You describe a frustrating experience in which you had to work very hard to experience the content, and as a result you didn't care much for it, and posit another experience in which the content is far more accessible and the experience is shared with a wide audience, and assume you'd enjoy this better. I'm with you that far.
And then - if I'm reading correctly - you suggest that the frustrating experience is Easy Mode, and the accessible one is Hard Mode? This is where you lose me.
If I'm trying to play a game I've heard good things about, my experience can certainly be soured by a high level of frustration. And I'd probably like a game more if I can share the experience with other people who like it. To me, these are both arguments in favor of Easy Mode.
But wait a second, you say, I was watching a bad cam on a tiny screen. Well, yeah, but the story's the same, no? My total experience of the movie, (arg! wtf? stupid half-broken rar files stupid torrent software, etc) contributed to my total impression of the movie. If I'd got to a theater opening night and there a few dressed up in costumes and the crowd was buzzing with excitement, my opinion of the movie might be higher.
Not having an easy mode on video games is like saying 'can only be watched on a big screen'. Theres a sense of accomplishment and pride by the end of the game that, if you were wanting to share in the experience with, that, as some see it, a minimum level of difficulty is required.
(For the record, I did rather like the Firefly movie.)