That's what they get for:

- releasing a handheld before it has any decent games

- announcing a new console too early

- making the same games for 25 years

Nintendo got very lucky with the Wii, but I don't think the Wii U will be able to compete, even in this console generation. As a gaming company, all they have to offer is nostalgia.

I definitely agree with you on the Wii. I also think a lot of console were purchased but, short of maybe Rock Band, game sales were never where they should have been for a viable console.

I still don't own a 3DS and probably never will. It's the first handheld console (major one at least) that I have purposely skipped and not because of financial reasons either

You are missing out by not buying a 3DS there are a LOT of good games out for it already and a ton of great games coming out within the next year.

There is literally NO reason not to buy a 3DS especially when it only costs 170$ AND comes with a memory card. Where as the ONLY PSVita bundle that comes with a memory card that is REQUIRED to play most games costs 350$.

Plus, the original DS did not do this well nor have half as many good games after 6 months after the 3DS.

Sure the DSlite is still selling very well, but the consoles themselves are incredibly fragile and unreliable, nothing compared to how durable the original brick DS is.

And announcing a console too early?

The DS has been out for 7 years, the Wii has been out for 5 years.

Which are both more than average life cycles for a game system.

Besides we NEED a game console that doesn't hold back the industry graphically because it can barely render anything at 1280x720.

I don't see how you can say there's a lot of good games out right now. Starfox and Zelda are the only 2 I know of and when I was at Gamestop with my friend when he was getting BF3, there were no games that looked appealing for it. While I agree that at 170 there is no reason not to buy it at some point, I don't think now would be the time unless you don't mind waiting. While I don't feel like I wasted $250 on my 3DS, I also don't feel that it was worth it yet. There are still way too few games out right now that are worth playing.

The 3DS has good games?

You know, besides a couple of re-released N64 games, where are the good games???

I bought the 3DS mostly because of the 3D feature and the potential it has, plus the cheap price point sorta reeled me in. I'm still waiting on games that are worth my money though. Don't kid yourself Trigun

Trigun, myself and a lot of other gamers out there don't see these "Good Games" that Nintendo hardcore see.

My younger brother snatched up a 3DS (after the price cut) mainly because he wanted to play Ocarnia of Time 3D... which is the reason A LOT of people bought one. I've play it, it's kewl... but $170 for that game, which I've been maybe 15 times over the years, isn't worth it for me. Looking at the current library and the future games... nothing really appeals to me, at all.

You can throw your "Hey the Vita will cost $300+ when you get a card and blah blah blah" around... but fact is... I see that machine being WORTH that $300 because of the titles I see in it's line up. I can't say the same for the 3DS even at $170.

I meant too early as everything they showed off for the Wii U so far is purely tech demo. I agree that we are ready to see a new console, but the one they showed off is still in alpha. They are still having problems streaming to the controller and that's their biggest selling point for the Wii U right now.

If they had waited for E3 2012 to announce their new console, more people would still be buying Wiis (especially since Christmas is coming up), and the hardware would actually be almost ready, giving developers a much better unit to test on. Now that we know the Wii U is coming out soon, there are people waiting for the Wii to be cheaper, and people waiting for the Wii U to come out, neither are buying from Nintendo until late 2012.

While some of the games appeal to me (Dead or Alive mainly), most of them are rehashed games or series. I'm tired of Mario this and Mario that. MGS on the 3DS seemed promising at first but with only one analog stick it's very frustrating to play and the graphics aren't even that impressive. There hasn't been a huge change from DS - 3DS for me to purchase one. They all still seem like DS games to me, just with 3D added.

I'll definitely get a PS Vita after playing it at E3. I didn't care much about the 3DS no matter how many times I played it (E3 2010, PAX East 2011, E3 2011, etc). The battery life is also a huge turnoff for me. I understand both don't have good battery life but the PS Vita I consider more of a stay-at-home portable so being plugged in now and then won't be a huge turnoff for me

Nintendo may have trouble for a while. I was excited for the Wii when it came out. So were many people. Even if it's library isn't so great, it did have the wow factor of bringing something competely new to mainstream console gaming. The Wii U doesn't have that, since the appeal of the new controller isn't as inherent.

Going into the next generation, they will probably be the lower tier console, in terms of physical capability, but this time, with out a hook. They still haven't demonstrated that they understand online, which will be vital in the future.

I mean, at this point, Nintendo doesn't do much well outside of make good games out of their key franchises.

Unless Nintendo shows more flexability, they may go third party at the end of this hardware cycle. They've gone serveral generations with out proving they can cater to third party developers, their Online "service" is joke-worthy, and they haven't created a new franchise since Super Smash Bros or Pikman.

The Wii sold a ton of hardware, and a ton of Nintendo games, but most develoeprs aren't selling many copies of games on Nintendo consoles. How long before it just makes sense for Nintendo to release Mario games on Microsoft and Sony's machines?

I'm not sure if there IS much of a market for hardware for a lot of mediums in the not-too-distant future. And that's where Nintendo might actually have an edge, since they have arguably the best first party line-up.

There's going to come a point where what machine you're using will be negligable. People with 3 year old PCs are playing bleeding edge games like BF3. Games just aren't pushing hardware like they used to, and there are definitely deminishing returns each generation. New PC games certainly look better than say, Gears of War 3 or Uncharted 3, but the difference between those games and BF3 are relatively negligible if you compare a PS2 game to, well, any current gen console game (excluding Wii, of course). We may never reach a point of standardization, but we will reach a point where newer hardware will not sell a console, or will not matter.

Nintendo might have to be the first of the three companies to recognize (or at least act, I feel like Microsoft might already have bought into this idea) this, and really focus on software and services.

Nintendo just might never be willing to give control over hardware. It's something all three companies might have to consider.

Services are a big deal and it's what Valve has been preaching for a long time. People want more than just good games from a console now. Nintendo is so far behind in that area. The whole online experience on Wii and 3DS feels very splintered, there's little sense of integration. I'm not fond of the 3DS eShop either, feel it does a poor job of highlighting featured content compared to something like the PS Store. Which is bad news for indie devs that rely on that little push of exposure to drive sales.

Does Nintendo even send out weekly release lists for WiiWare/3DS eShop? I actually never know what's coming to either service, whereas it's always obvious with XBL and PSN.

I think they used to, but stopped. Yeah, they're fucking clueless when it comes to online, and integrating their services and hardware. But, they may be the first one forced out of the hardware game which may make them have to dedicate them selves to better services if they want to thrive. I think all 3 companies will have to at some point, and Microsoft probably is the most equipt with Xbox Live, but Nintendo does have some significant advantages. They'll probably squander said advantages, but they're certainly there.

Yeah I agree that the 3DS was a mistake. It has no games worth buying the handheld for and the Wii was fun but it lost its appeal really fast to the point where I cant remember the last time I even turned it on.

Nintendo needs to find that new mario.

I have a Wii, never been on-line with it and never visited any stores to buy content online either. I made an assumption it would be clunky and slow......and rubbish.