Does the hard-core gamer still matter?

Out of the top 20 selling games of 2008, less than half of them fit the profile of what type of game this MSNBC article considers appealing to the hard-core or serious gamer.  So I think the question shouldn’t be “can the Wii win back the hard-core gamer,” but rather “does the hard-core gamer still matter?”

The article goes on to say that Nintendo’s original ‘core gamers’ who grew up on Super Mario Bros are disappointed in games like Wii Sports Resort, but I think high sales of games like Mario Kart and Guitar Hero prove that the core audience is shifting to less mature titles.

Do you think violent/mature game fans should still be considered core gamers?