If no one knew or cared about the difficulty in climbing everest at all except those who climbed it, climbing everest would no longer have near the status that it does.<p>He argues that hardcore gamers don't want an easy mode because it makes completing the game more of a status signal, however, the lack of an easy mode reduces the audience that is even <i>aware</i> of the game.<p>Completing a hardcore game that nobody knows about doesn't give the gamer any status at all.<p>He's not making the argument that people who <i>climb</i> everest by riding an pressurized elevator with an oxygen supply should be able to claim they climbed everest, but the fact that there is an elevator shouldn't logically diminish the status conveyed to actual climbers of everest.