Now don’t get me wrong, I completely understand Nintendo’s pre-occupation with the “casual gaming” market, but this is starting to get ridiculous. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a Wii or DS game (that wasn’t a port of a classic) where I said, “Wow, that looks bad ass”, or “Holy shit I can’t wait to get that game!” So what is happening? Well, Nintendo is milking everything it can out of soccer moms and confused grandparents, while making a fortune. What does that mean for us, the hardcore crowd?

Welcome to Nintendo’s official “Fuck you, we make more money from these guys” business model.

First of all, let’s touch on the GameCube to Wii upgrade. One look at the hardware shows that the Wii is not the successor to the GameCube. Hell, it’s almost the same console. Sure, the processor is clocked 244 MHz faster, and there is 45 MB RAM upgrade. However, with the exception of the graphics card (which doesn’t even support High Definition output), the Wii is simply a slightly faster GameCube with some new ideas for input. It is so underpowered that you can’t even compare it with current generation consoles. The industry was forced to put it in a different league all together.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there are barely any games for the hardcore crowd. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my Wii when it comes to certain games, but have you been to Wal-Mart or Best Buy recently and had a look at the Wii section? Talk about a lack of quality control! I went the other day and there was so much pink and yellow, I couldn’t even see the game I was looking for.

Consider the timing. In 2001 the GameCube was released. Previously, the N64 was released almost 4 years before then. Thus it made sense for the Wii to come out in 2006, but as a successor, not an upgrade. Now consider the Nintendo DS, launched in 2004. Four years earlier the Game Boy Advance was launched, thus in early 2009 there should be another successor. Instead we received an upgrade, the DSi.

Here is the problem. From a technical standpoint, the DSi is a really low powered machine and pretty far behind in respect to technology.  If history is anything to go by, this year we should be playing with a new portable system as powerful as the GameCube. Sony did it over four years ago with the PSP, so it’s not as if it isn’t technologically and economically feasible.

So what’s the deal Nintendo? What happened to that exciting company we knew years ago, pushing out the latest and greatest of systems? Are you coming back, or have you been lost forever?

Well there is SOME hope…

Nintendo knows it can only milk this cow for so long, before it kicks them in the face. Based on the world’s economic state, you can’t expect any new consoles to be released anytime soon. However Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all working on them.  In late 2010, we predict that Sony and Microsoft will be pushing out their new consoles. If the big N wants to get back in the big leagues (being hardcore gaming), it would be wise to do the same. Of course, to be truly competitive, it is going to have to release a console two generations ahead of the Wii/GameCube. We can hope.

Unfortunately, it will most likely be at least 2-3 years before we see a successor to the DS line. With the upgraded RAM and processor, as well as it’s new features, developers now have something new to work with. It is going to be a while before DSi exclusive games make their way into the market, and an even longer time before the casual crowd stops buying them.

The question is, when will the casual gaming market run dry, forcing Nintendo back to developing cutting edge technology? When will we get a successor, instead of an upgrade?