Remember that one of the main reasons Nintendo differentiates themselves from other console and handheld makers is the machine itself.
Are you saying that the DS was a mistake? That it didn't/shouldn't have strayed from conformity. This is half the reason why the Gamecube was considered less than the former consoles, it didn't innovate in terms of controller and system design enough.
I don't care that a system they make is difficult to adjust to (3rd parties eventually get used to it) because this is why theyre successful. They know this and this is why the Wii is a natural extension from the DS, N64, Snes, etc.
Other companies forget what Nintendo is doing when they redesign a controller or interaction asthetic of their machine, theyre not making it more difficult for the player but more interesting. This is why the Playstation is a failure in my eyes, 3 gens and basically no changes in terms of interaction, it gets boring.
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
