Well, Nintendo tried playing Sony and Microsoft's game with the Gamecube. Too many people forget that in terms of raw graphic power, the Gamecube was more capable than the PS2 and the Xbox trounced both, and look where the two most powerful machines ended up. Master System, Genesis, and TurboGrafx16 were also all more powerful than NES and SNES respectively. And, with all due respect to the DS vs. PSP debate, the Game Boy Advance is trouncing both machines combined this holiday season.

The point that Nintendo seems to be making is that graphical processing power has kind of peaked. There is a certain point when it's not adding anything to gameplay, and ultimately that's the whole point of games - to play them. If you play games expecting gorgeous FMVs and visuals, watch TV instead.

Any true gamer should be impressed with DS' library of games, even if they are graphically inferior to PSP, and it's nice to see consumers showing that they value gameplay over graphics. Nintendo's pathetic showing with the Gamecube, imo, had a lot to do with trying to compete head on with PS2/Xbox and also an incredibly lackluster game lineup (see: Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine), likely attempts to play Sony's game. Revolution has the potential to be the top system of the next gen, so long as Nintendo allows it's team at EAD to just be their creative selves and stop worrying about Sony and Microsoft, and it looks like that's exactly what they are planning on doing.