Next Nintendo console before PS3 and X-Box 2?

[OB1]

This is the same viewpoint that Nintendo has taken, and look at what good it's done for them. Of course you can buy the black GC if you wanted to, but Nintendo was advertising the purple one and using that as the image of the Gamecube. The handle, while being handy, only added to Nintendo's kiddy image. The Gamecube just doesn't look like a "cool" electronics device like the PS2 and X-Box; it looks like a toy. I personally like the design of the GC over the PS2 and X-Box, but that's the public perception of it.

DVD playback support was very important this generation because many casual gamers and non-gamers bought PS2s and X-Boxed over Gamecubes because they thought that they would be saving money since they wouldn't have to buy seperate DVD players. It probably won't be as important in the next generation of consoles, but it should still be an option. And adding DVD playback support to a DVD-based console should not be a huge extra cost.

And you're right; people's preconceived notions of Nintendo is the main reason why the mainstream audience looks at them like that. But Nintendo only made things worse by refusing to market the Gamecube to an older audience early on. For their next system they have to do everything possible to change their image.