Sega itself, I don't think ever had the software power like Nintendo does. I think only one other company has the software power like Nintendo does, but they don't use it at all. This would be Valve. 

The difference between Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft has always been Nintendo ability in software, not really power. Sony while great at software for the big screen, is very vulnerable and relies a lot on third party overall, namely when it comes to mobile effort. PSP wasn't that greatly supported by Sony, it was really third parties that shined and same with PS Vita. Remember what I meant by software is both Quality and Quantity. 

Microsoft is unique beast, they have the ability to be a software giant gaming wise (Activision level), but they sort of choose not too as well. 

One should never be certain about smartphone gaming. We all know how fickle the smartphone casual gamers are. They may think Nintendo is still too childish and expensive when they can just play candy crush and others for free. And the people who may be interested in paying for a premium Nintendo experience could always think about buying a Nintendo Handheld instead for better quality games.

Smart phone games are a fad, they rise in popularity and die within a year... I'm not sure if Nintendo can keep up with the fast pacing mobile market

It can happen, but it all depends on how Ninty handles thing like I said before!

I find rather interesting that some believe Nintendo mobile games will be as bad as the ones currently released. I'm pretty sure Ninty will find great gameplay experiences with the limited interfaces of smartphones and tablets.

not so soon no, but maybe in 5-10 years yes, they'll have to adapt their pricing and Nintendo is very slow to adapt. And don't forget there are some really strong games out there even if you consider them garbage, the market they are targeted at don't.

Anything that could be sold for a premium shouldn't really be sold as mobile, though. At least, not yet. Eventually handheld-mobile convergence will occur, but for the moment you can't dilute the premium pricing model, where a cheap DS game launched at $30, you'd have to sell 6 to 30 times as many units given the pricing model that mobile expects.

Recall the story from the one indie developer who said that a paltry amount of Vita sales gave them more money than a good lot of Steam sales. It's much the same for Nintendo, and you want to protect that more lucrative market that you've spent 30 years cultivating.

Definitely not out of the question. Everyone else seems to be getting on the train just because. It seems to me that Nintendo actually put thought and backing to their decision as other companies were like "Oh, it's the future let's just make ports and crappy half-assed reboots." Nintendo, no doubt, has the stuff to do it.

They said the same thing in 1984...then one year later... if there's anyone who can make a game last, it's the minds of Nintendo.

Sure, but that doesn't necessarily means that Nintendo will be No.1 Publisher/Developer of smartphone games...