In order to at least TRY to hit you VGChartz people with something to make you think, I got an idea in my head about how music is also similar to gaming. Here we go.....

Being a RAP fan (don't exit yet) I hear a lot of different forms of it. You have the rappers that put true effort into their lyrics, and those that obviously don't. The same thing applies to "Hardcore/Casual" gamers.

Hardcore- The rappers with the best lyrics to me are those that put BIG BOY words into their songs and try to portray a setting to the listener so that they can be fuly immersed into what the rapper is trying to say. For example: (I hope you listen, helps make my point)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdH4NkKzbv4

(Slight swearing is said)

By being very descriptive, the rapper can build a song similar to your Hardcore game. Games like the Final Fantasy series really focus on plot (agree/disagree?) and because of that (and its great graphics, gameplay) have achieved a following that garners them millions of sales for every game they release. However, some games are "too hardcore" for their own good, like Okami. A game pretty much dripping with style and a thick learning curve is exceptional to those that play it, however, the game obviously won't meet exceptional sales like a casual game would. Similarly, the artist you just heard there (Lupe Fiasco) has his 2nd album only reaching Gold status (500k) recently. It seems most people just cannot appreciate the level of depth people try to apply to their music, so those that actually listen are cynical towards those that listen to music like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJYlHUuGlBA

This brings me to..........

Casual- Music like the one just listed above is borderline nursery rhyming and couldn't have taken more that 15 minutes to write. However, there is a LARGE audience for it and unfortunately, the artist who made the "casual" song sold 270k more albums than the "hardcore" rapper. Casual games can somehow sell 700k-1 million copies, while "hardcore" games like No More Heroes and Zack & Wiki cant break 400k. Obviously, a lot of gamers here wouldn't like a game like Deca Sports or Carnival games and would rather play something like Metal Gear or God of War.

Even though they are two radically different things, they do strike a balance. You can't always have concious rappers all the time and you can't have nursery rhymers flooding the market either. "Hardcore" games can't be around without the "casual" ones as well, or else there is no variety, and the industry suffers. You can't start off hardcore either. Casual ushers in the soon-to-be hardcore gamers that we all know and love.

I'll could add more later but, I want to hear your opinions and additions to this topics. Surprisingly gaming can be found Behind the Music.

(Sorry if this isn't cohesive, rush of thoughts)

more effort in gaming is hardcore
less effort in gaming is casual

I think you can apply this to many things:

Hardcore student goes to university, regular student goes/searches for work.
or
Hardcore has Iphone and casual has a Nokia 3310

The problem with having too many people doing "casual" songs or whatever (like the one listed above) is kind of like the problem that's plagued the Wii. Obviously, selling out and making the next bubble gum track will garner you more sales, but doesn't make you any different from those that have done the same exact thing (and failed) before you. The best rappers may not have sold much, but they are usually the most highly regarded and cherished. Others disappear, never to be heard from again. Milked out franchises (Spyro) end up the same way, but may not ever "disappear".

I think you are misguided by the term "casual." There are plenty of amazing casual games with lots of work in them and there will be many more. Casual doesn't mean cookie cutter and low budget.

Many hardcore games on the other hand all feel like the same thing. There are countless FPS games that are practically identical, and the same goes for other genres filled with "hardcore" games.

So I really don't think your analogy worked. It was a nice attempt though.