@Yushire: I don't think "online games" were originated from Korea, so i don't really get what you are talking about.
The videogame crash would actually serve M$ better than anything, since it would only make Windows more stronger gaming platform, that would only strengthen its position in the market. So i doubt M$ has any intentions to "save" the industry.
Why PS3 is designed as a PC, is because of the disruption Sony has been building to take over the PC market for "Playstation multimedia hub".
As for what you said about "casuals"; first, the thing as "casual" doesn't exist and second if what you said would be true, PS3 would lead the sales.
In reality, people who buy (any) product, wants the product to perform the job they bought it for. Now, Wii is performing games the best, so it sells the best and that's why it also sells games the best.
Consumers take any product they need, that perform the job they want it to perform and any extra function, if the extra functions don't raise the cost. For example, why should people buy PS3 for games, when you can get Wii or 360 cheaper and they perform in games just as good as PS3? And why should people buy PS3 for BD player, when you get standalone player cheaper and they perform playing the movies just as good as PS3?
As you can see, from the customers point of view, all the extra functions only add the cost. Wii, for example, has all the functions that you can put in it without additional cost assossiated.
Nintendo actually didn't take the different approach from its previous consoles, they are doing the same they always have (except pushing higher specs), only the competition changed too much.
Nintendo could have competed with "PC:s", but they didn't see it worthwile and they didn't want to do it, since it would have meant a whole different approach to gaming that they have had. The thing is, that Nintendo is driving a change in the industrys conventional wisdom, but Sony and M$ are driving a fundamental change in the industry.
Wii controls aren't a gimmick, despite some developers thinking so. It's a very important tool to make new kind of games and make the games more accessible for more people.
And lastly, i believe PSP shows what the difference is between what the consumers and the industry wants their gaming devices to be. The device itself sells pretty good, which is good for the hardware manufacturer and you can see that it performs the job people are buying it for, but it sell games badly, which is bad for game developers and publishers, since the job it's bought to perform, isn't what the developers would want it to be bought for.
Ei Kiinasti.
Eikä Japanisti.
Vaan pannaan jalalla koreasti.
Nintendo games sell only on Nintendo system.
