You guys are crazy to think Nintendo won't follow the path set by Wii.
I think it's crazy to think they will. What has changed since then and now? Nintendo is in 1st place. I don't think anyone is expecting them to "do what Sony did." Nintendo will never launch a $600 console ever. However, Gamecube was a beast. It was more powerful than PS2, comparable to Xbox and still cheaper than both. Is it really hard to believe that Nintendo couldn't do that again? Nintendo selectively chose the components that went into that console. They were efficient, cheap yet powerful.
3rd parties aren't going to start developing for a new Nintendo console just because "it's a beast".
That's oversimplifying and you know it. Being comparable in power essentially allows third parties to port over. The days of one console getting a majority of exclusives are over. There may be a few here and there, but cross platform releases are the best we can hope for. I would think Nintendo has observed that much from the market. Should Nintendo remain market leader, 3rd parties will likely choose it as the lead platform then port to other consoles, granted it's not pathetically underpowered.
Oh, and have you not listened to anything said by Nintendo executives since 2005?
Yeah, I have. This is the same Nintendo that talked about simplifying controls then added a f*cking analog stick to the DS. Nice job there, Nintendo. I'm glad they did too, because it makes sense. Playing 3D games on DS sucked sweaty nuts without one and the whole simplified controls thing succeeded, not by limiting the number of buttons and doodads, but by seeing someone use motion controls or a touchscreen. However, you're living in a dream world if you think executives of any company aren't just justifying current choices. At the drop of a hat, they will abandon those so-called convictions should their respective company's circumstances change. If the successor of the Wii remote has an analog stick and 4 face buttons, expect Nintendo to PR spin the sh*t out of it. Why? Because they
have to.
I think this is a complete fantasy. I don't think Nintendo cares about third party support. All they care about is if they make a profit off of their own products. They SHOULD care because they get a cut out of every third party title but I don't think that matters to them. Nintendo systems exists to sell Nintendo products and anything else is a bonus. They will only go nuts on hardware if THEY want it to be that way for their own games.
Of course Nintendo cares. It comes down to profit margins. They want that money and it
does matter to them. They just aren't getting it. If the Wii was on the same level as PS3/360 power wise, 3rd parties wouldn't think twice about porting over games. It would make sense to port because they'd be reaching that many more people. And they would cease porting if sales were low. However, the Wii requires its own version which sucks for them. If they can't sell people on gee-whiz graphics, the experiment fails.