I'm not sure that Hasselblad are still the gold standard today - Phase One backs are quite popular and serious, sober reviews on the web indicate that the Hasseblad glass is not up to the sensor whereas the new Leica S glass is up to the S2 sensor.
As for the comment on Nikon and Canon v Leica, I'd recommend reading the variety of opinions of those who offer thorough evaluations before agreeing to any conclusion drawn here. A well-known Leica tester, Erwin Puts, documents quite objectively and systematically the color rendition, resolution and chromatic aberrations of the various Leica lenses wide open, stopped down and at f5.6 or f8.
The advent of digital sensors and high ISO obviates the need for f1.4 (and it is true that a close focusing distances the depth of field is quite small on 50 and 85mm lenses) but for what they offer, including their manufacture, Leica is quite good (esp if you acquired lenses over the last 20 years, as I have). At today's prices? Not so much.
As for the proliferation of gear; if the Ford F150 is the best selling pick up truck, that doesn't mean it is the best pick up truck; sales volume is not an indicator of quality but of distribution network, sales efficiency, demand, support and price.
William