U honestly don't believe that 3DS/Wii U could have sold modestly better in the same time frame if they launched at $100 cheaper each and had more/better advertising?

By the end of this fiscal year, 3DS will be at roughly 52 million shipped with Wii U roughly around 10 million. In the same time frame, GBA was around 65 million and GC around 15 million. So it's 62 million vs 80 million, maybe they wouldn't have matched GBA/GC but if 3DS/Wii U launched at lower price points with increased advertising efforts than it may be more like 70 million at this point.

1. Don't you realize that the vast majority of Nintendo's losses this generation came from not doing that? Neither the 3DS or Wii U were designed with that mindset, hence why both have excessively expensive components that have significantly impacted Nintendo's bottom line.

2. Yes, it looks like they won't go third party.

3. This would only be a negative thing if they tried to do it again, because trying it would negatively impact their systems' designs and therefore drastically lower their sales potential.

What we already know that Nintendo has learned is that they can't trust third parties, hence why they are going to prioritize an increase in output of first party software. When third parties complained that Nintendo software is too dominant, Nintendo tried to give more focus to third party software. The result was that their hardware didn't sell and subsequently third party software didn't sell, making the situation worse than it ever was before. Nintendo was left with struggling systems while third parties simply abandoned the ship and didn't look back. The nutcase approach to solve Nintendo's problems would be to reach out to third parties and listen to their demands, but thankfully it doesn't look like Nintendo is going to do that. Instead they are going to put things in place to grow their installed base as quickly and consistently as possible which subsequently will attract third parties because sales are really the only language that's going to matter. You don't get anywhere by appealing to goodwill, and paying off third parties is not a healthy and sustainable approach in the long term.

1. And yet Sony was able to make PS4 relatively up-to-date power wise without breaking the bank. Heck, even Nintendo has done so in the past with SNES, N64, GCN.

2. They might be left with no choice eventually, if they keep letting their userbase decline.

3. The dudebro demographic are the lifeblood of today's console market, as seen in PS4's explosive sales. If you don't sell to them, your sales will be limited.

1. Doesn't change that you've been wrong on that point. Someone can't still do something if they stopped doing said something.

2. How's that even an answer? Have you forgotten what your initial point was?

3. And if you do try to sell to them, there is not necessarily success, as seen in the Xbox One's continued struggles. Now factor in that Nintendo wouldn't just be going up against PlayStation, but also Xbox. Nevermind that the suggestion that dudebros would consider a Nintendo console as a possible option is simply laughable. But leaving that bias against Nintendo aside, people don't switch brands if they are satisfied. Therefore successfully catering to dudebros would require that both Sony and Microsoft mess up really badly. Any strategy that relies on someone else's failures to work is like playing the lottery because absolutely everything has to go your way.

1. Doesn't change that you've been wrong on that point. Someone can't still do something if they stopped doing said something.

2. How's that even an answer? Have you forgotten what your initial point was?

3. And if you do try to sell to them, there is not necessarily success, as seen in the Xbox One's continued struggles. Now factor in that Nintendo wouldn't just be going up against PlayStation, but also Xbox. Nevermind that the suggestion that dudebros would consider a Nintendo console as a possible option is simply laughable. But leaving that bias against Nintendo aside, people don't switch brands if they are satisfied. Therefore successfully catering to dudebros would require that both Sony and Microsoft mess up really badly. Any strategy that relies on someone else's failures to work is like playing the lottery because absolutely everything has to go your way.

pretty much. ms was smart enough to sell kinect seperately, but ninty's not smart enough to sell the tablet seperately. if not for the giant tablet controller, the thing would be $250 or less and flying off shelves.