@Picko
A few of things Nintendo did:
· Announced a console that was technically inferior with a new simplified control method, designed to make gaming more assessible to non-gamers;
Technically inferior console does not mean casual gaming, what’s your point, this has been argued before – your saying every system before the PS3 was casual? The NES control was amazingly simple, so was the Atari, hell even pinball and penny arcades, those aren’t casual either. In short a piece of hardware such as a console can not be Casual or Hardcore.
· Spoke at every opportunity of strategically targeting non-gamers, designing games for them, and how the controller was beneficial for non-gamers;
Non-gamers aren’t casuals either, what’s your point here? Your bringing up the controller point again, so read above. Non-gamers simply don’t play games; this leads into the casual vs hardcore definition: “Hardcore game to live Casuals live to game.”
· Launched the console with its key game a simple, mini-game collection with last generation graphics and a simplistic control method;
Wii sports is not a mini-game, the pong sports package was not a mini game, it’s a sports package, simplified heck yea, but if want to brashly categorize something as simple, then GTAIV is nothing more than running around and shooting stuff like any other simple shooter. The package captures the initial audience and presents a visual example of what makes this console different from all those before it.
· The success of the DS itself was built around expanding markets with simple games designed for non-gamers or very casual gamers. The Wii was designed as the console equivalent;
Kind of right, the DS however is successful because of something you failed to mention on all the other points, specially bullet two which was Nintendo also spoke at every opportunity about how they are not directly competing with Microsoft or Sony, what they failed to mention is they aren’t competing with Nintendo, in a sense the DS is a non-factor for the PSP as it’s a mobile home console of last gen or next gen, not new gen.
I was going to respond to the rest of your statement but I have work to do.