It's insane. Game magazines were writing about how "no company survives past the second generation" and how gaming was hardcore and nobody wanted to play video games and gamers were super elite. Then the Wii was announced and the reaction among gamers was universally "nobody wants to play games that are basically toys." I was a Nintendo fan, Gamecube and all, and I had lots of yelling arguments with my friends* over how the PS3 was awesome, but the Wii would blow people's minds. I love that it succeeded, because Nintendo and its corporate culture deserve that kind of success. (PG wants to write about the 5 best people in start-ups? Shigeru Miyamoto takes my #2 slot. He designed not just the systems but the games, and he's an incredible human being.)
*That was in high school, of course, where people have those ridiculous gaming arguments. Now I'm in college and my superathlete roommate just bought Pokemon Diamond on eBay.
*That was in high school, of course, where people have those ridiculous gaming arguments. Now I'm in college and my superathlete roommate just bought Pokemon Diamond on eBay.