Avoiding the Holiday Rush. EA's two biggest new IPs sold below projections last year due to getting lost in that.

A lot of good arguments and good debate, even though I think its exaggerated somewhat.

Core this core that, I think has been used vaguely from the very beginning.
I prefer the term previous traditional gamer. If, I use that term in the proper context, then Nintendo has indeed lost a chunk, not all, but a chunk of those types of gamers.

I'm okay with that, because just like in everything, this market is changing or daresay evolving.

Nintendo is better positioned in taking advantage in capitalizing that new market. Not even talking about blue ocean this and red ocean that. I'm talking about the video gaming culture. Its changing. The days of playing for 8 hours straight, binge gaming, and completing a 60 hour marathon, is now limited to a few.

Its called video gaming becoming mainstream. Its just the way it is. The more people who get involved, it will inevitably change the landscape.

Of course video gaming is not truly mainstream yet, nor are we truly close to it, but bit by bit its getting there. Of course this is all in my humble opinion.

Last gen, i was not a "lemming" when all i had was a GC, the biggest joke in town amongst "hardcores" by then, if i remember... and this gen, no, i don't "have to have" a HD platform to "get my fix"...

You've said in another post you have a good budget: same thing for me... but most of my money is spent on records, dvds, books and comics...

I don't know if i'm "core", "hardcore" or any stupid term every nerd seems to use these days... the signature i've used in recent past should give you an indication, anyway: "proud to be a casual gamer since the Pong days"... yeah, playing Pong in the mid 70s was so "core"...

But even now, i like videogames more than mr anybody, i don't buy 2-3 games a year: and to "get my fix", i have both DS and Wii, and i usually buy 10/15 games a year, and i rent 10/20 others...if you have time/money for more, good for you, but you should have a life too, you know...

And so, you don't think there are at least 20 games worth playing each year on Nintendo consoles?

You have to know, though, that i hate most FPS and the so-called "mass-market hardcore must-have" titles like Call of Duty, Halo, GTA, Gears of War... last gen, PS2 had maybe 15 games i've missed (Ico, Okami, Psychonauts, Odin Sphere amongst others), and so far, in THREE years, PS360 have maybe what? 2, 3 games i find creative and attractive? Maybe... Little Big Planet, Bioshock, and... nothing THAT important, nothing to justify a 300-400 euros purchase just to play it... morality? To each his own...

For someone with my tastes (action/adventures, platformers, rpgs, puzzles, lots of colours, imaginative level designs, great artistic direction, intuitive controls), HD and grey/brown FPS mean sh**: can you understand it?

My "core gamer" problem will be 2010: now that the support for Wii finally seems to be what it should have been two ot three years ago, my gaming budget could explode, and i won't have the time to buy/rent and play all the best games on DS and Wii (and Wiiware)... that's a cool problem to have, but the best thing is that i won't have the time to read sites like VGC anymore, tellin' myself: "oh no, not him again..."

And you should do the same thing... go play the incredible amount of games you like, and forget about Nintendo: don't waste your time talkin' about that awful company with all these awful people who still love most of the games they're creating...

@Ail

Apple is a computer company, they don't know gaming software, which is why the iphone will never be a serious challenger to the DS

Those core games will make them go bankrupt. How? Well who are they depending on? Old fans. If you just stay with them. They aren't going to stay around forever. They'll leave sooner or later. Not trying to get new fans will impude their own sucess... Lets think reslly hard on this. Hd consoles have alot of mature games. I'm The kids should also be focused on.us Why else did nintendo last so long? Yeah in my opinion Hdtv consolss are killing gaming....

Can this thread end now?

Honestly -- really, you're going to have to wait for Wii 2 for most of these issues to be addressed. 

Third parties were caught with their pants down with success of the Wii. To an extent so was Nintendo -- by jettisoning Rare, Silicon Knights, Left Field, Factor 5, and getting basically nothing from NST ... Nintendo really hasn't had the dev resources to be able to provide more core gamer content themselves even if they wanted to. 

Not to mention there is a huge hardware gap between the Wii and PS3/360 which is forcing developers to pick and choose and most of them bet on the HD horses before the race already started. 

Next time out will be different I feel, but the current Wii is more or less what it is. Massively popular with the mainstream audience, good 1st party games when Nintendo is able to get them out, and some decent filler third party content. Accept it and move on, it's way too late in the console cycle for there to be a radical change. 

I think for what its worth those Nintendo fans who prefer more core experience are going to be very happy campers starting from November onwards. NSMB Wii, Monster Hunter Tri, Red Steel 2, Tales of Graces, Metroid Other M, Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers, No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin & Punishment 2, Epic Mickey, and possibly one or both of a new Zelda and a new Retro Studios project all from Nov 09-Nov 10 ... you have to admit, that is one kick ass lineup for core players. 

The Wii moves the most third party software.

This. You buy the console based on the games you like(its features help too), if you dont like the wii, you can buy a ps3 or 360, or the other way. Any other thing is irrelevant to us.

That's what Nokia and co were thinking about Apple's knowledge of phones 5 years ago...