Originally Posted by
KujinRen
For me, hardcore means difficulty of content. Not necessarily a time sink, but boss or raid encounters that are actually challenging. An extremely difficult encounter can be done in 10 minutes if done correctly (for example), however (I hate to say it but) the majority of gamers are average to less-competent when it comes to the difficulty of hard fights, therefore it creates a time sink by smashing their heads against a wall repeatedly.
For the sake of this discussion, I will use World of Warcraft references. Fights such as the "big bosses" like Lady Sinestra, Ragnaros (Cataclysm version), Kil Jaeden, Lich King and Yogg-Saron are examples of hard encounters that require coordination with your raid members. This is the kind of "hardcore" that I enjoy.
RNG drop rates, farming tokens week after week and and other time sinks are not what I consider "hardcore".