Nintendo and the Staggered Console Release Situation

Many of you have no doubt heard the news that Nintendo plans to officially reveal their newest console endeavor, code named Project Cafe (or Stream, depending what nerd web sites you visit [Update: Now officially being called Wii-U]). I'm not really here to discuss the console itself, but rather, the very interesting position that it puts the gaming industry in. But, to understand that, we need to travel back in time almost a decade.

Nintendo and Sony vs The World

For over two decades, Nintendo has completely dominated a market that they single-handedly created: the hand held market. They've left many foes in their unstoppable wake. The biggest casualty being that of Sega. And although Sony has managed to survive an entire hand held life cycle, it's been an extremely rough ride. But as the two juggernauts prepare to release the Nintendo 3DS and the Sony Next Generation Portable, they may soon find that they are on the same team as a common and much bigger foe emerges: the mobile industry.