Exactly how many girls have knocked you out and stolen your wallet?

If they cared about hardcore games, why would they be mainstream gamers?

It's like asking if poor people are going to buy a Ferrari.

I am lucky if I get more than five games per year, yet I'm (one of) the reason PS3 owners are getting Deadly Premonition in the West. =P

So yes, yes they care.

No.

Oh Spurge and Badgenome lol.

If the two of you ever started a stand up comedy show, I would PAY to watch it.

I 2nd this^^

So mainstream gamer is the new casual gamer? "These four franchises are the only ones part time gamers care about". Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Madden, & FIFA are mostly played by what would be described as casual gamers, with some exceptions of course.
But hey, I guess you can come up with a new term that means the same thing, then exclude all things Mario, sure.

I remember when these types of gamers were called the "casuals".

I think you've forgotten to mention

Mario
lego games
Zelda and
pokemon

according to sales and buyers they definitivly belong to the gta/cod/fifa/madden group.

I think there's no mainstream players, just safe betters. I for one barely buy new or unknown games unless they're "mainstream" very good ie: Fifa,GTA,Halo and the defunct ME series. There's so much bad games out there that becoming an avid collector is out of question, I value my hard earned money.