No way in  hell. The rumor was that they cut the RAM ammount from 512 to 256. Not 1024-> 512. Even so 1024 would have been waaay to overkill vor the processor and GPU its using...

Still I find it hard to believe these rumors, but who knows? Lets be honest, power wise Nintendo went on the cheap route with the 3DS and I believe that they try to cut as many corners as they can with the WiiU. Why wouldent they?

Pretty good, reasonable post..gumby, do you read Malstrom´s blog?....I don´t agree with a lot of things he says, but the one thing I agree with is there´s something deeply wrong about Nintendo, when it deliberately keeps avoiding what the mass market wants (2D Mario, for example)...it´s what he calls a "sick, sick 3D obsession".

If I were a shareholder with access to Iwata, I´d be asking him why Nintendo seems to hate the very game that built their name (yeah I´m talking about 2D Mario)...but JGarret, hate, you say?...well, why the hell they spent almost 2 decades to bring back a proper 2D Mario to their home console is beyond me..look at the latest NPD...Super Mario Bros DS, released 5 years ago!!!....in the top 10!!....Super Mario Bros Wii made the system sell 4 million units in a single month!!...2D Mario is the father and mother of killer apps, yet Nintendo keeps trying with all their might to get people to like 3D Mario, apparently wishing their desire for 2D Mario to go away...that´s the impression I have.

Obviously they're planning on promoting Reggie to become all conquering Lord of Nintendo.

I read Malstrom on occasion, he does make good points but there is also something about his attitude that I find despicable. He should take a page or two out of Iwata's book about what it means to be a classy gentleman.

Regarding the old 2D/3D debate, there's no doubt that 2D Mario is way bigger than 3D Mario. I don't know why Nintendo keeps pushing in the opposite direction, but it is certainly not an issue with them alone. This has been an industry wide trend ever since the Playstation era. In terms of business practices it's not a desirable thing, I agree, but being someone who values creativity very highly (much higher than short-term profit TBH) I find it difficult to draw any personal criticism against Nintendo's developers in this respect. I try to put myself in their shoes sometimes, and seeing as Miyamoto and co. have created tens of successful 2D games throughout the years I find it understandable that they want to move on and explore new things.

That's why I feel that calling such behavior "sick" or "narcissistic" is at best unprofessional of Malstrom, and at worst deserving of a good smacking! Who is this guy and what makes him feel entitled to run demeaning psychological profiles on some of the best creative and business minds of our time?
The man doesn't even have the decency to put up a resume on his blog (which can only mean he doesn't have one) yet he has no problem putting himself on the same level as Iwata, Miyamoto and others, if not above them! He quotes himself and presents his point of view as fact, adding annoying little rhetorics such as "but Malstrom, you say" and then goes on to bash the people at Nintendo for having too big an ego! The words "Fuck this hypocrite!" sometimes go through my mind when reading his long-winded posts..

Talk is cheap and requires very little energy... making games is not. Being a fanboy is fine but Malstrom seems to believe he is entitled to more than that when he is unwilling to go the distance and actually do something about it! Even the best of critics does not surpass the level of a mediocre craftsman.

Looks like Nintendo is finally getting what has been coming at them in the last 30 years.  That''s what he gets for not releasing enough software throughout the year.

When your business is entertainment and your end goal is improving quality of life you don't have to be as black and white as in other fields. At the end of the day you're selling a non-essential product. Sometimes I feel the fans don't know where to draw the line between nostalgia or appreciation, and unashamed feelings of entitlement. If Nintendo decided to quit making games tomorrow we gamers would still be far more in debt to them than they are to us.

If my satisfaction in my entertainment is SO important that other, more talented and hard-working individuals (not to mention more contributing) have to sacrifice their passions and quality of life in order to fulfill my (non-essential) desire, than something is deeply, deeply wrong with society.

Nobody forces us to buy Nintendo games, and if Nintendo developers are able to continue following their own passions while still remaining highly profitable and (for the most part) without competition in their fields, then more power to them I say! It just means that they are not only clever businessmen, but clever human-beings as well. We should all be so lucky.

I’m pretty sure NSMBMii will be a launch title for the WiiU ;) maybe even a pack in game from the start! This is what I predict anyway.

Iwata is a smart man and he will break out of this bad time. He brought the company back up to number one and no one has done that before!

Nintendo will never remove 3D from 3DS but they will focus less on as a selling feature. Nintendo haters are taking whatever they can to hate even if it just is rumors they make it seem real.

Can’t wait until Nintendo sticks an apple in every buddies mouth and tells them to just Shut The F Up!!

It sure would be strange for Iwata to be fired now. 3DS may have had a bad start when compared to DS but that doesn`t mean it`s set for failure. Nintendo has a great line-up for this season and it can still present the next Mario 2D and casual titles for next year/season.
They will be put to better use next year then now.

Wonder who will replace him as the news president.

That's what he gets for calling the next generation console 'Wii U'. Seriously, it's horrible.