As a Nintendo focused site one figures that we would be predicting good things for Nintendo’s future. However, long time fans know that we have all too often been overly critical of Nintendo. We are fans at heart, but we are also able to admit that Nintendo does indeed make mistakes.

We’ve been critical of the 3DS, and how it may be viewed as a gimmick instead of the next step for handhelds (and the jury is still out despite the sales increasing steadily). We have legitimate concerns about the Wii U as well, especially when it comes to the new online Network given Nintendo’s history in that field.

When we dive into the topic of the next generation, it’s important to understand what we quantify “winning” a generation of gaming to actually be. Sales wise, the Nintendo DS and the Wii dominated this present generation, and the 3DS is smoking the Vita right now in the present handheld generation (to be fair, the Vita is only just launching). So sales does have a lot to do with winning a generation of gaming. After all, the more products, both hardware and software, that are in circulation compared to the competition the better.

But you can’t purely quantify winning a generation based solely on sales numbers. One has to consider innovation, and more importantly… content variety and quality. The Wii and the DS clearly innovated. Motion controls are likely here to stay across all of gaming, and the touch generation essentially all started thanks to the DS’s success.

Content quality and variety is one aspect that at times we have to give props to everyone else. Nintendo provides some top notch material, but variety isn’t exactly their cup of tea. That’s not to say Nintendo is really great at what they do, and we love them for it. However, there are certain areas we have to turn to others for. Games such as Call of Duty as an example, or even God of War and Assassin’s Creed. The list goes on and on. Elder Scrolls? Maybe you’ve heard of it. The point is that when your a Nintendo exclusive gamer you have definitely limited your gaming library.