Why does it seem that Nintendo fanboys first line of defense is to cite “first-party” titles? Mario is just a platformer. The Legend of Zelda is just an adventure game. If you were to replace all key Zelda elements with Final Fantasy elements, and slap it on the PS2, no one would think it was spectacular.

The only reason Nintendo’s first party exclusives are so “spectacular” is because they are the home to the names (and only the names) that we have grown up with since the 80’s. As such, “names” are the only thing keeping Nintendo afloat right now - if first party titles is the only available defense.

The Revolution is not entirely Revolutionary. Controllers that react in 3-dimensional space have been engineered and marketed before, with limited success. All in all, the Nintendo Revolution controller is simply a glorified wireless mouse (not to be confused with an optical mouse). Beyond being an extension of a wireless mouse concept, the Revolution controller is as much a gimmick as the Nintendo DS touch screen.

On the DS, the touch screen/stylus functionality is used in so few of their best-selling and highest rated games.

Mario Kart DS only uses the stylus for menu selection. In no way, shape or form is the stylus required for racing.

In Animal Crossing: Wild World, the usage can be global for the stylus, but it is frustrating when you click an item to turn it, and end up picking it up. In AC:WW, I only use the stylus to put items from my inventory into Nook’s money grubbing hands. In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, the stylus is again featured as a gimmick. Drawing seals to completely defeat your enemies? Bogus. It is completely unnecessary, and was merely added as a flourish to remind people of the stylus’ existence.

In Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, the stylus is used once - to wipe mud off of a picture. Could the game have operated without stylus functionality? Absolutely. The only games that regularly use the stylus are gimmicky products like Trauma Center: Under The Knife, which is essentially a collection of stylish stylus mini-games (operations).

The stylus, to date, has not been effectively used. The dual screen has been used with some interesting effects (the map in Mario Kart is incredibly useful), but in other games, it is hardly necessary.

So, I ask the question: Why innovate if you do not intend to use? Why bother with a stylus if there are so few games to properly exploit its power? Why use a motion sensor controller if it may be doomed to the same fate?

Simply put, Nintendo is using these “innovations” as gimmicks to hook gamers into buying their products on impulse. While this may be an effective business strategy - hence the booming market of Nintendo DS sales, and the mind-bogglingly gimmicky Nitendogs title - it is not as impressive as people often portray it.

Even now, Nintendo is covering for their mistakes with the Nintendo DS by releasing a redesign a year after the original release. Was that necessary? No. It is certainly going to grab a mountain of cash as gamers trade in their old DS for the same system in a sleaker package. And so, Nintendo executives will sit back laughing at how you’ve been manipulated into buying the second version of a system with no added benefit. Brightness adjusting to save power? Probably because they added a smaller and more cost efficient battery. In order for battery life to be competitive with the current DS, they NEED you to run the DS Lite on a lower power setting.

_Furthermore, Nintendo is trying to encorporate mp3 playback and web browser functionality into the Nintendo DS. Why weren’t they included from the start? Perhaps it shows a failure on the part of Nintendo to get things done right the first time around, and now they have to patch all the holes in their design. _

Even the Revolution is rumoured to have multiple controller attachments for various games. Why? Why doesn’t their base controller have the capacity to function for the entirety of their gaming library? Because the design is flawed. Nintendo is beginning to operate like some computer game companies, who sell you a disk that directs you to gigabytes of patches for their initially unsuitable product. Why can’t companies be patient and get things done right?

And for any XBox or PS fanboys reading this, do not think I am on your side entirely. The XBox 360 launch is just another stunning example of a company diving into something they were not adequately prepared for. Shortages, shortages, shortages…

Yet, despite this, XBox is going to have an increased market presence this time around. It is likely that Sony and Microsoft will dominate large portions of the market, and Nintendo will be squeezed into the small flow of monies that constitutes little children buying games through their parents. Teenagers have the most disposable income Nintendo…why are you targeting the youngin’s and - according to some press releases - older people?

In short, Microsoft and Sony fanboys need to lay off the Nintendites for a short while. The Revolution will not be a flop, but it will not be a stunning success either. It will be another stepping stone towards Nintendo’s inevitable failure. The only hope they have is that Microsoft and Sony will inevitably price themselves out of everyone’s pockets, and Nintendo will be the fallback boy.

- The Box