The hardcore abandoned Nintendo; Nintendo didn't abandon the hardcore

[S.T.A.G.E.]

Soundwave said:

I don't think it was so much that Nintendo was "abandoned", Nintendo just kinda got beat fair and square by two "cooler" brands in Playstation and XBox that market almost 100% to said "hardcore" male gamer aged 14-35.

Losing all their third party backing because of cartridges on the N64, losing the FPS shooter audience to MS with Halo, toon shading Zelda, and making the GameCube look like a Fisher Price toy with no DVD playback ... they honestly were never going to win by shooting themselves in the foot several times like that. 

You would be surprised by the size of the share of the market Nintendo would have if they had at least a half decent relationship with third parties.