That was a long time ago. They said that if the DS didn’t succeed then the Wii would probably fail to because both of them have the same approach to the market i.e. innovative new and easy ways to play games.  

That’s why they said that the DS would be the “third pillar” so if the DS wouldn’t work they would just do another GB. It would be like a backup strategy.

To answer your q, yes it is just as important as the DS is, in fact I think more important. You can do so much more on a home console than you cold on a handheld.  

The DS. Wii is very important though. I doubt Nintendo thinks as one being more important than the other, but Wii is probably their software focus until 3rd party's get it together like they have on DS.

Definately the Wii.

The DS was the market leader, and while it expanded the market heavily, it just kept its position. The real miraculous thing it did is that it sells a lot more SW than the previous handhelds (GBA had 4.5 games pr machine, DS now has 5.5 or something)

What the Wii did, was to go from being the loser of the last generation, to becomming as big a success as the DS. If the Wii hadn't taken off, Nintendo might have been pushed out of the console buisiness (as in withdrawn, as they stopped earning money on it).

The difference is:

The DS is the Ps2. It was the market leader, and went even higher, and selling even more software.

The Wii is the Ps1. It came from nowhere and took the market completely.

Of course, the DS isn't the Ps2 completely (nor the Wii the Ps1), as it did something revolutionary, but still - it was in a position to do so. The Wii wasn't.

Both they sell heaps and rake in lots of money.

i would say both are as important as the other. The DS set nintendo on thier way to making the WII, but it was essential for the wii to get 1st place in the console race for this gen. The handheld market was already won for nintendo.

The Wii is more important. Video game companies are judged on their consoles much more than their handhelds. Just look at the PS-PS2 era! Sony was doing so well that analysts quickly assumed PSP would be a sure win. And now...