competition and are trying too much to "copy" others.

Nintendo for catering to a different audience, for releasing only the same mascot in almost every games they make, for being a generation below the competition and for WiiU's "sub next gen" new offering.

I don't visit Sony and Nintendo threads as much as I visit Microsoft's threads but like one pointed out, people will be more sensible to criticism towards their console of choice.

Exactly. Maybe the Wii U will be the next victim...

While Sony and Nintendo get the most vocal bashing
the indifference the Xbox brand causes is by far the most humiliating

Lol you are exactly proving the point here :) Tech problems may be a 'logical' reason. But for the two other it is exactly the kind of hate/bashing based on purely personal point of view. When you hate something you always find very 'rationnal' reasons to do so, like you just did with Microsoft.

Also while hating for a rational reason or not, at the end hate is hate and the thread is all about that. 

To the OP: I voted Microsoft but I'm not visiting other consoles's thread so my point of view is obvisouly biased :)

I find this poll interesting because of what it really means.

Current results:

Nintendo----------128---------30.92%
Sony--------------207---------50.00%
Microsoft-----------79---------19.08%
Total: 414

What this poll is really showing us is what the fanboy and fangirl ratio is on VGChartz. 50% of the fanboys/fangirls here are Sony Fanboys/Fangirls, 31% are Nintendo Fanboys/Fangirls and 19% are MS Fanboys/Fangirls. Every fanboy/fangirl thinks his/her console gets the most hate because fanboys/fangirls are overly sensitive about their favorites. People who enjoy all three don't think there's problem because they aren't sensitive like fanboys/fangirls.

But to a lot of people none of that matters.  None of that has to do with games or hardware. Ninty got "bashed" for being so far behind the others in terms of capabalities and games. Im not a stock holder so i dont give a damn who makes what, i just care about games which is something IMHO that Ninty (and others) didnt really deliver with the Wii at least not in the volumes the other two did.

OT its between Ninty and Sony, probably more Ninty lately

Ninty is being bashed from the perspective of people being disapointed in their actions or beliefs I guess whereas Sony gets the long end of the stick for financial performance and the performance of Vita in the market and as far as I can tell Microsoft is just really being ignored at the moment, they aren't doing anything worth mentioning in a positive or negative way. It depends on the perspective of the person as to how you'd interpret what is going on in relation to the big 3 IHV console makers.

But yeah I would say that Nintendo is certainly getting the most negative attention for both their console sales performance as well as for perceived shortcomings of their upcoming Wii U system.

I would say the 360 originally, although a lot of the 360 criticism seems to have dissipated as of late. As far as volume of hate, I can't really make an estimate although all three get their fair share.