On one hand, I am very pleased to hear that Nintendo isn't going to neglect core gamers this time around. Looking at the planned starting lineup for the 3DS, I have to say that we have every reason to be pleased.
On the other, however, this move is quite uncharacteristic of Nintendo. Contrary to the "
strategy of disruption" [http://malstrom.50webs.com/birdman.html] that the company usually employs, it almost seems like Nintendo wants to start the lifecycle of the 3DS by aiming at all tiers of gamers all at once. While that certainly is ambitious, it does leave me concerned. By not focusing their initial efforts on downmarket or "casual" games and working their way up, but trying to do everything at the same time instead, Nintendo could very well end up shooting themselves in the foot and the 3DS as a platform could suffer for it.
Having said that, I do admit that it is entirely possible that I am tying the concept of "
strategy of disruption" too much with a handheld console's lifecycle. Considering what Iwata has been saying in his interviews, it is entirely possible that both the DS and the 3DS are part of a single "
strategy of disruption". It is possible that the DS served the function of introducing gaming to new people and bridging the gap between them and core gamers, while the 3DS serves the function of pushing these people into the upstream or "hardcore" market.