Mr. Bomberman wrote:

Watch their profits rise like an erection during the summer and when the 3DS comes out later this year. /thread

This is also a valid point. Metroid, and Galaxy 2 will make them a mint and revive interest in the console. I'm also really excited for Sin & Punishment 2. I'm annoyed that Nintendo pushed back the release dates on Metroid and S&P2, but I can understand why they did it.

As for game libraries, a console only needs to average 1.5 must-have game releases per month, because that's all the average person plays on any given console. And for all this talk of Wiis that sit around collecting dust, what about all the 360s and PS3s out there that are dedicated Call of Duty machines? We hear all this talk about how third party titles do better on the 360 and PS3, but the truth is, a lot of them don't. A lot of great games end up in bargain bins within months of their release. Like say, Brutal Legend. Great game, one of the most imaginative games in years, and it didn't come anywhere close to cracking the sales figures of recyclyed crap like Rock Band #4, Guitar Hero #10, Call of Duty #18, or Madden #47.

The worst of Nintendo's problem are over. The N64 era was their worst time financially, and they didn't come anywhere close to death then.

Word on the street is that Nintendo may be unveiling its nextgen console soon. A new Nintendo trademark for something called "Power Wii" was discovered in mid-March and it is expected that this is the developmental name for their nextgen. And for those of you whining that seems to signal that motion controls will continue... TOO BAD. Sony and Microsoft have developed huge boners for motion controls as well, and will be showing off their motion controls at E3.

Also keep in mind that Nintendo had no killer apps last year. Here's what we got in 2009:

==WII==
New Play Control! Mario Tennis
New Play Control! Pikmin
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Punch-Out!
Wii Sports Resort
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Wii Fit Plus
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

==DS==
Bowser's Inside Story
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Not exactly a stunning line-up. You've got two must own games in Bowser's Inside Story and Punch Out, and a minor classic in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and the cult classic Professor Layton. And then you've got the "you need to buy this, because a lot of games are probably going to use Wii Motion Plus" purchase that was Wii Sports Resort. Then you've got four lazy repackages, a crappy Mario/Sonic game, and Wii Fit 2. The fact that Nintendo did as well as they did with that line-up is rather impressive.

GPFontaine wrote:

For those who keep pointing at the idea that Nintendo is fine and isn't going broke... no one said they were. When companies have changes in profit it usually means something and it usually causes change. That is why it is significant. No one is worried that Nintendo may not be here tomorrow.

Nintendo's profits fell 12% from their best year ever. And as someone pointed out, this was still one of their top three years in terms of profit. I don't think anyone at Nintendo expected profits to rise every year forever and ever; that would be stupid. As for changes, changes are already on the way. Are they a kneejerk reaction to OMG LESS PROFIT THAN LAST YEAR? No, they're not. They are part of Nintendo's longterm strategy. The 3DS is on the way, and likely a new console too. A console's average lifespan is 5-6 years. The Wii is at the end of this cycle, and Nintendo realizes this.

So yes, this story is absolutely meaningless and your continued attempts to prove that it's not are flawed and futile. The story also fails to offer any sort of comparison. Namely, was this dip in profits exclusive to Nintendo? What were Sony and Microsoft's overall profits on video game hardware and the titles they published for this hardware? By what percentage did these profits increase or decrease?

Ba'al, have you seen the Sony wand? It looks retarded.

What I got from your post is that you think Nintendo has been sitting around doing nothing and that this dip in profits will somehow light a fire under their asses to do something about said dip in profits. I wholly reject that notion. Aside from the SNES, which was hastily thrown together (and still arguably the best 16-bit console released) Nintendo is always working on something, and always has longterm strategies. Media leaks forced Nintendo to reluctantly admit that they're working on the 3DS and a new console is heavily speculated to be in the works too. These aren't projects that suddenly sprung up out of nowhere when the numbers came out. These were ideas Nintendo came up when their numbers were strong. In fact, it could be argued that that's why Nintendo's 2009 lineup was so weak - because they were spending more time and resources on building up strong lineups for 2010 and 2011.

You think it will be interesting to how these numbers effect Nintendo and bring about change. They won't. Nintendo has a strategy for the forseeable future, and has had one since they first announced the second wave of Mario-Zelda-Metroid for the Wii. Zelda is expected to ship in November, and will likely be the first party swan swon for the console, with the new console launching by Summer '11.

Actually, 2010 is looking great for Nintendo. HeartGold and SoulSilver have already made a mint, and Galaxy and Metroid will print more money. Zelda Wii, if it does indeed come out this year, will print even more. And North America is supposed to finally get the Black Wii/Sports Resort bundle this summer.

I would gladly pay money for a Nintendo online service if it was implemented as well as XBox Live is. Gladly.

And sideway, you're wrong. It's Atari who's going to win the nextgen console wars, barely edging out Coleco.

Pac-Man World: Ghosts of the Past? Yeah, that looks bad-ass. It's a little early to say, but it looks like a highly improved version of Pac-Man World 2, which is what Pac-Man World 3 *should* have been, but wasn't. The gun-based levels look a little weird, but I'm willing to give Namco the benefit of the doubt.

The game that looks like it'll REALLY be the star of the nextgen Atari thus far is Missile Command: Scions of the Apocalypse. Missile Command reimagined as a Metal Gear Solid rip-off should offend me on about twenty different levels - especially since I can't stand MGS - but it actually looks really cool. Here's hoping they keep the cut scenes on the short side.

Breakout 3D might be cool too.