OK, let me make my point more precisely. Of course there's a continuous movement, with some gamers quitting gaming altogether, others changing tastes, and new ones coming in. I think the number of gamers is increasing, especially in terms of video games. For example, in Europe the PC is now dominating less than it used to. As I said, some of those new gamers will convert to hardcore games later. All in all, I think the games market is in a pretty healthy situation, in that it's expanding in more than one way.

@kingofwale: Do you think the number of so called "hardcore" games will decrease? The casual market is finite too, if all the developers were making casual games, that market would saturate and they'd either go out of business or start developing hardcore games again. Capitalism will ensure that as long as there's a market for hardcore games, there will be companies developing them too.

 Of course I do. Right now I say there are more hardcore games (at least revenue wise) than casual games. But if that reverse (and it will in an alarming speed, Thanks to Wii), you will see that a company will make no more than 1 'hardcore' games a year, and then they will frankly make 0.

If the relatively hardcore gaming market we saw last 20 years was able to keep the gaming business alive, I have no question a more casual market will too, (in fact, it will do even better), just count me out. 

What's funny about your irrational fear is that you're totally ignoring the laws of business, as I said in the part of my post that you didn't bold.

the most basic law of business is supply and demand, with casual game market skyrocking, companies will rush to produce cheap, low-risk games with potentially high profit. With only limited firms, you will see hardcore games decreasing.

 With hardcore game's budget and man-power required to make them with relative higher risk, no new firms can enter the market, thus creating a situation where diminishing hardcore games -> diminishing hardcore gamers -> diminishing hardcore market.

You can disagree with me all you want, I'm just here to state my reasoning, not to convince anyone to believe as I believe. 

Supply and demand also determines that as long as there's demand for hardcore games, they'll continue to exist.

However, it is correct that companies will have to cut costs and potentially increase prices on certain types of games. Regarding that, there's more guilt on Sony and Microsoft than on Nintendo though, just look at the budgets required to make HD games. They put the cart in front of the horse, moved too fast, and there will be consequences to some companies.

I think we'll see more and more consolidation and companies going out of business, but that's because their strategies and analysts suck. If you want to get a sneak peek at the results of that strategy look at Japan, which is where the consequences will happen first.

as wii moves past 50% market share, u will see more and more and more hardcore games coming to wii

wii will be a hardcore gamer's paradise in 3-4 years

 Really? What's the logic in that? because it wasn't hardcore games that made Wii successful in the first place. In fact, hardcore games sold horribly on Wii. (of course, depends if you consider SSBB or SMG hardcore games, when they are clearly targeting younger audiences or at least attempts to with newer, less proven and often flawed controls)

 Blaming Sony and Microsoft for the high production games is like blaming Hollywood for high budget movies. But unlike high budget Hollywood movies who sells, you don't get majority of people going out and watch Superbad.

 Okay, they do, but come on, do you want gaming world becoming more like Hollywood?

 Ive been saying this since the product was unveiled.  If this happens, Nintendo can sit back in their plush chairs and sip martini's for the rest of their lives.

I don't want the gaming world to become like Hollywood, which is why I support Nintendo's effort to keep development costs down, and to focus more on what's important rather than SHINYOMGHDGRAPHICS.

I don't understand one thing about your second paragraph - are you saying that high-budget games are failing to turn profits because of casual gaming? So it has nothing to do with those games' high prices, and high prices of the platforms they sit on?

 High budget games (or anything with high price) run into the risk of bigger losses, therefore much less incentive for a developers to make a high budget game when the alternative is much more titillating financially.

No, I'm not blaming casual games, I'm blaming crapily made, cash-in games. 

I have no problem with what Nintendo's doing (well, mostly), what I DO have a problem is their lack of effort to govern all the garbage that's running unchecked in their console.