Not enough differentiation from its predecessor in name - secondly, the Gamepad is an epic fail.

With the exception of the Wii, which is a novelty that attracted families and old people, in its heyday Nintendo systems used the Nintendo name. Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64. When did things start going downhill? When they changed to the "Gamecube." The next system needs to be a "Nintendo."

I cant believe people still think technology is a factor in the success or failure of a console.

That stupid controller, is the reason that i never gave it a chance. They do some great cartoon graphics, for sure though. It's the first Nintendo console that i didn't want to own, since way back in the NES days.

If it was the be all, end of all,....

then the PS vita would be destroying the 3DS in sales (ps vita is many times more powerfull than the 3ds).

Its a factor, but its just one of many.

First and formost is what games does the damn thing have on it (I believe), games win consol wars.

Been asked a thousand times, the answer is always the same. Its last priority for most core gamers and it has little appeal for most casual gamers.

Multiple factors. For me, the name. Not the confusing factor but the name itself. the gamepad and then Nintendo sent it to die when they announced the price. The most expensive Nintendo console to date. I don't believe in the confusion thing. The same was said with 3DS but when Nintendo cut the price $70 less, suddenly the system started selling better.

Outside of adolescents who can't afford to purchase more than a handful of games anyway (and are usually just as happy to play cartoony games), i believe that people buy and play the consoles and games that best suit their tastes. Major titles like COD, FIFA, and GTA certainly don't make you look 'cool' amoung the core market in forums and the like, and yet we still see a significant number of people who buy them. Curious that. You'd almost think they just liked them or something.

I expect variety also plays a big role for many. If you buy a PS4 or X1, there's a very high chance that they'll have or will have the types of games you like (though with specific quantity variations between them). Titles like SO or inFamous might be less popular than very mainstream titles like COD, but such titles will likely end up representing a significant portion of both consoles libraries software titles.

Claiming that "you look cool playing mature and realistic looking games" is a more valid reason for the X1's success than simply "it provides the experiences its install base wants" makes you no better than those that claim Nintendo only makes 'kids games'. People buy want they like, and they play what they like. Regardless to if you like what's mainstream or what the X1 and PS4 offers, that's reality.

This post covers pretty much everything i have to say on this particularly silly topic, so i'll leave you to it from this point ^^ I need to go feel cool playing GTA5.

Marketing
Stupid name


end of story.

Everything sells with good enough marketing thats why people that dont know how to make GOOD games make good looking ones instead because you can market VISUALS easier than gamplay.

It's all about the system being "weak" and getting a bad rep among core gamers...then not only the Games but the type of games..it doesn't have the games that appeal to a western audience like GTA, Halo..and when it did get a third party game that appealed to the west it was always a "weaker" version..to regain the west Nintendo must have third party support from the west and a console that gives it's third party games atleast on par or better than with competition..that's why in Japan they are doing relatively better because the games they have appeal to that market and as opposed to Americans, Japanese do not take system power as a major factor

Last time Nintendo won the market without a "gimmick" and with the core gamer was with the Super Nintendo and for history to repeat itself 2 things Nintendo must do:
1. Get competitive 3rd party support along with their 1st party ( it's all about the games right?)
2. Than make a system that is atleast on par with the competition ( this is only so games can be on par or better than competition especially 3rd party multiplats).
That's what Nintendo got right with SUPER Nintendo...but the big difference now is western developers have all but replaced Japanese developers in terms of major 3rd party support