PSP outsells DS in Japan

[A Black Falcon]

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.

If you think that, you must have missed the launch of the N64...

Hahaha, how I'd hate to be you. I would soooo hate me if I were some of you guys. Aaaahh... it's nice being right so often. Best part is rubbing it in!

And to think that once apon a time I wondered why people find you so annoying... glad that once again you can clear that up for us.

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.

You only say this because they succeeded. Had the 64DD succeeded you'd say that about that. If R.O.B. had succeeded you'd be saying that robot accessories are of course a natural kind of controller. Etc. Nintendo tries a lot of things. Pretty much all were good ideas. Most work. Some are more popular than others.

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.

Because of how they perceive the Japanese gaming market to be in a downward spiral... and they have something of a point. Sequelitis is rampant, less originality, etc... and Nintendo has been trying to change that. Has it worked? Yeah, somewhat. It's certainly established them as different and that is what they want. The main problem isn't that, it's that they don't have an equivilant understanding of the American market and don't let the people who do have a free enough rein.

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?

It could have done better than it did... it was kind of flawed, because of how you'd have to rescan games every time, no save, etc, but it was an interesting idea at least. Didn't hurt Nintendo much to try.