But first, an apology. This series of posts is titled "advice to PS3Fans From a Nintendo Fanboy," but it's sort of morphed into an "Advice to Sony" sort of thing. I'm still hoping it can be both, but when Nintendo fans argue it's about how Nintendo is performing and what Nintendo should be doing or, as is often the case, should not be doing. I'm assuming Sony fans argue about the same thing and are just as captivated by the the future of their console as Nintendo fans are of theirs.

Before I get into that though, let me note some reader reactions to the last article. Actually, I have to apologize: you set loose a bunch of Nintendo fanbois and… well… eventually the discussion turned to whether Mario was a symbol of quality. Interesting question! But… sort of peripheral for now. However, there were some comments worth noting for those interested in Sony's plight, mostly regarding how appealing Sony's game library might really be.

"Sony's exclusives are more of the same, a FPS, a mature Zelda, a Realistic Racer, even their MMOs when they come out will be just more of the same. I am afraid Sony and Microsoft ARE fighting over the exact same market and tastes, while Nintendo has differentiated itself in the market." - Spak-Spang

"I said it before and i'll say it again. MAKE A PROFIT.

Nintendo coming third on a profit making console (when the others are losing money) puts it a clear first in its business objective." - Plugabugz

"I don't really wish that anyone has to endure that side of the gaming culture. It's one of the worst parts of being a fan - that you may be rooting for the loser while the majority is for the winner. No one wants to be in that position." - White Mage

While the new site is experiencing some issues, I fully expect them to be resolved. I was able to register, using my email address I had used to register for My Nintendo way back in 2003, and it ported over the games I own to the Club Nintendo system.

Much like it's Japanese counterpart, the site lets you earn "coins" to trade in for prizes. Some of the prizes are quite nice, including the legendary DS "Game & Watch Collection" that Japan Club Nintendo members got about a year ago.

Opposing fanbois have taken to comparing the PlayStation 3's sales to that of the GameCube. They may be doing this as a way to put Sony's console in its place, but the truth is that the comparison suggests better things to come. After the GameCube came the Wii. After their darkest days, Nintendo reconquered the world. And with a little fortitude, and a lot of innovation, Sony can too.

1. Stay Your Course in the Face of Adversity

Sony, and its fans, have two models to follow as the PS3 makes do with a third place position. On the one hand, they can emulate what Nintendo did with the GameCube: hang in there, fight honorably, and keep the dream alive. On the other hand, they can become the next Sega.

Wrong. The Wii is here to stay whether people like it or not. Did the DS bubble ever burst? Of course it didn't, because it wasn't (isn't) a fad. I find it particularly surprising that people still don't see the parallels between Nintendo's two systems.

Casuals signed on with the DS when Brain Age, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and New Super Mario Bros. made their debut, and since then the system has become one of the best selling pieces of hardware in gaming history. Furthermore, the system has become a haven for all games of any type, not just a dumping ground for shovelware and cash-in "casual" games.

I don't know if anyone has ever said yes to that question and I don't understand why. It contains, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the best soccer games of all time.

For the uninformed, Tiny Toon Adventures: Acme All-Stars is a Konami-made sports game for the Sega Genesis that stars Warner Bros' lovable Tiny Toons. The game is a series of sports ranging from soccer and basketball to bowling and whack-a-mole. When I was younger, my friends and I would play lengthy tournaments and fight over who would get to play as the speed demon Little Beeper or the defensive powerhouse that is Furrball. Over this past summer, I pulled the game back out and a whole series of new and more competitive tournaments ensued, including one that ended in a last second tie and a shootout.

Kickle Cubicle comprised some of my fondest childhood memories

I wasn't supposed to find it during my vacation in the Philippines in the form of a barely recognizable knockoff amongst the "30 games" included in the WinFun Plug & Play Power Wheel, a product of China.

That's all well and good. But why is it on a Nintendo-centric website? The answer is simple, really. The Naha Marathon is well-known for its costumed participants. These costumes range from silly hats to complete getups from Halloween.

I saw a guy running in little more than a loincloth. Another was in a Spiderman suit. Heck, I even saw a one-eyed monster (no, not THAT kind) made out of foam. But what really caught my eye was this happy fellow:

Overall, I was able to have some extremely entertaining matches after I adjusted to the button lag. Vudu hosted one game that I joined with General Traag and his roommate. We played for quite a while and I lost the vast majority of the time. Traag and friend are definitely experienced Brawl players. After Vudu decided to call it a night, I moved on to trying several other games out. This is where most of the problems I experienced happened. I believe I tried to play with Maxi about a dozen times, each attempt resulting in a terrible frame rate and then a complete drop of the game. After some discussion in the chat room, I discovered that Flames_of_Chaos lived only about six hours from me and his Fios connection resulted in the first ever green connection dot I had ever seen. So I finished off the night playing with him and Djunknown for a while. Sadly, we had to say no whenever Maxi tried to join in order to preserve our connection. Sorry Maxi! After about two and a half hours of under blinking, my eyes were on fire and I had to call it a night.