Hold your horses there buddy. I dont know what kinda handheld your thinking of but the only handheld I can think of that would be small enough to be a 'handheld' would burn your fingers with that kinda hardware in it. It would also have about a 30 minutes battery life. Hell the Wii burns my fingers as it is. The PSP runs at about 5watts with the screen at it's brightest setting.

http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-2.htm The Wii runs at roughly 15 watts in game ... If the CPU and GPU were running at the same speed as they were on the Gamecube, and you eliminated the Blue Tooth Controller it would probably be running closer to 10 ... Also, I would expect that if the DS flopped they would be releasing a Gameboy for christmas 2007 meaning they could have taken advantage of a 65nm process further dropping power consumption

A sadist

If the CPU and GPU were running at the same speed as they were on the Gamecube, and you eliminated the Blue Tooth Controller it would probably be running closer to 10 ... Also, I would expect that if the DS flopped they would be releasing a Gameboy for christmas 2007 meaning they could have taken advantage of a 65nm process further dropping power consumption[/quote] Your still looking at 3x the power consumption. Without the screens. I beleive the screen on the PSP runs at 2-3 watts. Wich means the hardware runs at less than 3 watts. Also. If you think a bluetooth chip runs at 2-3 watts. Think agian. I have a bluetooth mouse that runs on 2 AA batteries for about 6 months. I had to change them out for the first time since I got the mouse. I have never seen batteries last a QUARTER that in a mouse. I'd say I put around 200-500 hours on that set of aa batteries. (that would be about 4000mAH for both batteries) The PSP has a 1800mAH battery. The power draw when reading data is about 4w. And when playing the game... just playing the game. is about 3w. It gets about 4-6 hours of battery life. run the thing up to 15w (rember you've gotta have the screen on it) (also, rember the Wii runs at closer to 17.8w. NOT 15) If you've ever OCed hardware on a computer before. Unless your doing some EXTREME OCing. You wont get too much more power draw. (like within 10% power) So I would say a Wii-based handheld would run 15w. Wich is half that of a notebook... and a notebook gets 4hours on a battery... so you could get 8-10 hours off a notebook battery. The bluetooth wouldnt be on unless in use. That would be nice to be in there. Basically a Wii handheld... Would be bigger than the Wii itself. (becuase the battery is as big as the wii) It could not and would not happen. Not for another 2-3 years. (rember the Wii has 8x the power of a PS2. The PSP is 75% a PS2.) Best case, if you totally kill the Wii's power, and bring it down to a GC level. You might be able to get 13w. You just have to rember. The PSP is powerful for a handheld. It is crap by a home console. Due to power constraints. A Wii/GC handheld... would weigh 3lbs. (at leat) Have fans in it... and have a plugin remote/screen. (so you dont have to hold the 3lb brick in your hand) I just wanna say. No-way. Would a GC/Wii style handheld use less than 12w. a 7200 uses about 25watts. and is double the speed of a Wii.

You're using the term generation outside of its original meaning; it is indeed the next generation of console from Nintendo. As for the pointer's accuracy, I'm guessing you probably bought all the wrong games for the Wii. My understanding is that the COD and Red Steel games have about the worst controls out of the lot, next to Rampage. Try the shooting sequences in Rayman: Raving Rabbids, they're brilliant. Headshots are not too difficult and are labeled as such, and it doesn't seem to lag despite the fact that you're shooting plungers. Wii Play's shooting game also shows that accurate shooting is possible. I am curious to hear about which games caused you to form your opinion of the system. That may be the case (slightly overstated) for a while, but the chips will eventually be made small enough that they will be able to fit in a handheld. It won't be that long either, given the pace that chip production has improved. This is not accurate. Physics simulations are at the core of a large number of games. How accurately the physics are modeled varies, but allowing for headshots while shooting is well within the system's capabilities. I see the wii as a dramatic step forward, because I view games differently. I'll state it again. I'm tired of constant improvement in graphics with basically non-existent improvements in gameplay. Really, I have no problem with graphics being good in a game, but it's a glorified B movie if it isn't fun. The cost that goes into making these graphics is getting high enough to sink a developer as well, even given reasonable sales. It's frankly ridiculous and counterproductive to gamble that graphics will carry the game rather than the gameplay, but it happens. I want to see more companies re-evaluating what it is that makes a great game, concentrating less on the graphics, and adding things that truly make a difference for the player. Centipede wouldn't have been the game it was without its trackball; Duck Hunt wouldn't have been so fun without the zapper; DDR would not have gained such a following without dance pads/platforms. These are the kind of games that caused you to view gaming in a new light, because they were so different from the way most games were played when they were released. Companies are by and large afraid to produce new types of titles, and this is what (IMO) should change. I think the wii's remote is a subtle shove in the right direction.

First. I could play duckhunt from 10 feet from a 13inch TV. and hit every duck. I have trouble doing headshots in raving rabbits. so it is NOT that accurate. (on a 40 inch TV at 5 feet) It should be about... 10x easier... at least if they used what the NES did. Second. If you think a headshot is a physics simulation. I want some of what your on. Becuase there have been headshots since HalfLife... possibly earlier, but I cant name any. Halflife came out in about 96 or 97. Physics is I shoot you in the leg. The leg is blown out from under you. (depending on the bullet mass/velocity) possibly trips you, you fall on your face. Then I run up to you, and shoot you in the back of the head while your tyring to get up. OR if I'd be useing a small calibur rifle, just cause you to stumble and then limp. the Wii does NOT have enough power to do that. How do I know? My PC dont. And my PC is ALOT faster than a Wii. (Crap, my processor uses more power than the Wii... And my processor is one of the most energy efficent processors there is) The pointer is not accurate for 2 reasons. 1. The way it works. It works of 2 IR dots, useing a webcam style sensor. It finds the 2 dots, identifys the distance from the 2 dots, and then guesses where you are pointing on the screen. Due to the fact the sensor is such a low resolution. I would say it has less than a 300x300 grid to point at. Wich is basically fine for a SDTV. Or a small TV. The problem with that method is, it has a delay, it uses alot of power, and the sensor tends to jitter the pointer. 2. If you are in a bright room, and have a glossy TV frameing, or glass around your TV, the sensor picks up more than 2 IR dots, and goes apeshit. (forget a wii if you have a window behind your TV. Speaking of apeshit, I had my sensor detecting 12 IR transmitters... And some from the window were brighter than the ones on the TV. That's why it's not on my 40inch TV) The accelerometer blows. Not digging on this but it just blows. It sucks on the PS3 as well. Luckily it is not USED on the PS3 much. EDIT: The GB is capable of allowing headshots. EDIT2: I mean the GameBoy. Not the GameBoy Color, or the GameBoy Advance. I mean the trusty old brick, that everyone played the crap out of Tetris on.

This was pulled from your own arguments, and what you're describing isn't the fruit of some advanced physics simulation either. A physics simulation buys you something like this: your character runs forward quickly, and then stops dead - does your character lean forward while stopping? Is this behavior scripted, hidden in a bracing motion, or does it look realistic? In a driving game, does your car take into account the speed, friction of the tires, speed of the air, and the Ackerman settings of the wheels? Does it seem to slide around in an unrealistic "arcade" fashion, allowing you to recover in the least likely of circumstances? There is a physics model in every 3D game, good or bad. You're debating how many physics calculations are done, where it's implemented, and how accurate they are. It has sufficient power to do a reasonable amount of physics calculations. Wii Tennis and Wii Bowling are two simple examples where physics are obvious while you're playing. The resolution for the camera is fine for the resolution of the Wii, which is really what matters. As for the jitter, your hand introduces a large amount of that. There is a small delay intended to reduce said jitter, and is successful with the exception of a few poorly implemented games from what I understand. Luckily, I do not own any of these games: I wouldn't touch a COD game on any platform. The latter is true to be sure. If I had a window behind my televison though, I'd put up drapes. I wouldn't want the glare associated with bright light from outside when I was watching the television. I haven't yet had a problem with it however. I also do not have a television with a glossy frame; I won't buy one either, if you're correct and it messes up the infrared camera. I disagree with you on this in particular. It works great when games are written properly. Wii Sports was a good first effort, and Wario Ware in particular really shines in its use of the accelerometers. I've heard Madden does a good job with it too, but I wouldn't touch Madden on any platform either. Sure, on a 2 dimensional bitmap a headshot is simple. Even a Z80 is sufficient for that.

A hardcore gamer (as against a "casual" gamer) is someone that simply plays a LOT of games. Or someone who spends their spare time PRIMARILY playing games (or following the games industry). That is about it. Im definitely a hardcore gamer - yet I don't touch PC games, don't own a 360, and don't want a PS3. .... A casual gamer is someone who spends their spare time (majority of it), not playing games. Yet still plays the occasional game (i.e. while traveling and with nothing else to do). Or someone who plays solitaire at work, when they have nothing else to do.

Just an observation, aside from possibly being a bad example, this discussion devolved into a direction that has little to do with its original intent - to define the hardcore gamer. Surely it could be continued in another thread if we truly want to debate the relative merits of the Wii's input devices.

I love seeing these arguements about gameplay over graphics. So by your logic the gamers will speak about gameplay with the wii while the other systems promote high end graphics. I personally think that Geometry wars (and oter popular XBLA titles) and flow show how graphics doesn't always have to be in the forefront and these games are getting quite a bit of positive attention. I am pretty sure neither of those games broke the bank to be mad and it firmly supports my arguement about having both so the gamers can chose. I just beat flow and I occasionally pop on geometry wars. All this talk about the 360 and PS3 pushing devs has no real basis. It is still a choice. And baka I really disagree with you. If you have been playing games with mediocre gameplay yet with growing graphic then I will blame it on your choice in games. RE4, FFXII, Okami, God of war, Shadows of the colossus, gears of war and dead rising are just a few examples of big budget games that offer fresh and enjoyable gameplay in addition to amazing graphics.. There are alot more games out there that made me enjoy spins on familiar gameplay, like radiata stories or steambot chronicles. I suggest you rent some games or just ask other fellow gamers because I really fell that your complaints about tired gameplay/graphics is just not true. EDIT: being a hardcore gamer I am going to say that the large amounts of titles I have played in the past 6 years, show me the devs have not forgotten about gameplay as they are stepping forward with graphics.