Ever since Nintendo launched the DS, the company has been touted by its competitors and many gamers as gimmicky. And though Wii still has to prove itself as a sustainable novelty over time, things are solid for now.
With that, 1UP revisits comments made by Sony that Nintendo’s DS and Wii are just a gimmicks. From the article: “With the DS, it’s fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen. But I fear that it won’t have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick – so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that. — Phil Harrison speaking to MCV, 08/26/2005″
This isn’t to say Nintendo is fully immune from product myopia which leads to short-lived products, but I think its safe to say the company has learned valuable lessons from its past and recent successes.