[ijdgaf]

Nate, forgive me, but you simply expect way too much from Nintendo. At this rate, you will never be satisfied. And of course, the industry left you (and from what I can tell from my general perusings of video game-centric forums, only you) behind long ago.

The DS allows you to play DS games and GBA games. That's twice as many libraries it draws from as the Gamecube. Also, you really shouldn't think of the DS as lacking these older titles -- the fact that they included GBA support at all is simply a matter of convenience. Nintendo decided the system needed some sort of expansion slot for devices (rumble packs, extra memory, whatever). Since one of the system's processor's was already the same as the GBA's, they decided it would be easiest (and a BONUS -- get that? BONUS -- for its customers) if said expansion slot was a GBA slot. So what if it doesn't play older games? It's nice enough that you can play GBA games.

The Wii allows you to play Wii games, GC games, N64 games, SNES games, NES games, Sega Genesis games, and TurboGraphix games. With the possibility of more systems supported after an upgrade of the firmware. Nobody else even remotely approaches that kind of catalog. Is it really such a shame you can't play a few generations worth of portable titles right now?

You really don't have any idea how successful the DS is, do you? It's pretty much the most popular handheld ever. And well on its way toward usurping the most popular console ever, the PS2. Nobody gives a damn about the lack of support for GameBoy or GameBoy Color games -- really, there aren't too many legendary titles from either generation. You can live without 'em -- or make do by buying a GBC used for 10 bucks. Or less.

You're never going to find the perfect system with your attitude. Because there is no perfect system. Because God forbid, the name sucks. Or because it doesn't offer the full libraries of every game system ever. Or because it asks you the tiniest inconvenience of using a damn wrist strap while playing. Or because it has the gall to cost more than two hundred dollars.

There's really no point in me saying any of these things, because you (a) don't seem to be getting the system any time in the remote future, (b) have already made up your mind anyway, and (c) have a severely anachronistic bias against the company's newer entries when virtually every other gaming community I've taken a gander at has grown more fond of them, not less.

Gah.