You haven't lost anything, because this isn't a contest. You already held the position that games are the point; you just momentarily thought that a focus on visuals precluded a focus on games, which has been true in the past but isn't necessarily true in the future.

Sounds like something Teddy Roosevelt would say.

I just have a lot of trouble believing that Mr. Miyamoto would lie about this sort of thing for no particular reason.

He is just trying to save face from that disaster. He is trying to keep his name as far away from it as possible. Bad enough he has to live with Wii Music failing :P

I understand that people are worried that 3D is Ninty's only gimmick going into the 3DS, but there is much more to the handheld then that. After 15 years of underperforming with 3D and all its quirks, they have gotta be onto something by risking their handheld line with 3D as the major feature.

In 20 years, Nintendo has yet to butcher their handheld business (jinx!), and they are having it released way ahead of any potential competition. I think the fact that 3rd parties are supporting Nintendo in flux so early on is the reason why we are all taken back a bit.

WOW! I think this is the best Iwata Asks I have read yet! and I've read most of them!

Not only is there so much delightful info uncovered here, but also such humanity and kinship and passion! I Sincerely love Iwata for starting this series of interviews! Just one of the many reasons why Nintendo is still the leader of this industry!

For the first time (for me, at least) Yamauchi actually comes off as a benevolent character, rather than simply a harsh business man... a benevolent dictator so to speak. I've been to Japan and never even heard of this theme-park by Yamauchi and Miyamoto. It's so awesome these guys can continue to explore creative ideas outside their direct line of work!

And even reading about the virtual boy and how internally it was thought of more as a tangent product like the ultra- machines (hand, scope, etc) grants me a new-found appreciation for Nintendo! They really are much bigger risk takers than given credit for! It's just that they've hit such a whopping home-run in the video-game business that the rest of their endeavors are automatically held to an impossibly high standard! I know I would personally LOVE to see them keep branching out and experimenting in new forms of entertainment, and I'd definitely support them as a customer. Thinking about the virtual boy in this light makes me wish I'd bought one when it launched...

I hope Nintendo always continues to carve a niche within itself for nurturing bizarre and unconventional ideas, no matter how they are received! (aka "screw you Other M haters" )

As long as they do, they should be around for at least another hundred and twenty years!!

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this fwap! really made my day!

and Thank you Nintendo for being such an amazing company built upon love, creativity and the pursuit of JOY!! (I'm not being sappy, shut up!)

You just contracticted effort of every Nintendo fanboy from past few years. They spent countless hours to preach that good game must look bad.