PSP outsells DS in Japan

[Weltall]

And for each failure there is a success... and/or a lesson... would you rather that Nintendo hadn't tried bold moves or innovations like introducing a console at the lowest point console gaming has ever seen, the crosspad, mini analog sticks, four controllers on a console, an affordable portable system, etc... I think you get the point... you can focus on Nintendo's innovations that were failures but at least as often they have been successes.

Oh, and as for lessons from its past moves, should Nintendo take the 64DD's failure as an indictment on online-supporting consoles? Because that's certainly one possible lesson from the thing... the point is that it is not as simple as 'Nintendo's love for innovation is stupid and they should do what is popular'. That is not necessarially always true and Nintendo's innovations, whether they succeed or fail, lead to games that are distinctive, different, and fun -- which is clearly Nintendo's goal.

Yes, but there is a big difference in what you mention... those successful innovations were never touted by Nintendo as items that would 'totally change the way games are played', which is a tagline that accompanies practically every new Nintendo invention.

More importantly, those successful creations DID change the way games were played. They were innovations that served a purpose, as opposed to innovations made for the mere sake of being able to say "Look, I'm innovative!". That's not real innovation. Innovation is not simply creating something new and different, but creating something new and different that actually has an impact on its target audience. I can't really think of anything in a very long time that would apply.

During the life of the GameCube, Nintendo touted their innovations far more than ever before. GameCube was supposed to revolutionize videogaming as we knew it, and offer experiences impossible to duplicate on Xbox and PS2. The sad fact is that GameCube was not innovative in the least. In fact, the machine was behind the times in several ways (original memory cards were way too small, proprietary media is no longer advantageous, and of course, the lack of online gaming). The GBA, great machine that it is, saw no real innovation. Many of its most popular games were SNES ports.

Anyway, my point is, I don't find anything wrong with Nintendo wanting to innovate, but only if these innovations serve a purpose. I mean, did anyone for even a minute think the E-Reader was going to be a success?