Oh hey it's Gaf

Actually, core gamers didn't like the Gamecube either. You have to understand that back then, "casual" didn't really exist. That's why, if you look at the biggest games that generation, you see GTA at the top.

Gamecube's problem was due to the fact that Nintendo's games were seen as family friendly, colorful and non violent or mature. You couldn't go into a forum outside of Nintendo fan sites, say the words Wind Waker or Mario Sunshine without someone instantly saying "kiddy". Back then, anything other than "mature" games were considered uncool and thus, not worth playing.

I don't think it's unfair to include BC games in the library. You can discount those games because they're old and because they can be played on other hardware, but they still count. DSL > DSi.

Yeah, I was one of those that thought the DS was a dumb idea and dumb name back in the day.

I just kept looking at how slick they transitioned the GBA SP onto the market and wonder why this monstrous half baked thing, especially after seeing the PSP.

Once the games started flowing I shut up a bit but was secretly hoping for a GB successor. One Professor Layton, Brain Training and Nintendogs blew the doors off the system, I knew the Game Boy line (at least for the moment) was over and the reign of the DS had begun.

Never wound up getting one myself, at the time I was ready to buy a DS, I heard about the DSi. Around the time I was going to buy that I heard of the DSi XL and well, eventually I got tired of waiting and wound up preordering a 3DS while having multiple DS games waiting to be played. I'm glad I waited, I wound up hating the DSi's internet features but I'm ok with those on the 3DS.

Once I saw Nintendogs at the E3 before the DS launch (2004) and Brain Training (which no one was talking about before launch) I knew exactly what Nintendo was going for and thought they could have some success.

Unfortunately for Nintendo that audience got sucked up by smartphones.

I think the DS appealed to both audiences and that's why it sold over 150m.  The casual audience by itself did not make up the entire thing.  Even without the casuals, the DS would have been a success.  Look at the game library and you'll see that.

Are you going to laugh because they were completely wrong or right?

That's the question of the moment.

"No, the Virtual Boy had a lot more potential than this.

This... this... agh, I'm speechless.

-1000 Nintendo >_

It appealled to both, but they had the rock solid Game Boy audience too, the GBA was well on its way to selling 120+ million.

I think Sony simply failed to make the PSP a long term device for older players that they were going for. Older adults/teens simply don't like carrying around a game handheld and once the 360/PS3 came out, the PSP lost all the attention it was getting.

Handheld market just skews more naturally towards Nintendo's strengths -- kid-friendly brands, no need for super high end graphics, and in general people tend not to want to play violent games on the go for whatever reason. Even adults with their smartphones tend to gravitate towards games like Angry Birds.

I guess when you are on the go and only have 10 minutes to play you want something clear and clean, and darker/violent games tend to have a lot of "cutscene/story" filler that gets in the way.

You see, being negative is a good thing.