No. I want them to be video game companies. I want their business to rize and fall based on how good their games are. 

It sucks now that Nintendo is the only real video game company making video games now. Sony is primarily a electronics company and Microsoft is primarily a software company.

Now if Sony and Microsoft spun there games segments off into their own companies (eg PlayStation Corp. and Xbox Enterprises Ltd.) there would be a reason for celebration.

A better picture would be for a company like Valve to buy some video game publishing and electronics distribution company and other series of acquisitions that would lead to them putting out a console of their own. Or maybe a company like Mattel acquires a game developing company and then puts out a console. But the game industry is in a state to where we can't ever have more than one video game company making a console.

It seems like I'm making a big deal over nothing here because we've been used to this state of things for more than half a decade now. But it's bad because the mindset of a entertainment or toy company is different from a electronics or software company that just wants to get licensing fees, push out a new format, or lock developers and customers to a software platform. In the end all that comes out in their products.

It's hard to put my finger on it but I don't feel like either Sony or Microsoft are trying hard enough to make their consoles valuable. They've gone after 3^rd parties for the most part and occasionally will put out a game of their own. It's rare that they release a 1^st party game that they expect to people care enough to buy their system. As a result both consoles seem about as diverse as coke and pepsi.

Nintendo on the other hand seems to be relaxing from their huge success. (In much the same way they did after the NES) I have to believe that if they really felt competition they'd be producing more than just 3 more Mario games, 2 more Zelda games and another Metroid game. I've also noticed that some of their sequels end up using much the same content that the last game had.

The real problem here is that the industry itself has deteriorated down to a software platform mindset where nobody wants to sell a complete product, just half of one. (eg. you make the platform I'll make the software) This would be excusable if consoles were commoditized like DVD/CD players but they aren't.

If the industry does get reborn I hope it's without proprietary platforms and instead rely on generic mobile devices and set-top boxes such as a MP3 players and DVR's. In the end I suppose there would still be differentiation like slimmer models and more stylized designs. Just as long as anyone could publish games instead of just people who bought a license and dev kit. I'm getting tired of the same six publishers.

Nintendo's business doesn't rise and fall based on how good their games are. MKWii and Super Mario Galaxy could suck and they would still sell a whole bunch. The entire Wii series would sell even if it was terrible. Games don't sell on quality, they sell on:

1) Brand name

2) Advertising/awareness

3) Word of mouth (which can stem from quality, but doesn't always).

I meant I want the customer perception of their game products to make or brake their business.

You don't feel like they are trying hard enough? We're in the middle of a price war. Both companies are scrambling to release motion control technology for their system. Both companies have competitive online services that are competing with each other for content. Exclusives are still in high demand. We're getting sequels given to us at a semi-regular rate that are of quality.

Microsoft does consider its game division separate from the rest of the company, FYI. I'm fairly sure Sony has a gaming division as well, even if they aren't considered separate. I am really beginning to think Nintendo is an amazing marketer of their brand. Some people really must think that they could care less about profits and use elves to make their video games to deliver to the poor. At the end of the day ,it IS just a company that is concerned about the bottom line.

Like I said in a similar thread, I really feel, if nothing else, that Nintendo has done more harm the last ten years than good, going all the way back to the Nintendo 64. I find it incredibly ironic that the company can release both terribly outdated systems for two generations, then turn around and release the Wii and all of a sudden they are in the good graces of god with their fans. We are lucky as video game lovers that Sony came along when they did and shook the market up, or else we might possibly still be in a cartridge format war. The Gamecube was of terrible design and marketing. It had some great games but the system really fell flat on its face in terms of innovation and technical achievement.

I just feel like you are grasping to find what's wrong with the industry, but it really isn't with the video game companies, at least in my opinion.

As for your Microsoft occasionally releasing games comment, wiki "Microsoft Game Studios" and read up on the content they have either worked on or have in house.

Why? What would this achieve?

Sony and Microsoft still lose money if their products do badly. They still want to do well. The company just won't be crippled if one division fails.

I don't see how that's a bad thing.

Better games products for one.