There's one major difference between then and now, third parties supported Nintendo back then, they don't now.  This is important, bebcause a lot of the people who switched from Nintendo to Sony were following the third parties as they migrated; a lot of the gamers were not Nintendo fans, they were Konami, or Capcom or Square fans, who bought Nintendo consoles because that's were those third parties were.

Now, third parties haven't been supporting Nintendo, so the people who are buying the Wii, are buying it for Nintendo's games; if they become dedicated gamers, they'll be dedicated Nintendo fans, and will be more likely to stick with Nintendo in the future.

As for kids growing into teenagers and wanting the T- & M-rated content on other consoles, what do you think is going to happen when those teenagers grow into adults, getting jobs and starting families of their own?  Those obligations are going to cut into game time, and some will give up on gaming altogether; and those that have kids and want to play video games with them, what console are they going to buy?  Sony may be able to capture gamers as they become teenagers, but 5-10 years later, they will lose them.

You know, with Nintnedo games being in better shape than ever, and with almost every first party game they have released are way superior to their gamecube counterparts, and how many old franchises they are bringing back (SMB, DKC)

I really don't think that people like you, who say that Nintnedo has betrayed them have ever been fans of Nintendo.

In term of raw number of games released and in money invested, third party support for Nintendo was the lowest for the N64 and improved with the Gamecube; and then improved again with the Wii. Right now the Wii has seen over 1,000 third party titles released for it and by the time the last game is released it will probably be 2,000 or 2,500 titles. Now, the quality of much of the third party support could be much better but even throughout the life of the Wii that has been improving.

Being that it is unlikely that Sony or Microsoft will release a console that costs more than $400 in the next generation, they probably won’t be willing to lose nearly as much on each console sold, and they won’t release such big energy consuming consoles because of how poorly it worked for them this generation it is unlikely that they’re going to be pushing the limits technically like they were in this generation. At the same time, because Nintendo can be less cautious about the manufacturing cost of their console, and will need to invest in licensing new technology anyways, it is plausible that (compared to their position with the Wii) their next system could be relatively more powerful. What this means is that the gap in performance between the systems in the next generation will probably be noticeably smaller than the current generation, and there will be few technical reasons why one game can’t be ported to another console.

With the approach many third party publishers have taken with their biggest budget games of releasing them across (pretty much) every console, and with the barriers to porting games to Nintendo’s console removed, it is likely that if Nintendo’s next system is as popular as the Wii you would see most of Sony’s and Microsoft’s next generation libraries available on the Wii.

Or to put it another way, from day one third party support for Nintendo's next console will be significantly better than it was for the Wii, and this will include greater support for all kinds of gamers; so if Nintendo has advantages they can capitalize on that lead to similar success (earlier release date, lower cost hardware, or an exciting new user interface) it is entirely possible that Nintendo could recapture their current market and a large portion of the HD consoles’ markets.

I've been a Nintendo fan because Nintendo has always provided me with all my gaming needs... not just because of Mario, Zelda and Metriod. I've NEVER owned a PS1 or a PS2, or even a PS3 for that matter.

For me and a lot of other ex-Nintendo fans, it was about Nintendo providing such variety that he/she didnt have to switch consoles and I was even okay wit the the Gamecube, kinda, but the Wii... that was it for me. I love Mario games and Metriod games but I can't just wait for ONLY those games all the time... it's a bore fest waiting for ONLY those games to come out... I don't believe the majority of people are ONLY fans of one gaming companies... that's unrealistic... but I do imagine there's a niche that do about it like that. My point is Nintendo was great for what it used to do for me... now for you... maybe you can be alright with ONLY Nintendo games all the time and wait months and months until the next one but me and I'm positive, like the majority of other "core" gamers that's not good enough, infact.. that's just terrible. 

About your Teen and ... adult thoeries... you know you could be right about that but I imagine only the niche gamers that just gave up on gaming would buy thier kids Nintendo because that's all they knew, where as the ones that kept playing more and discovered more games that idk didn't have Nintendo on it.... I imagine and this is just me... I mean I'm just thinking idk maybe they'd become fans of different games eventually? Huh? Maybe? Yeah definitely. So would that make em false Nintendo fans? No way... you don't HAVE to be completely dedicated to 1 gaming company like it was the last one on earth to be a fan of it... that's ridiculous.. you simple have to like thier games... heck you don't even have to buy em.

Anyways we can only speculate, who knows maybe all these kids will be completely only wanting Mario and Zelda games... but I can't but think that how so many SNES gamers turned into PS1 and PS2 gamers in the past... can't happen next gen... and the so many Wii kid gamers turn into Xbox or PS gamers. Both are definitely possible.

Anyone can be a NIntendo fan.. don't have to buy the games or only buy Nintendo games... you just have to like Nintendo games and there... you are officially a Nintendo fan.

I'm loving Nintendo's line-up... but again it's not about the first party... Nintendo has done very good with first party but what I'm talking about is the 3rd party support... I'm talking about having a Nintendo console that provides all my gaming needs. I used to have that much more with Gamecube, N64 even more so... and even a lot more with the SNES and even the NES seems better. Contra was kick ass :3

And the Wii... well that's all it has... Mario and Zelda, Metriod... SMB... and I'm suppose to be happy with ahandful of games, GREAT games but still only a handful AND on top of that I'd be missing out on some of the most EPIC games from 3rd parties that are just 1 console away.

I've been a Nintendo fan and still am one but I'm not obsessed with Nintendo so much that I push aside all the other very talented and even some think more talented gaming developers just for Nintendo. It's not hard to understand this, the difference between me and you is that I care about a lot more different kind of games it seems, your satisfied with Nintendo only and me I was satisified with a Nintendo that could do it all. Your fine with the change... I'm not.

If that were true, then drivel like Wii Wankery and unevolved trite like Mario Party wouldn't be outselling higher-quaity third party fare.  Nintendo can make crap, and fans will buy it.  And they'll buy it over higher-quality third party games each and every time--and they generally always have.  C'mon man, Wii Music sold 2.85 million copies, and Monster Hunter Tri only has 1.55 million!  Sure, 1.55 million is really good, but this perfectly illustrates my point.  Nintendo fans care more about Nintendo-produced games than they do about quality.  Usually, Nintendo actually puts out quality--but when they don't, it still sells.

Also, how am I elitist, when I see the value in a great many video games? I'd be elitist if I bought Nintendo games first and foremost while essentially forcing anything else to earn my attention.  Hell, I have 24 game systems at this point.  Two of them aren't even on this site (and #25 is on it's way).  I buy everything.  I don't limit myself to anything.  That's what an elitist would do.  An elitist dismisses third party games on Nintendo systems, owns 6 systems, and 5 or 6 of them are from one company (like Nintendo).  I'm not saying "everyone needs to own tons of system," (and I know if I don't say that, you'll assume it and call me elitist), but damn, branch out a little. 

If all you ("you" used as a general term in this paragraph) own from this generation is a Wii or DS or both, good for you, you're a Nintendo fan.  If the bulk of your collection on those two Nintendo systems is Nintendo-produced stuff, you're likely to fall into fanboy territory.  If you also own a PS3, PSP, or Xbox360 (or PC)--you've branched out enough to be a regular gamer and you're going to be able to experience a lot more of what there is to play and enjoy.

I bet the new Metroid game won't sell as much as Wii Music.  But that's for a different discussion...

As long as Sony and MS are around, a Nintendo console will NEVER recieve good third party support. This is because Nintendo's games are just too popular, and most third parties find it difficult to compete with them.

A more powerful system closer to its competitors would make less difference than most people think. The Wii being less powerful was just an excuse. Notice how DS, PSP, and even the Iphone gets better 3rd party support than the Wii. Many games should not be difficult to port. For instance, where is Street Fighter IV? Gamecube was in the ballpark of its competitors in terms of power, yet still got largely shunned by third parties.N64 third party support was miserable. Why? Because Sony was still around.

So one of two things essentially need to happen for Nintendo to get good third party support, like with the SNES; either Sony and MS have to stop making consoles and Nintendo will be the only game in town, OR Nintendo has to have a major drop in their game quality/ popularity. And I don't exactly see either of these happening any time soon. So Nintendo gamers unfortunately will be stuck with sub par third party support, but that is the trade off of having a console with quality Nintendo games.

Will the next console at least get BETTER support? Probably (that shouldn't be hard to accomplish), but it will still pale in comparison to Sony and MS.

Only browsed the first page. Surprised no one's mentioned N's royaltee fees compared to SONY and MS.

Those are never given as a reason for third parties, so that's just something people online try to excuse this with.

I remember NiS bringing it up.

And so what? Doesn't mean it isn't a factor... It's a much better reason that Wii not being able to handle a title screen.