Nintendo is nothing if not a company that shamelessly exploits its properties. The show opened with a new Zelda, though, by now, the Link adventures are hardly new. And it performed poorly. Miyamoto blamed wireless interference from all the electronics in the crowd. Err...yeah. The Wii works on Bluetooh, Miyamoto-san; trying to ape Steve Jobs doesn't cover the fact your precious Wiimote with Wii Motion Plus attachment couldn't even figure out whether you were waving your sword sideways or up-and-down. It's not that it wasn't responding, it just wasn't responding in the correct direction.

UPDATE: Well, we now know exactly why Jobs was experiencing signal loss during his iPhone 4 presenation and it wasn't interference from the audience. Also, I recently hosted a party where we had six Wiis all running at the same time and people--many with smartphones on their person--were all playing with no interference problems. The new Zelda has some serious, serious flaws in its control scheme and one hopes they are fixed before the game is released.

Is there nothing Ninty won't remake for a fast buck? The crowd went nuts over a Goldeneye remake. Here's an idea...everyone loves the N64 Goldeneye so much, just put it on the Virtual Console and then MAKE A NEW GAME! And, much as I love Donkey Kong Country, isn't the formula a little old now? Can they think of nothing new? OK, the Kirby Epic Yarn game does look new with an interesting way of interacting with the game world; but, that's it.

Nintendo's problem (and a problem they probably enjoy having) is they are top in sales by an extravagant margin, so they don't need to do anything other than service their core communities, which are fans of old properties (Link, Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong) and casual gamers, who only want the equivalent of shovelware. Oh, and, Mr. Fils-Aime, saying that Wii software outsells other systems' software doesn't prove good attach rates when you count every Sports game bundled with the system as a software sale. Most of the Wii owners I know have very few games--they play Sports and a couple of other titles and that's it.

The truth is, the Wii has a fundamental flaw (which I plan to discuss more fully in another blog post) and is doomed now that Microsoft and Sony have their "casual-gamer-friendly" control systems ready to go. Sony has, essentially, turned the PS3 into the Wii 3D-HD and stolen any thunder Nintendo may have had up its sleeve.

Of course, I don't think Nintendo really cares. They're far more concerned with Apple/Android biting into their handheld market which is why they pushed the 3DS hard. I can't comment on the actual 3D performance because it can't be displayed except in person. (Nice touch hiring 200 booth babes and chaining 3DS units to their waist and sending them among the slobbering geek masses to show off Nintendo's...assets. Probably bought them better publicity than MS's free Xbox 360s.) But, I wonder, how "immersive" is 3D on a 3.5-inch screen? Really? This is Nintendo's iPod Touch/iPad beater?

Maybe Nintendo improved the overall performance in the 3DS. I've read that it has the graphics capability of the Wii (which is to say, the Gamecube), so the overall experience might be better than the current DS line-up. But they don't seem to be pushing this as a truly new handheld; instead, they seem to be positioning it as a DS...with 3D. So, what is it? A revolutionary advancement in the console market? Or a gimmick add-on to existing hardware to try to get everyone to upgrade? Having a dog (or cat) "pop" out of the little screen at me does not have me panting after 3DS.

Overall, the gaming community believes Nintendo is best-of-show. That's a nostalgia-fueled glow coming from knowing that more of the same-old-same-old is being churned out by Nintendo. If you're really looking for innovation in gaming, you'll have to look over at Microsoft or Sony. They're the one's clawing and scratching to increase their market share. Nintendo is just too comfortable to actually try anything new.