I've bought pretty much every Nintendo console they've released (and some handhelds). The post-wii world looks pretty different from my perspective:
1) The lack of quality first party titles for the Wii is very disappointing. This is a contentious point ... but every single person I know both has a Wii and currently uses it as a paper weight. Nintendo could have had something big given the penetration of the lil Wii console. I used it for Netflix for quite a while, for instance. They really blew this one though. I believe there have been no feature enhancements for the Wii home screen since release! Netflix updated recently but the experience is very poor ... I get buffering problems all the time for instance.
2) I was stupid enough to buy the 3DS the first day. The device was pretty shitty ... gave me headaches.. literally. Plus, the price reduction followed by giving old owners shitty games in return was insulting.
Based on 1, 2, and my love for the 0.99-4.99 games on the iPad, means that I am no longer going to buy consoles from Nintendo. And I might not be alone on this one.
This right here is Nintendo's #1 competition right now, even Nintendo admits it. That may be a driving factor in the tablet controller. If parents can give their kid a basically kid-proof tablet to game on, they won't get their sticky, clumsy hands all over the expensive iPad. Combine that with games for a tailor-made gaming device (iPad is not) and buttons, and you've got a pretty nice family-friendly gaming system.
With the iPad/Android/W8 Tablet market Microsoft is adding on to the 360, you could liken it to further reinforcing the division between the systems. Nintendo for families, Microsoft for college aged through adult gamers.
Not a week goes by where I don't hear someone my age (adult) say "I'm never buying Nintendo again!" In the same timeframe, there are thousands of kids coming to the age where they really want to get into gaming. I'm 20-something, and my generation is really growing out of Nintendo. But we're having kids who are just growing into Nintendo.
My nephew is 8 years old. He had a DS and loved it. BUT, like most 8 year olds, he would lose his games, and eventually his DS.
Instead of buying him a new DS, my brother bought him an iPod Touch. Same price as a DS but the games are free or cheap. Plus, he can't lose the games, even if he loses the iPod.
Of course, the iPod does more than games. My nephew loves that he can video chat with his cool uncle as well as listen to music, and all the other things an iPod does.
1) The lack of quality first party titles for the Wii is very disappointing. This is a contentious point ... but every single person I know both has a Wii and currently uses it as a paper weight. Nintendo could have had something big given the penetration of the lil Wii console. I used it for Netflix for quite a while, for instance. They really blew this one though. I believe there have been no feature enhancements for the Wii home screen since release! Netflix updated recently but the experience is very poor ... I get buffering problems all the time for instance.
2) I was stupid enough to buy the 3DS the first day. The device was pretty shitty ... gave me headaches.. literally. Plus, the price reduction followed by giving old owners shitty games in return was insulting.
Based on 1, 2, and my love for the 0.99-4.99 games on the iPad, means that I am no longer going to buy consoles from Nintendo. And I might not be alone on this one.