I don't believe that people really require for innovation to be pleased. So many of the biggest games this generation are simply re-skinned and technologically improved versions of games from years ago. Be it Mario or Call of Duty, consumers are more than ecstatic to play a new installments in those series, even if they have been playing the franchise for plenty of years already. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to downplay innovation as an insignificant factor. It can be important sometimes. My point is innovation is not required, and sometimes not even requested, by consumers. The consumer loves same old experiences, oftentimes more than innovation. In fact, I'm surprised Nintendo is saying this as they have benefited from this consumer mentality for over a decade.

I do agree with him about graphics though. I do not believe we will see a huge jump in the graphical standard next generation. Of course, this is just my own prediction of the future. I think as long as graphics look clean, consumers won't be so caring about the improvements. I agree with the user above whom said we will be seeing diminished returns on graphics. I know when I see PC games with top notch graphics, I don't really care much. Yeah, it does look very realistic, but that doesn't make current generation games unbearable for me. In fact, it doesn't affect gameplay at all for me. It's because current gen games reached the point where they look clean, more than clean. And any graphical prowess higher than this point is where I believe you start seeing diminishing returns.

Also, the image in the OP really shows how ugly the Gamecube was. Every other console had one dimension that was small to make it have a rectangular surface. But not the Gamecube, that had to be shaped like a cube. What the Hell was Nintendo thinking? Nobody wants a ugly ass cube in their living room. If a company tried to released a cube-shaped console now, consumers would mock them into oblivion. You know what...I'm going to make an assessment, and you can quote me on this. The reason the Gamecube sold so little is because of its shape. If it wasn't shaped like a cube, it would have sold double, maybe triple, as many units as it actually did.

OUYA is screwed.

lol^^ they should build it like these light cubes with changing colors and the cube should change the light with the color on the screen. you know, like the philips tv with ambilight

All I know is that casuals kept Nintendo alive with the Wii.

WiiU looks like its alienating that exact crowd that brought them back from the brink. That just leaves real gamers.......people who like graphics along with great gameplay.

I dont see this going to end well.

Mock them into oblivion = Donate millions to see it happen! lol! (OUYA kickstarter)

Well Wii U is stronger than the HD twins which means it will have great graphics so I guess they'll do just fine!

Because they want to keep the price down. 

It is not only graphics but physics and animation and AI....rendering a certain numbers of NPCs on-screen.

The Wii U should be a decent bit stronger than the 360, so it should be capable of staying relevant for another 6 years like the 360, instead of maybe 3.25 years for the Wii. By January 1st, 2010, Wii was pretty much dead in terms of continued support. About 1 dozen games of good standing were released that year and that was that.

Despite all of this, I feel like in 2015, a large computational leap will have occurred, and the Wii U will be in the same situation Wii was...but it might still prove to be too expensive by then to matter. I cannot wait to see the GPad in action though this holiday and what Nintendo has to offer outside of launch.

Alive? How can you say alive when Nintendo had the best generation in financial terms by a huge mile? I'm sure that they are really glad of the development of this generation.