I haven't read the entire thread (hey, at least I'm admitting it) but don't fall into the trap that F2P is the future all games will or should take. Just want to throw that out there. Comparing the content vs value for F2P and premium games can't be done so straight forward due to the different nature of monetization. There are people who have spent thousands of dollars on League of Legends - did they receive as much enjoyment for their money as someone who spent $50 on Super Smash Bros. Brawl?
Now, it costs Nintendo and other large companies a lot of money to fund their titles, so they can't go selling them at ridiculously low prices. The market has shown that it is willing to pay the price these companies have set. Nintendo, of all premium companies, has shown that consumers agree there is value in the price they are paying. Nintendo's software sales the last few years has been fantastic.
