I think a lot of native English-speakers blow the difficulty of Chinese out of proportion. Of course it's more difficult than a European language like Spanish or German, but Spanish and German are also related to English, and share a common historical legacy with each other. The thing about Chinese is that you can't learn the pronunciation very easily if you're not spending time where Chinese is spoken, due to the tones. A lot of people who study languages, however, wish to be able to spend awhile on a site with lessons or with a book of lessons, and feel that they've learned something new and practical after studying those lessons. But Chinese can be frustrating for this type of learner who cannot pronounce the tones of Chinese and does not live where Chinese is spoken. The sense of instant-gratification isn't there with Chinese.
But if someone is actually dedicated to becoming fluent in the language, which would require spending time where the language is spoken, Chinese is pretty much about the same as any other language. Even if you wanted to be fluent in German, you probably wouldn't be able to get native-like intonation and pronunciation until after you lived with the people.
So, for people who are casual language learners and who are learning more for fun than for practical use, Chinese may well be much more difficult than other languages. But for the serious student of the language, the same exact time and effort will be spent learning the pronunciation.
I've been studying Chinese for about two months now in preparation for going to Taiwan this upcoming school year as an exchange student. I must say I find it difficult to learn more and more Chinese and not feel that I can speak what I'm learning intelligibly. But the more I study, the more I can understand when I hear it, so that is enough to motivate me to keep on, because I know I will be there to learn the tones first hand soon anyway. Hopefully I'll gain more insight into learning Chinese as the year progresses.
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