Nintendo gave up on the hardcore gamers because hardcore gamers gave up on them. No where is this more obvious than with the Gamecube sales figures. After seeing dismal Gamecube sales, Nintendo realized they were doomed to follow Sega's path, meaning either blow people away with a new console or give up and become a third party developer.

Nintendo said they could've gone the HD graphics, massive online network approach and it could've been a great machine but in the end, no third party would've supported it and it would've been the Dreamcast all over again meaning a great system but no one buying it.

Hardcore gamers are a small demographic obsessed with online gameplay and HD graphics and raw processing power, but that's mostly made up of males age 15-35 which the majority of Gamespot bloggers are. Am I right? (I'm a girl by the way.) Nintendo said, "screw those guys! Let's do our own thing. There's kids, grandmas and parents who are looking for fun games!" So as far as Nintendo's concerned you fan boys can enjoy your super powerful online HD boxes full of shooters, sports games and racing games. They're looking to get everyone else.

A friend of mine works at a game store and he told me the big Wii buyers he sees are people I call comeback gamers. These are folks who loved the NES or Atari. They loved fun, simple games that weren't about having 40 hours of gameplay, or interchangable weapons or free roaming environments. These are folks who like fun, simplistic games that they don't have to sink 40+ hours into. This is the crowd, the Wii is going for.

You can whine all you want about Nintendo, it hasn't slowed Wii sales. Nintendo gave up on trying to appeal to you hardcore gamers a long time ago. Get over it and go play Bioshock or something.

kbaily