Nintendo console decline vs Nintendo handheld incline

[zorg1000]

DélioPT said:
It's true that the handhelds have always had lesser buttons, but even handheld games, like Pokémon, are complex. More complex than a SMB 1 game, for example.

I'm not really sure that the decline of Nintendo's home consoles can be explained just by referring to complexity in terms of button layout or in game complexity.
Otherwise, how can you explain the success Sony has been having with PS? Both it's controllers and games have always been complex.

The best way to understand the decline and success of home consoles and handhelds, respectively, is to look at each other separately.

Handhelds were always the cheaper alternative for a lot of parents. Not to mention that they were portable.
Home consoles by Nintendo started suffering because of competition. And we are not talking about competition in the same market...
Since SEGA, the gaming market has shifted away from Nintendo's type of games to, let's say, Sony type of games.
The difference between Nintendo and Sony's focus (meaning, the type of gamer) - and strategy- had enormous impact on how the market would (re)act.

Sony's approach to the market, won them the market pretty much since the beggining.
By focusing on the teen, late teen, young adult segment, they managed to succeed the same way Nintendo succeeded when entering the market: they offered something that the market wanted but didn't have.
Problem was that Nintendo didn't evolve with the market and got left behind.

You could almost say that Sony ripped what Nintendo saw (spelling?).

Wii and DS were major hits because it introduced not just HW innovations unlike anything seen before, but because they also went after a market.... no, they created a market, by offering an accessible and inviting HW (Wii remote and touch screen) and games that complemented that same HW.
In this case, simplicity was key!

Pokémon is not complex, it uses the D-pad and the A button. U can pick up that game and play it for 2 minutes and understand it.

The success of Playstation can be explained by it catering to a different type of gamer. People want simple, fun, casual experiences on Nintendo hardware. People want complex, violent games on Playstation/Xbox.