Wow that's awesome news for the loyal Nintendo gamers. Who needs Starfox Wii when you're about to get hit with 30 great new party games!

He just stated the obvious. The Mayans already predicted Apocalypse in 2012.

Some of the arguments in this thread are mind-boggling. I weep for humanity

Here it would appear you are really unaware of how Nintendo operates and you want them to be like Sony.

Why create things culturally relevant when you can create culture? There is a reason to this day many refer to video games as Nintendo games their is a reason many of Nintendo's franchises sell 5+ million. You say short term which is very funny because Mario has been consistently selling 5+ million copies since the 80's. Brand image and consumer confidence, have you seen a stronger brand in video games then the word Nintendo? Have you seen more confident fans then Nintendo's loyal fanboys who support Nintendo to the bitter end, when all the fans of other companies desert them Nintendo has a loyal following.

Its funny you mention Mario is not culturally relevant, Mario was culture. Donkey Kong and Mario who were originally one and the same created gaming culture as we know it. It was a point where Nintendo created culture they influenced the whole world and changed the way games would be made for ever. Nintendo did that again with Zelda to a much smaller extent. But then Nintendo did it again with Pokemon while Sony and all the third parties were trying to create games relevant to the culture Nintendo was creating the culture. Pokemon changed the culture in the 90's in a massive way. Then with Wii and DS once again Nintendo changed culture without even using a single game to do so.

While Sony tries to make games adaptive to the culture, Nintendo tries to create the next cultural phenomena. Sony for a little while was also trying to get ahead of culture to create it. They had David Jaffe among other developers who were capable of creating culture who were capable of creating the next big thing. But guess what Sony clipped Jaffe's wings he made Twisted Metal and it was amazing something new and unique something that had potential to change gaming. But Sony budged in and tried influencing his creation, he went on to create God of War but during the second one Sony tried again to change the game to fit with current culture.Today Jaffe has stated time and time again that Sony interferes and prevents him from creating the game he wants to, the game he thinks could change culture. Each time Sony tries to make his titles culturally relevant. How is anyone at Sony supposed to create the next trend the next cultural phenomena when they are always ordered to create games that are currently relevant.

Its funny you point to Sony imposing change on Naughty Dog to change Uncharted to a modern third person shooter from a medievil title. To be hollywoodesque and adapt to current culture. But how do you know that Naughty Dog's original Uncharted couldn't have had a profound impact on culture itself? Maybe that game had more potential then Sony saw, but Sony was to obsessed with being culturally relevant to allow their developers to create a unique and brand new experience. An experience which could have altered the outcome of the console war for all we know.

Look at the titles that made Nintendo a success, were any of them made to copy another cultural phenomena? Nintendo created their own culture. Look at Halo which everyone mentions, Microsoft saw its potential but they didn't think it would be massive they thought Munch's Odessy was going to be their killer app. They thought Munch's Odessy was culturally relevant and while they saw potential in Halo they did not see it as the game changer it ended up being. But Microsoft took a gamble and that FPS shooter the one that had potential but was not seen as their big title. That title went on to shape culture.

Sony is never going to get anywhere if they don't try to shape culture rather then adapt to it. Their constant attempts to mimic their competitors or Hollywood to follow current trends, that is useless. You need to be a step ahead of culture a step ahead of trends.

Nintendo's franchises almost all impacted culture. Those franchises you say today aren't culturally relevant. Well they played a big role in creating today's culture. The titles continue to sell very well and Nintendo is just biding their time till they create the next big cultural phenomena.

Yes Nintendo may fail some times with smaller titles like Pikmin. But remember for every title that fails to change culture to innovate a create the next big thing for every Custom Robo their is an Animal Crossing.

Its funny you say demand the next big cultural phenomena the next big franchise. When I said big franchise I was talking Mario, Pokemon etc...etc... I have no doubt Nintendo will create another one but to demand they do is funny. As if me a fan can possibly demand that Nintendo change culture like it is a task just anyone can do. Sony Computer Entertainment hasn't created a single piece of software that changed culture. Not a single piece of software that rivals Mario or Pokemon, not one that today comes close even though you don't see either title as culturally relevant.

You have the gull to suggest Uncharted  "is a dearly loved franchise, maybe even more so than Mario" I'm sorry but culture and the gamers of the world say otherwise. Nintendo's methods are not out dated, they are just different. While all the other game companies and console manufacturers play by their rules Nintendo does what they want. Nintendo goes against the grain they take risks they change culture they always try to stay ahead of everyone. They don't follow and they are always trying to be creative and create new experiences.

I think 50 years from now, people will still know the name Mario. But will they still know Drake? How is that for brand recognition and consumer confidence. They say Mario is the second biggest mascot or icon in the world second only to Mickey Mouse. Do you think with Sony's current model that they could ever produce an icon a brand as strong and as well known as Mario?

Why can't Joel just copy paste the link content in the OP and put his opinion under it or in the next post?

Good, people worried for 3DS sales can put their fears to rest.

See, this is why i didn't want to name names. Arguments like this are impossible to deal with, and what bothers me is that they sound like they're stock Nintendo-hater arguments rather than Nintendo fan ones, hence my particular distress

I was feeling rather fatigued at the time, felt i had to say something but did not want to do a point-by-point refutation.

Ultimately the kind of points being made, while fallacious, cannot be argued against in the sense that you can talk the other side down.

Well Rol seems to be on the ball with his comments with Padib.

I agree the thirteen year olds would be useful. I don't think Nintendo should copy their competition to attract the thirteen year olds. I also doubt Nintendo should try to create a product following current cultural trends for 13 year olds.

Nintendo needs another Pokemon or Mario. Did you know Pokemon was actually intended for tweens to teens, children were a market but they weren't the entire target demographic. Nintendo included references to alcohol and gambling etc...etc... a combat RPG with more customization than any RPG on the market.

Pokemon was a cultural phenomena and helped solidify Nintendo.

If Nintendo does attempt to attract this thirteen year old market, they won't succeed by offering what Microsoft and Sony have. They will succeed by creating a product nobody has seen before. A product that is revolutionary a product that defines teen culture. Say Nintendo creates a first person shooter style game, they won't do so without giving it an edge it has to be unique an experiance not found on Xbox or PlayStation.

I find it funny that Padib suggests such a feat is so easily accomplished. Look Nintendo is always trying to get ahead of culture to create the next big thing not compete with the last or current. This is trial and error Nintendo is not always going to succeed they will make plenty of Custom Robo's or BattalionWars in the process but they won't fail long , within a generation they will create yet another cultural phenomena its almost guaranteed.

As for brand recognition, yah PlayStation has brand recognition. But PlayStation will never replace Nintendo as the most recognized brand in gaming. Its funny how Padib argues Sony has more brand recognition despite lack of sales but attributes Nintendo's recognition to their sales. Look even if Nintendo goes down to a 20% market share with WiiU, it will still have more brand recognition then Sony.

As Rol said Nintendo is so successful because they are Nintendo they aren't Microsoft they aren't Sony. The second Nintendo stops being Nintendo they will lose big time.

Lastly why is it I say Nintendo needs a new cultural phenomena yet support Nintendo's current actions which lack new IP. Simple as I said Steel Diver proves Nintendo was working on new IP and new ideas even if Steel Diver sorta sucked. Where are the new IP, well Nintendo expected the 3DS to sell itself they likely had 2-4 new IP in the works. But when 3DS struggled Nintendo realized they needed the big guns some of which had already been announced.

But don't worry Iwata has stated new experiances are coming, including this casual drive. Those new IP were likely delayed but they will probably come pretty soon. Nintendo will attempt again to create a new cultural phenomena. They won't always succeed but they will create one. While Sony creates 3+ million selling titles following current culture, Nintendo will bring another 10+ million selling IP that will define culture and likely continue selling 10+ mill or around that in future generations.

Thanks Padib with all the critisicm I've been getting lately on my recent threads and even debating with you and other users it is good to know that users are still enjoying them. I don't think anyone will ever 100% agree with my posts and I hope nobody ever does, I like being unique and while sometimes people will be upset or dislike my posts. Their will always be users who find them insightful.

Anyways yah I caught your thread before I made this comment. Already contributed and I kept my post short as possible like this one. I'm not sure I agree Nintendo was working on a weakness at all, Miyamoto and Aonuma just set out to create a unique new Zelda experiance. They produced this Zelda title the same way they produce all there titles by creating a high end new experiance that only Nintendo could provide. It might relieve you to see a master piece you enjoy and see as fixing a problem, but I highly doubt that Nintendo was trying to fix a problem.

For Nintendo to fix a problem their would first have to be a problem. I don't think I see much of one and doubt Nintendo sees one either. By that I am not saying their is no problems at Nintendo, rather I fail to see a problem that Nintendo has addressed with SS. But either way it is amazing to see that problem being fixed I would suspect you will be pretty happy in the next few years. I bet Nintendo has a lot in store.