Three points.

Slide 39 appears to be NA+Others -- not including Japan (see Slide 38).

The numbers are pre-2009 Holiday which saw a big Wii push.

From this, it appears he is proposing selling PC software directly as the best way to reach the most people.

Mike from Morgantown

I liked the explanation, I am not sure I liked the conclusion.

I would like to hear this guy talking ...

Why the next system? If they can't get the system now, the next system won't magically start working for them unless they try to understand the system values ASAP, which would also be at a lower development cost.

I don't think that's what they're trying to do: they hit the system as hard as they can and try to draw as much of their own userbase there as possible, while simultaneously trying to tap into new markets.

Next gen I think certain third parties may help Nintendo move upstream.

That would be the whole point in waiting till the next system. Get in the correct mindset and be ready from the start. Ya know, take some time away and step back and plug back in with better results.

You can't get in the correct mindset just by standing around. You have to do things as well that show you why the old mindset was wrong. I speaka of this from personal experience. Holding out is just a coward's way of trying to avoid admitting you screwed up, while only just saying you need to change without actually changing.

Again, this is from personal experience, and these people should get their asses in gear and start practicing their new games on the Wii, because the Wii is where they had their big problems. They can't break through the next system when it will likely offer them some of the crutches they relied on with the HD systems (throwing loads of graphics and detail around instead of good design).

They've wasted too much time, and too much money. They've fucked up their reputation with consumers on the Wii platform.

But it is not too late. NES had similar issues, that is why many of the games NES is remembered for (third party) came during the latter end of its life.

First they have to get off this whole "casual gamer" fallacy and make games with values that have more to do with actual content and less with prodcution. 70m in less than 4 years is insane. First party software makers job is to create killer apps that move hardware. Nintendo's done this. Thirds are to blame for their own problems. I really don't understand the thinking that Nintendo has to do more than they've already been doing, for them.

But hey, at this point it doesn't matter. Investors can listen to viral marketers on the web and continue to lose money or listen to the consumer and begin making it.

"I really don't understand the thinking that Nintendo has to do more than they've already been doing, for them. "

It's just another excuse to neglect the system, since they are willing to spend loads of money to market their own games on the HD systems.

"But it is not too late. NES had similar issues, that is why many of the games NES is remembered for (third party) came during the latter end of its life. "

And I don't think Nintendo is rushing out the next system just to please third parties.

Great content, but i'm not sure i agree with his conclusions. is he proposing browser-based gaming, or something like it?

And yeah, there is a problem with them preparing for Wii 2, and not really doing anything now, as they'll just be in the same boat with Wii 2 that they are now: they don't know what they should be doing and they won't have time to figure it out while Nntendo takes all the marbles, again...

That's just the thing, isn't it? Nintendo doesn't take all the marbles. They can't. EA's first priority here, in order to create a safety buffer, will probably be to bring their current audience over to the Wii's successor.