| Grimes said: Just think how many bazillion copies of Mario, Brain Training, Nintendogs, etc. they could release on other platforms with small porting costs. |
That is the rub. Nintendo's IP have always been so amazing because they control both the hardware and software end of the development. We wouldn't have Wii Sports if Nintendo didn't make a motion control. That game just wouldn't have been possible on Sony and Microsoft's machine (back then). Nintendogs wouldn't play the same on a PSP as it does on the DS. In fact, this is why Shigeru Miyamoto has so much invovlement with the console development for Nintendo hardware. He prefers to design hardware that will allow him to create the kinds of games he wants to create.Part of that creativity would be diminished if he were forced to work on some other company's platform.
Most hardware company's lack the vision that Nintendo has. Hate them or love them, Nintendo knows how to popularize unpopular or overlooked ideas. SEGA and Sony went with digital-pads, Nintendo went with analog sticks. Sony and Microsoft went with slow loading DVDs, Nintendo went with mini-DVDs for faster load times. Everyone went with the same controller design that has been around since PSone (effectively, some variation of the dual shock) and Nintendo went with motion controls. The innovation of Nintendo games are as reliant on the hardware they are produced for, as much as the game design itself.
With all of that said, I remember an article a few years ago where Iwata had suggested that Nintendo would transition to television and film thanks to the power of their IP. That ways, they would still be in control, but they could operate in a new environment, should gaming no longer be a prominent source of revenue.
