But could we really see what the DS became early on either? The same potential problems were there, a gimmick which was being ill-used and the device as a whole which merely seemed like a portal to pump out console-ish 3D games, and the signs of what the console would become had not yet emerged

I'm sorry if i seemed accusatory, i've just been more readily opposed to the more incorrigable Malstromites around here of late, who for about a week or so there completely twisted discourse around into something utterly toxic.

But i should really be writing my paper for International Trade right now...

For your first paragraph, we actually could, or at least I did. When I first heard the details of the system, it was pretty easy for me to see what they were thinking and where the system's potential lay. It never seemed like a gimmick to me, although the initial game lineup was certainly disappointing, and I didn't buy one until late 2005, when games that delivered on that promise finally seemed imminent.

By contrast, I didn't "get," nor do I still "get" the 3DS. Having seen multiple 3D movies by then, including the one "made for" it, the entire thing really does still seem like a gimmick. I personally don't mind the slide pad itself, but it makes creating console-ish games much more plausible than it was on the DS. Anyone who's played Mario 64 DS could tell you that those games would vanish from the system soon, or the system would die; on the 3DS, those games are technically feasible, and right now it looks like they're going to be the crown jewel. Spotpass is a neat idea, but it's not very practical in the US, and it doesn't seem to actually add anything to the experience.

I take your point that the future may be different: I keep adding the "if things continue like this" qualifier for just that reason. I'm hoping that they do change, and if they do things should improve. This is the big reason I'm going to log in next week to see what goes on. But I admit that I'm not feeling confident right now.

And you still have papers to write? It's JUNE!!!

Summer school :/. In a world where the universe wasn't determined to take things i like away from me, i'd be in Japan right now, since that fell through, it's summer school for me.

EDIT: also you have to take into account that they're trying to cut the legs out from under Sony and the PSP, which did considerable damage to DS and Wii in Japan. It's a competitive reason for them putting focus into this, and all that's missing is the appearance of games or applications that more aggressively use the console's social functions. the Pokedex is a start, and if we see more, we could see Nintendo continue to push into the market that made the DS great, and hopefully fend off the NGP pre-emptively

The question is if those Brain-Age style games appear, and that's what we'll have to watch for.

oh SeanMalstrom, PSP was a failure??? it thats the case what does that make NES??? cause it sold less and it had no competition.
On topic i dont think Ninty will straight out abandon motion control but i think it will be lessened. Some might say that they have been pushing it, but thats crap. Sure there are bundles, but where are the games??? Ninty has made how much games for the motion plus??? and 3rd parties forget it, but on another hand they could be readying us for the move to Cafe where it will be all motion+ (i hope so) which would be great cause they havent done crap with it. But on yet another hand how will they get people to buy there tablet controllers??? 6 inch touch screen and some people thing it will have motion?? That sounds expensive as hell, either way i cant wait, i havent been this excited for a Ninty E3 since...I've never been this excited for a Ninty E3

Metroid prime 3 used motion controls very lightly, and for things which could have been easily replaced with buttons, not that it wasn't enjoyable. As for zelda, they only decided to use WM+ after people screamed in their ears that it would be a good idea. And besides, you don't really need motion for what it's worth in Skyward sword, since looking at the GDC trailer, it's mostly used for puzzles and incredibly rudimentary combat.

And unfortunately, even with 3rd parties, good motion games are few and far between.

Which just shows that for 3rd parties and Nintendo, completely ditching good motion controls doesn't seem to be a big deal at all, since it only represented a very small portion of their portfollio of games.

I don't quite think the PSP was a failure (i'm not certain it was a success either, because my guess is that Sony was betting on the PSP to be the PS2 of the handheld market), but its not fair to compare straight against the NES. The NES was available in fewer markets, the markets it was in were smaller off the top (merely because of population growth from the late 80s to the late 00s), and the gaming market in general was less mature by far.

The NES had a very high household penetration rate (it was in more households as a proportion of households), and probably vastly higher than the PSP's, despite the fact that the PSP pulled better sales overall

Actually it'd mean the NGP is dead within the year and thats something that Nintendo would plan for. The NGP is a stay at home home handheld pretty much and project cafe is a better stay at home handheld most likely.

http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos/thumb_872_1.jpg

Waaay too big!
I honestly think it`s going to look like that but all the buttons and joystick will on both sides, not below. If it was that way, you couldn´t even play right, let alone press the usual L and R buttons easily.

About what Malstrom said, i think he`s jumping to the conclusion that Cafe will be more portable and less a home console when it might - and probably will - be the opposite.
Having the ability to stream, if it does happen, will be a great way to avoid not being able to play because the one TV that has the console connected is occupied or you just want to play somewhere else for a change.