Battletoad

I don't own a 3D set, and have no intentions of buying one in the future, but it's pretty lame that Nintendo won't even support the feature at a hardware level. If Sony could offer a firmware update for support for 3D on  the PS3, which was created well before the offical 3D standard was even created, I don't see why Nintendo couldn't as well, but I also don't understand why this new console will not even ship with such support.

Well, maybe I do. Nintendo might not want to dangle carrots out to its customers to go buy a 3D TV, since that could put dollars into Sony's pockets, especially if Sony will be getting a percentage of every game sale for the new system assuming it uses BluRay.

Nintendo also probably doesn't want to step on the toes of the 3DS. If they offer Mario on a big screen in 3D AND HD at the same time,---potentially for around only 3 times the cost of a 3DS (you never know, some 3D sets might be around 750-800 dollars by next fall) then that would surely hurt 3DS sales. PLus Nintendo would have to backtrack on the whole "3D without the glasses is better" stance they have taken while trying to hype the 3DS.

Hopefully this is something that Nintendo plans to quietly implement via firmware within a couple of years, but then again the Wii never went past 480P here in 2011, even though the PS2 and XboX 1 had the occational 720P and 1080i games. It would be nice to know upfront that a new console purchase in 2012 for 300-plus dollars would offer any potentially important features that consoles released in 2005-2006 already offer.

@Zor:
I doubt the PR guys at Sony and MS never considered the possibility that Nintendo would release a follow-up console to the severely underpowered WII within 6 years.

 It seems easy.At E3 Nintendo will be showing demos of games that will not come out for at least a year, if not 18 months, for a console that will require at least a 250 dollar investment out of consumers.

What they will do most likely is show off lots of great games for existing consoles that most gamers have already paid for in full (and for new consumers, announce a 50 dollar price cut) Microsoft will show some good Kinect stuff, GOW3, and one or two new unannounced games. Sony will be in the middle of releasing Infamous 2, and will be showing Uncharted 3 and Twisted Metal. Sony will also show a coulple of new games, maybe GOW4.

Both MS and Sony will be getting Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and several other big third party games, that will come out this year, and again emphasize that these games are coming out for consoles that exist now, and in many cases are already in consumers homes right now.

things I need to see before I would even consider buying this console:

*SIGNIFICANTLY more power than PS3/360 if the price is 350-400 dollars, or 200-250 MAX if only slightly more powerful (and by "slightly" it will still need to be something one can easily differentiate from current gen systems. An example would be 60-Plus frames per second LOCKED with no jaggies or screen tearing whatsoever with improved textures on current-gen series like Assassin's Creed. Again, this output requirement would be the bare minimum of power acceptable, and at a price of no more than $250 dollars. For $350/400, the leap in power would need to be at LEAST equal to the jump from PS2 to PS3.

*Major leaps forward for big franchises Mario, Zelda, Metroid, ect., along the lines of Mario 64, OoT, and Prime. Simply making the exact same games again with pretty graphics won't cut it. I do not even have a suggestion as to what steps need to take to make these tired series fresh again, thats for Miyamoto and company to figure out. What I can say is that after Sunshine and two Galaxies, Mario feels really old. Twilight Princess felt so old and rehashed (and ugly as hell) that it was the first Zelda game I couldn't even finish.

*No more MIDI. Voice work instead of text. Link can still be voiceless, by just grunting/yelling, but other characters need to talk at least.

* No super-gimmicky controller that 3rd parties will not even try to use effectively. Since it looks like this console WILL have another gimmick, at least give a decent alternative. The classic controller on Wii was a good idea, but why the FUCK couldn't I play Punch-Out (Wii version) on it?? Have a traditional controller, and allow the use of it in games that make sense, for christsakes.

Make a couple of Mature games for it Nintendo. No one is asking for blood and guts in Mario, but make a new series with great gameplay mechanics full of great ideas, that isn't full of pastel colors and rainbows. PROVE that gamers want to buy such a game on Nintendo hardware, then maybe companies like Rockstar might support the "Stream". After the DS Chinatown Wars, 3rd parties need some reassurances that a Nintendo platform can support these kind of games.

EDIT:

*Also need a good online structure. Not that I personally care about it (PSN sucks and Live is a non-issue for me, I am going to let my sub lapse as I never use it) But many gamers need this, and publishers need to have this to feel confident in making games for any platform at this point. More publishers+more games=something Nintendo consoles hasn't seen since the SNES.

*Since they are apparently stuffing so much crap on the next controller, I hope there is room for a decent sized D-pad. The Wii D-pad and the entire DS line (including XL and the new 3DS) ALL have D-pads sized for a 5 year old. This really needs to change.

"Flees" is a overly sensational way of wording this.  The guy needed a break from his daily life during the third week of March, and traveled to a nice temperate place. Most people call that spring break. I hear that thousands of high school and college students recently fled to Florida for a few days. They too must be guilty of something, right?
 
Hotz is involved in a civil case. A case that he will likely win. Even if he doesn't win he faces no prison time. If he DOES lose, he doesn't stand to lose much money, being that he doesn't have much to begin with. There is no flight risk in his case. If there was, his passport would be revoked. His bank account would be frozen. Just because you feel some weird sort of personal attachment to a multi-billion dollar company that provides you with a hobby (and perhaps enough of a reason to not kill yourself) doesn't mean you have to make stuff up so you can rally behind one another giving virtual high fives like Sony is your favorite NFL team playing in the Super Bowl. It's pathetic. 
 
So Hotz is "fleeing" because Sony claimed he perjured himself?  Did Sony actually see that it was Hotz himself who agreed to the TOS when he supposedly created the PSN account? Sadly, Sony probably did, at least if Hotz had a PS3eye hooked up at the time. Let's talk more about that TOS.
 
Perjury is the ONLY issue Hotz would be facing if he himself did create the account, since he apparently denied doing this under oath. The TOS itself would have no bearing on anything if he had admitted to the court upfront that he created a PSN account. (assuming he even created it) The only thing Sony could do to someone violating their TOS agreement for PSN would be to suspend or block the service to the offender. Not sue. If someone broke the law, pertaining to IP copyright infringement through illegal reverse engineering or illegal distribution of pirated software, that is against the law regardless of whether or not that person agreed to a petty TOS or not. Whether Hotz is guilty of breaking an actual law or not remains to be seen. 
 
Think of it this way. When you signed up for a Giantbomb account, you agree to be bound by their rules. One of those rules would be not to post racist comments in the forums. If you sign up and start calling people the N-word, Giantbomb is completely within their right to ban their service to you, but they would not get far if they sued you in court, regardless if you agreed to the TOS or not. Again, whther or not Hotz created a PSN account or not has no bearing on anything in his case OR his recent trip, other than potential perjury IF it can be proven he himself setupt the PSN account.
 
With all of this talk about Geohotz perhaps violating a PSN TOS or not, lets spend a moment to talk about what Sony is guilty to beyond a shadow of a doubt with the TOS. Spying on customers inside their homes and data basing that information without their customers' consent or knowledge. While many of you are cheerleading this company's actions against Hotz, for nearly 4 1/2 years Sony has been collecting data about you, without your consent. (they updated the TOS a few weeks ago where you now have to agree to the spying to access PSN to cover theirselves against lawsuits)
 
 I used to have a PSN account, and at no point did the TOS say anything about Sony having the right to keep records as to what brand/model of TV is connected to the PS3 console. I did not agree for them to keep tabs on the sound system hooked into the console, or what brand of  controllers i use with the system They also can tell what blu-ray movies you have watched, what sites you have visited on the PS3 browser, and more. Keep in mind this is all without even signing on to PSN to begin with. As long as you have an established internet connection to the PS3, they can and do see everything, and they keep a record on it. Nowhere on the PS3 packaging does Sony tell this to their customers, and there is no opt in/out option for those customers.  So maybe Sony DOES have proof that Geohotz himself created the account. As I said earlier, if George had a PS3eye connected at the time he supposedly created the account, they have actual video proof of it thanks to Sony's illegal spying practices.
 
I wonder how many of you Sony cheerleaders would defend such practices if the offending company didn't provide you with your precious gaming addiction.