"I would say the only big difference is amount of recognizable franchises. But Sony is quickly catching up. Do you agree?"

No.

Depends on the age of said gamer. I am apart of the NES generation. I got an NES at LAUNCH. Mt first gaming memories begin in the early 80's with Atari2600. I've been a core gamer since 1985. I think people in MY camp, those who are still into the industry will ALWAYS be more loyal to Nintendo than kids who started on PS1. I basically got the see the birth of the modern industry where as Sony fans (and I'm not saying I'm not a fan of Playstation, I am) got into gaming when the industry and standards were already established. There isn't a sense of ownership like there is with us. We are basically the first, the forerunners. So we will always probably be bigger fans of our console and gaming in general. That's my opinion anyway.

I think the fandom of the two groups is different. I think that Nintendo fans are more committed to the franchises. They are devoted to Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon etc. Whereas Playstation fans are devoted to the brand. Sony has dropped a good bit of their franchises over the years, but still maintained their fanbase. If Nintendo dropped Zelda or Mario, they would lose a lot of fans. I think that's the main distinction.

Definitely. People are very passionate about their favorite games/companies.

Well yes and no. Yes because sony gamers are huge fans no because they are not the same kind of fan.

Nintendo fans are more the "I dont care what others think. Thats none of your business so why do even interfere?" group.

While Sony fans are more like "I want everyone to accept my point of view no matter the cost." group.

And MS gamers IMHO are the least brand focused group they are the most "whatever" group.

Does this make any sense?

Playstation brand is comparable to MTV it's fad hosting platform, they find their fad on MTV after few years the fad vanishes but the platform remain.

On the other hand the core is largely semi religious cult.

To prove my point, although PS3 greatly strengthened position recently every 1st party game released in last few years except Uncharted failed to catch sales, the last failure was God of War: Ascension beaten even by Luigi's Mansion on 3DS

I grew up with Nintendo, but Sony catered to my interests after elementary school even though I played both during elementary school.

Well said.

I grew up with Nintendo and when the Playstation came out, I won't lie, it was so cool. Playstation has always had a soft spot in my heart right next to Nintendo. I think they are friendly rivals. The console was intended to be a product made by Nintendo and Sony so I can see that there are some resemblances. I fell in love with PS's RPGs and I fell in love with the 64's great graphics, Mario, Zelda, and the rest of the gang. They are equally matched in my opinion. I love them both.

How can you measure? Sales? How can you know how many Sony fans are also Nintendo fans and support both consoles?

The whole question is pointless. Even if we knew the answer it is pointless. The consumer who has no allegiance is the biggest winner because he can enjoy the good of all companies. He has no self-imposed restrictions.