I agree Nintendo could test the waters by making their virtual console multiplatform -- at least for NES games. It's not like that's much of a system seller. I'm just really wary of mobile gaming as a whole, especially F2P. I've been burned way too many times by that. I'll have to check out pocketgamer. Maybe that'll  give me some hope for the future of handheld gaming. *crossing my fingers*

The 1 thing that's holding Nintendo back is their inferior hardware specs (and maybe their naming...)

Fun fact: For the past 3 (wii, GC, n64) generations the most powerful hardware didn't come out on top. Hardware specs has nothing to do with it.

Those controllers are considered standard now in retrospect but at the time most of them werent.

NES-when it came out a standard controller was either an Atari style joystick or a Coleco/Intellivision style......phone looking thing. It introduced the now standard d-pad and A/B buttons.

SNES-first console to have the now standard diamond pattern face buttons and introduced shoulder buttons.

N64-introduced the now standard thumbstick, trigger button and rumble feature

GC-pretty standard design, featured the first functional and somewhat successful wireless controller

All of these things are now considered standard but they werent at the time of these consoles release, so no Wii & Wii U didn't change things, Nintendo has been adding new features to their controllers ever since they entered the console business.

I find it weird how so many people think companies/devices have to compete, of course they all do to an extent but that doesn't mean they need to try to beat the competition, Nintendo just needs to find a way to co-exist with them. Take Amiibo for example, many people feel that Nintendo is trying to compete with and beat things like Skylanders/Disney Infinity when in fact Nintendo likely doesn't care if Amiibo sells more than these products, they just want them to sell enough so that they bring in strong profits.

So no, Nintendo shouldn't release a tablet with the intent to defeat the iPad, if they were to release one the goal would likely be to sell enough to bring in strong profits. I'll go over a few things I think Nintendo should do in order to remain relevant as a hardware maker.

1. Unify the handheld & console divisions. Release two separate devices that share the same architecture/operating system/online infrastructure with very similar specs, that way all games will be playable on either device. Nintendo has a hard time supporting 2 separate platforms at one time, especially now that dev time/costs are significantly higher than previous Nintendo devices. iOS/Android has taken away alot of the audience Nintendo had last gen and Wii U is priced too high for a device without strong 3rd party support and lesser specs/features than PS/XB. By combining both sides Nintendo can give much better software support, along with all the Japanese hardcore/western child friendly software that their handhelds are known for. Price each of these devices, let's call them Nintendo Fusion Portable & Nintendo Fusion Home, at $199.99. The handheld variant will be somewhere right between Vita & Wii U in terms of power and will display games at 720p/30fps while the console variant will be slightly more powerful than Wii U and will display games at 1080p/60fps. Since these devices are essentially Nintendo's next handheld plus a home version of it, Nintendo should keep the $29.99-$39.99 price on software and completely do away with $50-60 pricing.

2. Continue to build relations with indies and try growing the eShop into an App Store/Google Play style marketplace.

3. Try building the Virtual Console into a big deal again by releasing an optional subscription service. Something like $50/year gets u unlimited access to the VC. This is great for consumers because it offers 100's of games at a low yearly fee, it's also a great opportunity for Nintendo since the majority of 3DS/Wii U owners likely don't spend $50/year on virtual console titles.

2/3. Release a $99.99 Nintablet that is eShop/Virtual Console exclusive.

4. Release an educational children's tablet along the lines of what LeapPad/Vtech have. Go to any major retailer like Walmart/Target/Toys R Us and u will see a couple isles dedicated to these devices. Nintendo should release one with educational software based around Nintendo ip for the 3-7 year old demographic, in theory if this device is popular then these children may move on to Nintendo Fusion or Nintablet later down the road.

5. Continue to build up Amiibo and have it compatible with all the previously mentioned Nintendo devices.

6. Here's an idea for Quality of Life. Release a rebranded, more advanced standalone version of Wii Fit. Many people would say that Wii Fit is dead and sales of Wii Fit U would be proof of this, but I think this type of device could still be successful as long as it doesn't require a $300 game console. A standalone $99 Nintendo Fit device that offers fun ways of working out and diet tips could be successful.

"Have you seen my sig? I obviously know Nintendo have made plenty of other consoles and guess what? Most of them used plain-jane consoles and a standard controller, just like Smash Bros WiiU will. NES? Regular controller. SNES? Guess what?! Standard controller. N64? Must be different right? Nope, pretty standard there. Gamecube? Now things change! Oh what's that? Standard controller? So I guess Wii changed things and they tried to replicate it with the WiiU. From my vantage point it seems Nintendo have made plenty of games that were possible elsewhere since they used standard controllers. *Standard as in what we see today, being d-pad, 4 face buttons, shoulder buttons, analog sticks."

NES = Before it, controller designs were all over the place and most of them weren't optimized for any actual games. NES standardized the D-pad on the left and action buttons on the right layout. Made for Super Mario Bros.

SNES = Introduced the four-button face layout and nonintrusive shoulder buttons and became the template of every single standard controller since, with the exception of Nintendo, ironically. Before it, all buttons were right on the face.

N64 = Brought analog sticks into the mainstream (wasn't first though) along with a back trigger. Before it, D-pads were the norm. Every controller since has adopted an analog stick. The controller was made specifically for one game, Super Mario 64.

GC = Analog triggers? Super Mario Sunshine and racing games use them. I sure with the Gamepad had them.

Wii = Motion controls. Not even going to waste time explaining, outside of two words: Wii Sports.

Wii U - Gamepad screen.

I never said every single Nintendo game uses the controller it appears on in unique and intriguing ways. All I said was that that Nintendo makes it consoles for its developers first, and it has always been that way, and as a longtime Nintendo gamer, you should know that. I saw your sig just fine. This is why I can't understand why you expect Nintendo to ever make the same controller twice.

"Big whoop. ZombieU made decent use, but it wasn't even a Nintendo developed title. Also forget about just Pikmin 3 not making any real justifiable use of the Gamepad. How about MK8? Smash? Donkey Kong? Maybe SM3DL? These are games made by Nintendo and they can't even find any real justifiable use for their own "special" gamepad. They could all play perfectly fine with a plain-jane standard controller."

Like I said, you asked what games are on the Wii U that wouldn't be possible elsewhere, and I answered. And you conveniently ignored Nintendo Land. I forgot to mention Miyamoto's upcoming projects as well.

"Yes, it is made for them, but ONLY them, which is why they can't really get 3rd party devs on board since they don't want to have to invest time and money into finding use for the gamepad, especially when Nintendo themselves cant even do that and when 2/3rds of the consoles don't even use things like the Gamepad and/or Wiimote. More power, proper online infrastructure and Pro controller bundled from the start and more willingness to actually work with and respect the 3rd party portion of the industry and you probably would have seen many of these 3rd party titles on the WiiU."

When Nintendo made a console with power on par with its contemporaries and was a snap to develop for (GameCube), how did that work out? I'm not even disagreeing with you on this one; I'm just saying why I think Nintendo said "Screw it" when it came to the technological arms race and decided to do its own things. Does that mean it should stop making consoles altogether? No, it shouldn't. Sometimes doing its own thing works, sometimes it doesn't.

"Nintendo consoles don't sell because of a special looking controller or Nintendo innovating in terms of how to play."

"People bought Nintendo consoles for their games. So making a console like the others wouldn't hurt since they will always have the strength of their own IPs to go along with all those 3rd party titles."

True, people buy Nintendo consoles for their games. The graphic above actually reinforces your point as well. But again, no one bought the GameCube when it was just like the others. It had representation from every first party IP that mattered: Mario, three Zeldas, two Metroids, F-Zero, Smash, Star Fox, Kobe Bryant, Mario Kart, Mario Strikers, a Mario RPG, Donkey Kong (but not platformer DKC) Fire Emblem and was the debut of Animal Crossing and Pikmin, along with a few other original IPs.

Do you mean exactly like the others? Like, make a $400-500 box w/o backwards compatibility and charge $50 a year for Internet services and have the only thing that makes it stand out is the first party games? I think that's the topic of another discussion, but I'm not convinced that would work either.

"Seriously? How the heck did you undertand it in such a twisted manner? I wasn't comparing a handheld to a console. I was obviously comparing the idea of off-TV play, and yes, Sony should drop out of the handheld market. "

Dude, you compared Vita's off-TV play to Wii U's off-TV play, a handheld to a console. One costs $400+$200, the other costs $300. And 1/3rd of that $600 is practically dead in English-speaking countries.

I would love for them to go third party just so I don't have to buy three consoles just to play all the exclusives. Sadly, that would never happened though.

That actually should also mean you would love to see MS or Sony going 3rd Party as then you have to buy one console less, right?

My problem with Nintendo is that their games do not drop in price.

I think Apple needs to die first. I think the rich casual sheep will always go buy the next over-priced IPhone even if the Nintenphone is 69x cheaper and has better games. Plus they have their own Mario games (crappy knock-offs like "French's world"). The poor-er casuals might instantly migrate to the Nintenphone if it has all the things you said. So i think Ninty should go that way.

About the NintenTV: It should come bundled with their next console if it's going to exist, i guaranty 100 million+ sales :P