Why can't 3rd parties compete against Nintendo?

[richardhutnik]

I believe this question has to do with sales, and why does the Wii end up having so many more game sales of games by Nintendo, as opposed to other companies. On this, I think one needs to look at who Nintendo is, and their strengths. To this end, we are looking at these facts which may explain things:
1. Nintendo is the oldest console maker out there, and has years of experience doing this. They have been around awhile and have a good pulse on the industry as a whole. They sense trends better than both Sony and Microsoft, in this niche, and have things set up that they are now first. The fact that the portable market is theirs also, allows them to be a leader, do an evolution in this niche to test trends also. This being around longer has also forced Sony and Microsoft to cater to third-party game makers more, who have been in the business longer, and help promote their products. Nintendo doesn't need to do this.
2. Because Nintendo has been around awhile, going all the way back to the 8-bit days and arcades even, they have the the most popular mascot out there, Mario. Mario dates back to the original Donkey Kong game. Nintendo has leveraged Mario to launch new game types on their systems and establish them as franchises. Because of Mario, they are able to get a Go Kart racing game established. They also come up with a casual friendly fighting game. They also use Mario to introduce new characters and make them iconic. And then spin them off. This gives them an advantage over just about anyone else. Because they have their own system, they are able to do what Namco wasn't with Pac-Man, that being to entrench Mario everywhere. In this regards, Nintendo is the Disney of videogames, with an unfair advantage in the recognized character front.
3. Nintendo keeps rolling out new controllers and devices and has jumped on the casual game market in a big way. People look to them to see what would be new. And they bundle games with these new controllers, resulting in every system sold coming with Wii Sports, or done like Wii Fit. This drives up sales of their games, and puts them on top. They also likely have a better grasp on how to use their controllers, resulting in games that fit better and are more appealing. Throw in also unique games into the mix they launch and beat everyone to for the most part. Third party doesn't know what to make of what Nintendo has done. I believe they interpreted it all as customers supposedly wanting mini-games.
4. Being a console maker gives Nintendo extra media coverage, and causes people to look to them first.

I may of missed a few things. But a mixture of all of the above, and possibly some other things I have missed, are why Nintendo first part leads in sales. The fact that Wii Sports is bundled makes for no company able to beat them, as every Wii that is new comes with the game.