a lot of key third parties still distrust working with them. they will fail this generation as well because they haven't offered anything that you couldn't get last year other than a gimmicky controller that people will get bored with. their first party games are still decent but hardly have the kind of clout they used to have
The DS has done Nintendo a lot of favours. A great many developers and publishers are re-entering the fold via this route. E3 will have woken even more up - a machine can't generate the kind of buzz it has without attracting attention.
Some of the biggest selling games of recent times have used non-standard control methods: Buzz, Guitar Hero, Singstar. Don't write off "gimmicky controllers" too soon.
a lot of 3rd parties are already pissed off at nintendo springing this controller on them when they were halfway through development on their revolution game, where other companies like Ubi got early access to the information and hardware to build their game around the concept - typical nintendo picking and choosing their favorites
Dunno where you're getting this info but it's not true in the slightest. Another big plus for 3rd parties is that the Rev/Wii is blindingly simple to code for which means much more affordable development cycles.
by next generation most people will have broadband access and hdtv, and making people pay money to consume content from their respective companies is a major way they are looking at subsidizing (and profiteer) massive r&d and production costs. I personally could give less of a crap about anything that doesn't enhance my gaming experience. most people will agree with that. so it all comes down to how they implement everything and what kind of benefits we get out of it
Yeah and all the machines are broadband capable. Not supporting HDTV on this generation isn't a huge deal as the market penetration of HDTV isn't significant enough. It's nice gravy but its not vital.
Anyway I'm not claiming Nintendo will come out swinging and conquer the world but I expect them to perform better this time around than with the Cube. Nintendo stronger, Sony weaker, MS starting well but fading as the machine runs out of gas - that's my take on things.
Edit: and back to the point about cost/simplicity: Little Johny's mom didn't mind stretching another $100 past the GameCube so her boy could have the same machine as everyne else. I'm betting she won't stretch to $400.