Qauntum leap over the N64?

Luigi's mansion was boring (first Nintendo home console to launch w/o a Mario game, I figured a Luigi game was just as good... boy was I wrong).  Mario Sunshine wasn't nearly as fun as Mario 64.

Are you talking about graphics rather than fun/gameplay?

If I recall correctly, Sony lost money on the PS2 hardware at first (but only a little), which they made up easily by profits from software. Nintendo, however, never sell a console at a loss. Which netted them such incredible amounts of profit this gen, where they are not only the market leaders, but also actually gain money from every console they sell.

Not sure what the situation for Sony and Microsoft is right now, but the PS3 was sold at a great loss at first so they managed to lose pretty much all of the money they gained from the PS2 during last gen, and Microsoft lost money (though not as much) on each 360 sold, but both gained some money via software. Ultimately, they've had losses every year of this gen (except I think Microsoft was profitable this latest year), while Nintendo has just gotten truckloads of profit all the time.