What does it mean to be "hardcore"?

[Locutus]

A new story entry has been added:

What does it mean to be "hardcore"?

In a preview of Civilization V posted on Gamespy (see earlier), author Anthony Gallegos mentions that Civ5 is no longer just for the hardcore fans. This prompts freelance strategy game journalist and blogger Troy Goodfellow to ponder what that means. In a blog post he asks the opinion of other games journalism luminaries, looks at how the series has evolved over time, looks at the popularity and the meaning of the word hardcore, and compares it to Panzer General, the game that Civ5 is taking a lot of inspiration from. Read the full blog post on Troy's blog Flash of Steel.

[VJ]

Well, Civ4 wasn't designed for "hardcore" fans either, that's the way it was (according to designer diaries and interviews) supposed to differ from Civ3 and Civ2 when it was designed. And it turned out to be a wonderful game. So when someone related to the programming or designing team says that Civ5 isn't just for the "hardcore" fans anymore, I'm not getting scared or depressed.

EDIT: Oh snap, just noticed that this thread isn't in off-topic or the Civ5-section. Is commenting on news allowed on this sub-forum?

[Dale]

Yeah, it's fine.