Atleast backup what you're saying lol. I certainly expected Smash 3DS to annihilate Wiius Smash hands down. Bigger user base and earlier release was absolutely retarded on Nintys part. It also served as proof Ninty doesn't give a damn about home consoles.

It cannot be denied that the PSP forced that situation especially given how Nintendo operated before the PSP, all other hand helds weren't cut short but the second a real probable threat appears the GBA was dropped and that's what it comes down to. N64's problems stemmed from that massive 2 year delay the was only one viable platform on the market for 2 years to release games for if you were a developer doing 3D games, this is how Sony snatched up third parties, the Saturn had coding issues due to a hardware flaw. Nintendo didn't want risking history repeating itself, this is if the GBA remained fine as you claim which personally I don't see as PSP was essentially at the time a next gen GBA in a sense and going by Nintendo cutting the GBA short it seems they didn't see it your way either. 

The first MH game on PSP sold 500k in its first week and something like 200k PSPs were shifted with it, this was in 2005 the launch year of the PSP, to highlight my point this was the type of scenario Nintendo moved to counter. They weren't expecting MH to be the killer app they just expecting a possible killer app in general, it would have had a massive effect on the GBA as MH was the game that ignited PSP in Japan and brought the developers on board. With out the DS there the type of good support the PSP had in its last 3 or so years from the developers would have materialized much earlier and possibly when MH became a blockbuster making the DS' fight a lot harder had it not launched beforehand to compete with it.

I wasn't talking about VGC strictly in fact I didn't follow the notion here on this as I'm on a number of boards like Gametrailers, SB, CVG etc... the handheld version wasn't expected to sell more then the home console on the boards I saw and a number of fans. A large part of this is due to the competitive scene that drives the series being console exclusive until the 4th game and the performance of fighters on portables in general, people were expecting it to sell but not more then the home version.

Nope you cannot deny what I've posted and that's what it comes down to PSP is the main factor in ending the GBA no matter how you try to spin it.

Nintendo were bullish towards 3rd parties since the early 80s and PS1 wasn't the only console to use CDs either, what it comes down to is the delay, why? Because consumers had little choice but to consider the PS1, the Saturn cost £400 which as inflation goes would be more then the PS3 and X1 launch prices and and with the N64 two years away Sony took full advantage of being left unchecked for two years. It's not tech or anything complicated because if the N64 had released with the Saturn and PS1 it would have dealt with both of them quite well but Nintendo gave up the market taking their time and couldn't recover, the was not shortage of other consoles for third parties to support the PS1 even though a good platform had the fortune of being handed the market by Sega and Nintendo.

First NX should be region free. So us gamers don't go to this NA only have digital only release while EU has a retail release.

I believe EU games would have english translation of the game so NA should also get those. English, Spanish and maybe French are already good for NA audience. For SA, Spanish, English, Portuguese would be good.

it is just a crazy thing about region locks, and I believe it is not hardware limitations. make it happen Nintendo.

Eh ... yes and no I would say. I kinda get where you're going but as someone who really remembers this time period well (I followed the N64/Project: Reality from *day 1*, I remember getting the EGM in Oct '93 announcing it). Back in those days you could actually call in to the Nintendo help line (1-800-255-3700 I think ... haha, still remember the phone number!) and the Nintendo reps would actually talk to you about future/current game announcements. 

Like I remember one Nintendo rep telling me the N64 would have tech like the Reboot CGI TV show was brand new then, I also first learned about Donkey Kong Country from a Nintendo rep that way, he told me they had a new game called DKC coming and it would make Super Metroid (which had just been released) "look like a cartoon". Good times, I chuckle thinking of those days now. 

The Playstation brand did not really start to rev up until 1996 to be honest. It wasn't really until the release of Resident Evil that it got its first real "must play" killer app and quite honestly. It wasn't so much the head start. 

I maintain to this day if Nintendo had come to their senses, ditched the 64DD, and even just made a CD-ROM add-on for the N64 for 1997 and sat down and made peace with their third party partners (most notably Squaresoft and Enix) ... they would have won that generation. 

The lack of games, due to the cartridge format, really killed Nintendo. I remember so many of my friends bought an N64 first, but then ended up buying a Playstation later on and adopting that as their "main" platform (N64 was kept around mainly for GoldenEye late night sessions). But it was just the volume of games ... because of the CD format, the Playstation just trounced the N64 for variety. 

No you're trying to spin it to make it look like it's more accurate, you've accepted the notion because it's true PSP is the central factor in ending the GBA early it's not shifting the blame from anyone it's a fact, Nintendo would have held off the DS for much longer if Sony didn't enter the market, this is evident in how the GBA was originally meant to release at around the mid 90s or so but was delayed until the 00s, the was no competition so the was no urgency.

Nope developers had a viable choice they were called Sega and the Megadrive did very well, you should also look up the real differences between cartridge and discs it was never space it was price. Cartridges could hold any amount needed but the price was well too high.

If N64 had release with PS1 and Sega not messed up the Saturn the PS1 would have gone the way of many other consoles that tried to enter the market it would have been more likely for Sega to become market leader because consumers wouldn't have give it a chance at all. Sony were handed a golden ticket by the two big competitors in the market and utilized it well.

Soundwave

I remember that period well, PS1 in the UK took off with Wipeout in 95, 96 is when things really heated up true but at that point PS1 in sales was well ahead of the Saturn making it a more viable platform and giving developers more confidence in it.

I agree a CD drive would have helped a lot more but they weren't going to catch the PS1 by the time they launched I remember reading a magazine a month after the N64 launch, the PS1 was already heading to the 30m mark. The delay was harmful to them as ironically it was Sega cocking up that really hurt them as consumers had no alternative then the PS1 for 3D gaming unless you had serious money to burn for a Saturn, the Saturn also had an issue where the console only came with a scart something TVs at the time were only just getting accustomed to.

Because of the PS1's success developers were then more willing to avoid cartridges and the N64, it wasn't the format itself that was the cause of the PS1's success as that was an eventual contributor to it.

Come 2016 "Damn it guys, the NX releases in 2 months and we haven't announced it!" *Sega laughs in the background*

I think Iwata said something in March about how Nintendo is looking into making the NX region free!

Can Nintendo even surprise us, with the DENA-Nintendo loyalty/membership service and push Wii U and 3Ds as region free.  That would be a great start. 

No I said the GBA decline happened because of the PSP in general.

Mega Drive sold around 40m units, a full 30m more units then its predecessor, it wasn't just potential it was Sega gearing up to eventually become market leader in the long run. The SNES sold about 50m, when you factor in the sales of Master System to NES was 10m to 60m they closed the gap heavily and it highlights the was another viable platform, Mega Drive also ended its run in 94 as opposed the SNES ending its run in 96 the latter was active for an extra two years.

Again storage is a fundamental problem yes but it's not the sole source of the PS1's triumph, the cause of it was simply that it got what other platforms didn't a clear shot at success due to both Sega and Nintendo cocking up. Sony began making those deals because they were taking note of the situation, they saw the Saturn sink like a stone leaving them the only platform for 3D games, those deals highlight the format alone was not the main factor in moving developers early on even with its advantages as the Saturn also used CDs.

They were smart enough to realize that developers may still opt for the N64 regardless because of their legacy so began doing those deals, when the PS1 achieved mainstream success it was easier for developers to move over to PS1 after all 30m at the launch of the N64 is over half of what the SNES had sold.