Yeah, I think that's a line Nintendo's had to tread softly on... it's possibly why GameCube first party games (mostly the "Mario" branded games) were relatively weak. I think Nintendo was afraid of choking out the few 3rd party games that they got. It's also one of the reasons I think all the "big guns" are coming out this Fall. Get the major 1st party releases out the door now so that by mid-2008 when 3rd parties start to put out AA and AAA games, they aren't out-competed by Mario, Zelda, or Smash Bros. Nintendo's 1st party software is a huge asset, a bigger asset than it is a liability by far. It just takes some careful managing to mitigate how much of a liability it needs to be, and I think Nintendo's doing that. It's definitely a point of worry, though.
