Everyone likes to forget that Nintendo had the GB and GBA. Both of which were cash cows. Not only that, but NIntendo isn't just about making profit. They are about making a lot of profit for their shareholders. Why should they be happy with $900m/year in profit (GC years) when they can make $5b (or even more) with proper 3rd party support?

Also, 200m is a little unrealistic for guarenteed minimum, especially if there were no good 3rd party games. The DS has had some great 3rd party support and hasn't even broken 150m yet.

That and they don't have that much capital, especially with the economy right now.

I checked their annual report (ending Mar 31 2010) and it says they had over $10b in cash reserves (not counting short or long term investments, accounts payable or other quick ways to gain cash). They had about $5b in total liabilities, most of which is accounts payable and income tax.

Now, while they didn't have that kind of money back in 08, I have a feeling that dropping 50m for GTA IV (like Microsoft did) would have been chump change to them.

Third Parties have no excuses. If you make games with mass appeal to westerners, they will sell in the west. Games like Okami (artsy niche game), Zack & Wiki (these type of adventure games aren`t popular anymore), Little King's Story (nerdy Japanese game), Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (typical western gamer: "wtf is a Tatsunoko? I want Marvel vs. Capcom"), Monster Hunter (nerdy japanese action rpg), No More Heroes (old-school game design, low-budget production, you play as an otaku instead of some jacked Greek dude named Kratos), Trauma Team (nerdy j-drama game), Dead Space Extraction (rail shooter), Madworld (early 90s Sega Genesis beat-em-up with motion controls and blood) and Muramasa (nerdy 2D animu hack n slash game) didn't sell shit in the west because they appeal only to geeks like us. Not the mainstream. These kind of games manage to be cult hits at best (ie. NMH doing over 400k in NA and PAL combined).

The kicker is a lot of those games still sold better than some comparable games.

Monster Hunter Tri is the only MH game to break a million on a home console. Not to mention only two MH games outsell it on the PSP.

Madworld outsold God Hand by a wide margin, and not only are they the same genre, but by the same director.

Tatsunoko in the first week in the US sold nearly as much as the entire Japan sales of the first run of the game (the second run was the updated version for the west).

Not mentioned, but Muramasa and Odin Sphere have comparable sales.

Basically,  this boils down to this ridiculous notion of not seeing niche games as niche just because they are on the Wii or DS.

The reason they make U$5Billion or more has nothing to do with 3rd party support, but it has to do with the awesome sales of Wii and DS. Royalty fees alone won't make the company's profit jump up that high lol, otherwise MS would never have a red year with the 360.

200 million is the bare minimum. IMO the DS was crap, again this is my opinion and I'm entitled to it. The 3DS, on the other hand, is taking gaming to a whole new level, never before seen, with graphics that challenge the OG Xbox! If this doesn't sell 200 million, gaming as whole is doomed.

People bringing up MH Tri sales forget that MH only skyrocketed in popularity AFTER all the PS2 games were out. IMO, MH Tri sales are disappointing.

Well lack of local multiplayer (PSP games used as hoc as the closest the system could get) and subscription fees did cut into the sales.

Plus it's still the third best selling of the series.

I ask you....what is the best selling exclusive home console title from Capcom this generation?

What kind of question is that? What is the best handheld title from Gust? Who gives a fuck? MH Tri disappointed IMO. IMO. IMMO (In My Motherfucking Opinion)