1. When was the last time a major console launched that was as underpowered and underfeatured as the Wii is in comparison to its competition? The N64 is really the only one I can think of, and it also faceplanted vis à vis core gamers. It's a mistake to try to shoehorn in comparisons to the last generation, or to handhelds, or to PCs (WTF?): none of them are valid. The PS2 was weaker than the Xbox, yeah, but not all that much weaker, and for the most part the two consoles provided a similar experience. PCs are different from consoles for a whole host of reasons.
2. The DS is the heir to Nintendo's legacy of complete handheld domination dating back to the beginning of handhelds. "Core" handheld gamers have been shaped by this: they don't really seem to have much in common with core console gamers.
Edited: Killed quotewall.
