The Nintendrone

Days were dim. Time was running slow. Everyone held their breath in 2004 as Nintendo was set to launch their latest

Wii Emulator, "Dolphin" running Wii game, upscaled to 720p.

handheld: the Nintendo DS. A far cry from the traditional Game Boy brand, fans were staring, mouth agape at the wonderment of this bold move. Nintendo reassured them: This is NOT the next Game Boy.

So here we are, years later, and to be honest, I don’t think we can hold them to that. Because the DS picked up steam consistently, through the redesign and relaunch of the DS Lite. And now the DSi. Nintendo has no more reason to continue the Game Boys of old. (Well, here’s to wishing anyways.)
As the Wii launched in November 2006, Nintendo let from their grasp an important piece of information concerning the inner workings of their R&D process. The DS was a test all along. As was the DS Lite. They were testing grounds to see how people would react to a new way of gaming. (Thusly, everyone expected the “Revolution” to have touch screen controls.)

Now we are in the midst of corporate testing once again, it would seem. These tests to reactions in terms of upgrades and the constant barrage of new accessories are giving heed to Nintendo’s master plan:

How would the consumer (you) react if, a la Sega, they simply released an extension to their console? That bridged the gap between theirs and the competition’s power? Well, apparently, you don’t mind much.

More as I learn.