The philosophy of the DS and Wii was to expand gaming to different audiences. The 3DS is certainly trying to do this, whether it's successful or not is a matter of opinion, but it's certainly following the same philosophy.
Going against this philosophy would have been releasing a super-powered HD portable for 400 dollars (see NGP).
Granted I think Nintendo has a lot of misplaced confidence in 3d effects. There are large hurdles for non-gamers to jump over with the 3ds ( can my six year old use it? Will it make me sick? etc etc).
I think the emphasis is going to have to be on the software. DS and Wii would have been nothing if it wasn't for the Brain Ages, Nintendogs, Wii Fits or Wii Sports.
So far 3DS has made a good start with AR games and all, but they need a super-selling piece of software which so far they don't have yet.
