As a longtime Nintendo fan, it has been hard for me to watch them go down the road that they have chosen. It has been a long twisty and winding road these past two years, but ultimately Nintendo's insistence of focusing on the "casual" audience has turned me off. Even so-called "Hardcore" games have been made easier (LoZ: TP), less competitive (SSBB), and more family friendly (as if Nintendo was not family friendly to begin with). At the same time, however, it is hard to pin the blame on Nintendo. Making as much money as they are with the current winning formula, Nintendo isn't likely to put an end to the casual strategy.

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Sony's PS3, but even I can tell that it's picking up steam. It started slowly, but now it is a real competitor. Titles like Resistance 2, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, and Metal Gear Solid 4 are a huge boost to Sony's library. In fact, I would say the Playstation 3 is pulling neck and neck up to the 360 in appeal to the Hardcore audience, if only the PS3 would get the more polished-or at least similarly polished-Multi-platform games (See Fallout 3, Orange Box...) they could definitely be right there with Microsoft.

It's going to take a lot for Nintendo to get back in my good graces. Let's see some new licenses out there.