I actually think that's a valid notion. But I don't think it's Nintendo or the gamer's fault haha. I don't think 3rd parties are doing enough legitimately to compete. Really it is only recently with Monster Hunter 3 have we seen a 3rd party throw some legitimate competition.
Sure there have been attempts but they've either missed one of 2 things: strong quality performance or lack of faith which was shown with lack of marketing. And even worse on the multiplatform side where developers have no problem with even giving the appearance that the Wii version is weak.
The core Nintendo lineup is a difficult thing to compete with. I would almost certainly bet that some of MS and Sony's franchises couldn't compete with them and they are lucky they don't have too. But with a console that has well over a 50 million userbase, you have to compete and 3rd parties have not been doing that. They are promising stuff like that but not delivering that. And that's why the core gamers are choosing Nintendo who has proven to deliver for years over these 3rd parties who have yet to do it.
So I guess it's a double edge sword when you look at it, but this is how I view it. Nintendo games are succeeding with the core for obvious reasons and 3rd party core games aren't for the exact opposite. I'm proud though to see attempts like MH3 which have shown when you compete you get rewarded. Kudos to Capcom. 3rd parties just have to understand it isn't a given especially when you are competing with Nintendo and apathy will only get those core gamers pissed at you. They have to start trying to give the same quality Nintendo does with the same marketing and attention. Until then they can expect most of the core gamers to give them the cold shoulder and instead by the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid titles over the others.
