Im still stuck on the last level, possibly the most fiendishly difficuly thing on Wii at the moment?

Actualy thiking about it, i think a game is defined by how YOU play it, so for example guitar hero can easily be a casual game if your simply playing it and not worrying too much about the outcome, however if you obsess over it playing it specificaly to better your skills and to get 5* on all songs in expert mode then it becomes a hardcore game.

The difference between hardcore and casual is simply the effort the player puts into.

A game is hardcore if you play it hardcore. If you play it casually, it's casual.

Debating semantics and other moot points is irrelevant because it's always ultimately up to the player and how they play it.

@Thatmax, yes, a "hardcore" player can play any game and make it so. But in my opinion, the layout of the game is set up to be a more casual style game. I've had so many quick 30 minute sessions with friends, I've played it with people that have never played any other video game, and at the same time I've played with those guys who obsess over getting 5*'s on expert :P

I played this game for hours upon hours to unlock worlds 9 and 10. As much as I have tried, I cannot finish World 10-5. I still go back to that level and have come close and I always will until I beat it if I ever do. Now that is hardcore gaming. No sex and violence just intensely difficult and addictive gaming. Anyone who has not played this game really shouldn't open their mouths about it. Some levels in this game are harder to complete than most of these supposedly hardcore games out there. Super Monkey Ball Banana may not be rated M for Mature ( that is what people misake for hardcore I believe) but it is H for Hardocore. I've completed 99 out of 100 levels in the game and am obsessed with completing one. Now that my friends, is hardcore.

Does this game immerse you in a deep thought provoking, and action filled story?
Do the controls work so fluently, that you feel you are one with the game?
Did Shigeru Miyamoto Develop or supervise it?

If you answered NO to any of those questions, especially the last one, it is not a Hardcore game.

The term "hardcore game" seems to be applied to two different types of games:

1. Games that are difficult.
2. Games that are targeted at males 13-25 years old (often violent and/or sexualized).

Sometimes these two things go together:

1. Devil May Cry 3 is a difficult game that is targeted at males 13-25 years old.
2. Backyard Football is an easy game that is not targeted at males 13-25 years old.

But often they don't:

3. Super Monkey Ball is a difficult game that is not targeted at males 13-25 years old.
4. Heavenly Sword is an easy game that is targeted at males 13-25 years old.

Distinguishing among these four combinations of difficulty and target audience provides more information than does simply labeling #1, #3, and #4 as "hardcore." In fact, if you distinguish among the four combinations, there's really no need for the term "hardcore" at all.

Personally, I think a lot of males 13-25 years old use the term "hardcore," and (intentionally or unintentionally) conflate its two meanings, in order to make themselves feel proud of finishing an easy but "hardcore" game:

1. I finished Heavenly Sword.
2. Heavenly Sword is violent and sexualized (i.e., targeted at males 13-25 years old).
3. Therefore, Heavenly Sword is hardcore.
4. Therefore, Heavenly Sword is a difficult game.
5. Therefore, I finished a difficult game.
6. Only skilled gamers finish difficult games.
7. Therefore, I am a skilled gamer.