Who is more likely to give Nintendo a run;next gen?Nintendo's demise?

[ZenfoldorVGI]

@Imperial

I agree that the casual market is more fickle than the hardcore market, but brand name does exist there, it just exists in a state that is more akin to brand names in other more mainstream markets, like clothing and jewelry. It's not something that can just be left unaddressed for a new console entering that market. Backwards compatibility for Wii-Fit will be a big step if Nintendo plays that up in the marketing.

I don't agree that the PS3 is outperforming the 360 in Others based mainly on brand. I believe that is based largely on RRoD, which is much more of a bother(if you can actually believe that) to send your console in from England than America.

Unlike America, the RRoD stories are very mainstream in England and most Others countries and Micrisoft receives very negative press often from those stories. Even casuals know of the RRoD in England, for instance.

That said, don't forget that Nintendo has an equally large number of ultra-hardcore loyalists as does Microsoft and Sony. You saw the gamecube sell passibly despite being virtually invisible to the casual gamer. The vast Nintendo fanboy userbase is well documented.

Basically, each company is gonna have about 10million console sales to brand loyalists. That's a given. I don't think it's accurate to assume that more loyalists flock to the sony or ms brand, than they do to the Nintendo brand. Remember, the Wii doesn't just appeal to the casual market, it could possibly be eclipsing Sony's numbers at this point, without it, imo. The casual market is just so expansive that the sales boom for the Wii has left us all stunned.