The ever-lovin' GameSpy, which GSW thinks has perked up quite a bit with the arrival of news/feature guy Li Kuo, has posted a feature on whether the 'hardcore gamer' actually matters any more to game developers, publishers, or the industry in general.

7 Studios' Tina Kowalewski, when asked whether hardcore games can be harmful, notes sagely: "Sometimes, yes. It's a fine line to develop games that "anyone" could enjoy, and if you pay too much attention to pleasing the most vocal of your audience (the "hardcore" gamers), you run the risk of making the game unappealing to the market you're really going after (the "casual" gamers) by making it too difficult or specialized."

In addition, Dr. Greg and Dr. Ray from Sesame Street... uhh, BioWare, sound off on the future for the hardcore gamer, whoever that nebulous concept be, with Zeschuk commenting: "The hardcore gamer demographic will continue to grow as the industry grows; however, it might shrink proportionally against the wider swath of more casual gamers that are joining the market with the increasingly mainstream targeting of the new console systems. Ultimately, since we regard hardcore gamers more as experts in a specific type of game, there are more and more of these types of fans over time -- each specialized in a different genre of game."

[Of course, If you're reading this, you're probably an 'expert' at work, judging by the rest of GSW's obscuro content.]