The only reason this was in Nintendo's best interest is because they figured third parties wouldn't support them anyway, so they may as well cash in on the cheap hardware and first party software benefits of dumbing down the system. Whether it is actually the right move now is debateable.
I agree 360 won't be able to support third parties alone. There's also PS3.
Nintendo has a history of forcing third parties to conform to its will dating back to the NES, often harming them in the process.
Despite Nintendo's more than 2:1 lead, third party games still sell better on PS3. Wii does currently have more games due to continued focus on PS2, but they're games that will sell worse, something the publishers are expecting.
I keep repeating myself because it's true, but people can't get it through their heads because they actually believe a) third party games will sell on Wii and b) Wii will miraculously receive the next Final Fantasy exclusively. In Japan, 82.5% of all Wii games sold since the system launched have been published by Nintendo, and as I posted in another thread, the average third party Wii sales are 35% lower than the average third party PS3 sales, despite the race currently being a blowout in Wii's favor. The US isn't quite that bad, but as the article we're discussing right now shows, it's still heavily dominated by Nintendo. Furthermore, while Microsoft and Sony retain major titles (both exclusive and non-exclusive) like FF, MGS, GTA, and Gears of War, in addition to expanding their first and second party efforts (largely at Nintendo's expense), there has not been a single announcement for Wii that's really worth talking about unless it's been made from Nintendo. Playground? Rygar? Cooking Mama? Spinoff du jour (because the original isn't technologically possible)? Wake me when it's over. Nintendo will continue to create top quality software internally, but anyone expecting third parties to make a concentrated effort on anything but milking Wii while they can and to the extent that they can is going to end up disappointed.
Want to show me how I'm supposedly wrong? I'd be real interested in something indicating it. Aside from a couple decent sellers, there's been little indication that third party games will sell on Wii at any point, even if it were to retain its current lead over the PS3.
