Don't you miss the 3rd place Nintendo?

I do, and I think even most Sheep will agree with this, even if they don't want to admit it. For the record, Nintendo is my favorite of the big three.

Gamecube era Nintendo was a more successful company than most people think, with their handheld business and excellent first party game sales on all of their platforms.

The difference is the Gamecube era Nintendo gave us tons of great first party games. It wouldn't be crazy to call the Gamecube the "hardcore" system of its generation. Just look at the GOTY awards each year to see what I mean. They may not have won the sales war, but there is no denying they gave us tons of great games.

Fast forward to the Wii. They have given us new installments in many of our favorites, but after this E3 the future looks more bleak than ever. I have little to look forward to on my Wii for the forseeable future. Games like Wii music, Wii Fit, and Wii Sports Resort worry me. They'll sell millions, sure - but I want my classic Nintendo games. These games selling millions will only cause Nintendo to create more casual oriented experiences, and waste less effort on more traditional.

I wish Nintendo was still in last. They'd give me the Nintendo games I love, and much less of the casual games I don't. Nintendo has found a more fertile pasture, and I wish they had never found it at all.

What do you think?

GC era for sure.

You just can't top Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Wind Waker, Melee, etc.. Plus, it had the gameboy player and that thing is awesome. :)

If you compare the Wii at the end of its life to the GC, I think you'll find the comparison to be quite one-sided. There was more dignity in the Gamecube, but the games really weren't there.

I want them to do whatever makes them money and keeps them in the business, even if I don't like it. They lost my business but are gaining more everyday.supercubedude64

If you don't like it, this logic doesn't make much sense. Nintendo had a very successful handheld business, and even though they didn't sell many Gamecubes, their first party games always sell very well. Nintendo was never in danger of going out of business.

The only difference now is that they are much more successful from the new casual goldmine they have uncovered. The only difference will be less of the classic Nintendo games we all love and more casual friendly experiences.

Since I'm not a hardcore elitist, I think the future is bright still. There is a Zelda game in the works still (according to Fils-Aime on G4...Zelda and...I think it was mario...but eh), and Animal Crossing/GTA sound great, and Wii Music/Wii Sports 2 sound fun for groups (which is what I play Wii in, groups with people).

I'm excited. Sure, I would have loved a killer app, but as a neutral, non-hardcore, good things on the horizon.

GC era for sure.

You just can't top Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Wind Waker, Melee, etc.. Plus, it had the gameboy player and that thing is awesome. :)

zomgrad

Exactly! It had a ton of classic games for gamers, whether or not it had amazing hardware sales to match it! When I was playing Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, etc I couldn't care less about how many consoles the GC was selling - I was having too much fun!

Not to say I haven't had fun with the Wii, but it looks like I'll be having fun on the Wii on a much more sporadic basis, judging by the way Nintendo is heading. This makes me sad :cry:

Wii era. They are much more succesfull now.

And Mario Galaxy>Mario sunshine.

GameCube era wins for sure, they realised that only Wii Music will sell more than various games like Pikmin and F-Zero combined, and that sucks. Also, they know they are in first place, so why rush and bring lots of good games if people will still buy Wii for Wii Sports, and later for wii Sports resort? As a major Nintendo fan, it's kind of sad to see it happening.Junior_AIN

I agree completely. With Wii Music and Wii Sports 2 bound to sell millions, why wouldn't Nintendo continue to make more and more casual games. They are in business to make a profit, after all.

And with each new casual Nintendo title that comes along, I see less and less chance of Pikmin 3 and other niche titles ever seeing the light of day. Why put effort into a new Pikmin when you can use those resources to come up with a new "Wii something" title and sell much more?

Wii era. They are much more succesfull now.

And Mario Galaxy>Mario sunshine.

ng1234

They are definitely more successful, no doubt about that. And I'd agree with Mario Galaxy above sunshine.

But don't you think all the resources being allocated to "Wii something" games would be better used to create more traditional Nintendo games? As a gamer, I feel I don't have that much to look forward to from the Wii for the rest of the year and beyond.

N64-era Nintendo.V_Isle

Amen.

Wii era. They are much more succesfull now.

And Mario Galaxy>Mario sunshine.

ng1234

sucess gives them the excuse to keep releasing crappy games and forgetting the hardcore ninty players.

SNES Era. That's when they were best.

N64 was great but I preferred PSX

GC was behind DC XBOX IMO. I liked better than PS2 though.

Wii is behind both this gen IMO. I don't even have a PS3 and have played it only 2 years of my life and I like it more than the Wii. Well I can also base it on Multiplatform games I have on my 360.