[Mongoose]

I originally got a GameCube primarily just for Melee, and with the sheer number of hours I sunk into it, it wound up being worth it.

[BloodEagle]

The GameCube was a freaking awesome system with a freaking awesome controller and tons of freaking awesome games. (Son of a *****, Timesplitters 2 had the best controller options I've ever seen.  I'm continually pissed off by modern games that don't come anywhere close to that level of customization)

The Wii was kind of gimicky and lackluster, with a few decent titles.  It sold REALLY well though, so from a financial standpoint it was a huge success.

The Wii U is.... Eh.... I'm not interested in it enough to get one.  There are probably only ever going to be two or three games that I might want to play being released on it (exclusively).  Which is more than I can say for the XBone or PS4.

While I think they can survive another botch or two given their past, I would prefer them to look a bit more into their previous systems (their original, core audience) for any future developments rather than mobile development (their new, core audience).

Huh, that turned into a bit of a rant. *cough*

[Lorric]

I originally got a GameCube primarily just for Melee, and with the sheer number of hours I sunk into it, it wound up being worth it.

I bought a DS late last year just for Advance Wars Dual Strike. Wanted the game since it came out, it was just a matter of the price of a DS plus the game being worth it. I'd say it's already worth it with *checks* 179.5 hours clocked up, and there's still plenty more to come.

[SypheDMar]

I originally got a GameCube primarily just for Melee...

Enough said. 

[The E]

Interesting thing I heard recently is that one reason why the Wii-U isn't selling that well is that it has a botched marketing. Apparently, because the marketing is very much centered on the tablet controller, and due to Nintendo's strategy of naming every Wii peripheral Wii-something, the awareness that the Wii-U is an entirely new console hasn't made its way to one of the big segments of people buying Wiis: Parents.

[Colonol Dekker]

Since I got the nes (£30) Mario 3 pack for Xmas MANY years ago, I've always thought more about getting consoles new, years after release when prices are lowest.

[StarSlayer]

Somewhat relevant...

[MP-Ryan]

Nintendo is getting repeatedly out-hardwared lately.  Yes, the Wii was innovative, but if anything it promptly demonstrated how motion based controls have not been widely accepted (more's the pity).

Now if Nintendo were to do something like team up with Apple to build TV peripherals as gaming devices and make games for iOS and Android, they could make a serious killing.  Most of Nintendo's games are not graphically-intensive, and there are enough Apple fans out there that would buy their peripherals to expand a gaming experience into the living room using their existing Apple devices that it might be a clever strategy.  That, and Apple and Nintendo's business practices are remarkably similar.

[Luis Dias]

I will disagree strongly with MP here. Nintendo made an absolutely brilliant decision with the Wii's technical aspects. To say they were "out-hardwared" implies their decision to compete (hardware-wise) on gameplay rather than graphicz was unsound and if anything the past 8 years have shown is that it was the most brilliant decision by Nintendo on the past 10 years. While MS and Sony buried themselves deeply in financial troubles and we can say their venture in XBox and PS3 was barely profitable if at all, Nintendo's profits were through the roof. To dismiss this decision as "out-hardware" denounces precisely the same biased bad thinking that made MS and Sony make the huge financial blunder they did.

I also disagree they will do your strategy. I agree those two companies share similar traits and philosophies (they are both vertically integrated and care about design, etc.), but precisely for those reasons you won't simply see Zelda on the iPhone. Zelda and Mario work as means to sell their hardware, not otherwise (like their competition), and if they sell it on the iPhone / Play Store, they will have to compete with 2, 5 bucks games, mind about piracy, and worse of all bring to the minds of consumers they won't actually have to buy Nintendo's hardware to play those amazing games they have.

I can see a mixed strategy where you could have an app on an iPhone or the Apple TV, coupled with a Nintendo hardware of some kind in order to play this or that game. I haven't thought much about what they *can* do, but I think I'm in solid ground on what they both *can't* and *won't* do.