Actually, this generation is the only one where Nintendo has really been behind in terms of specs.
NES: Powerful for when it was released.
SNES: Good for it's time.
Nintendo 64: Most powerful of all the fifth-generation consoles.
Gamecube: It was a work of art (dat mobo). More powerful than the PS2.
Game Boy Advance: Portable SNES, baby!
I specifically mentioned that I don't mean the retro consoles, but even these arguments can be refuted.
The NES was revolutionary, that much is correct. Ever so slightly less powerful then the Master System, but definatelly the console that single-handedly changed the rules of the game...
SNES was indeed good for its time, but the Genesis/Megadrive with expansions was arguably a "stronger" system, even if its capabilities were not fully used (for example the only games that actually used Blast Processing were Sonic games and a few other first party titles). Some cartridges had to contain specific "extra" hardware such as the SuperFX chips to actually run on the system, and the only thing the system was "technically" best at at its time was the sound - it had a superb sound chip compared to the Genesis. It also had a great library, so many consider it to be the "winner" in the 16-bit era, but not all. Depends on the individual.
The N64 definatelly had the "processing power" to dominate the market, but its memory was severely flawed, to the point that certain games actually required RAM cartriges to work properly. (Expansion Pak) The console was to be improved by the DD add-on, but in the end, not much was released for it and the project was eventually "canned"... The final nail to N64's coffin was definatelly the medium used - FLASH cartridges at the time were obselete and did not provide nearly enough space, making developers "cut their games short" when they could spread their wings on the PlayStation, which OBLITERATED the system on every front, at least in my opinion.
The GameBoy's were lucky flukes. When I think back to the day and remember the Nomad (portable Genesis) and similar projects, I do wonder why it was kept afloat... if only the Nomad was more compact and, well, cheaper, perhaps it would've won that round.
The GBA was NOT a portable SNES in the slightest, even if it had SNES ports running on it. Perhaps it's my personal opinion only, but I find the console to be both amazing and... well, downplayed. I have the original GBA and I (used to) have an N-Gage... and I have to say that the difference between 16Mhz and 109Mhz ARM is QUITE BLOODY APPARENT, to the point that some N-Gage games were actually ported to the DS later on. If only the games were on a proprietary cartridge, not on SD's, if they were priced right, more numerous and if the cartridge slot was not under the battery like in the Classic design (later changed in QD), the N-Gage had a fighting chance againts the GBA to say the least. Portrait screen didn't help either - it should've been landscape... but all in all, the little games that did come out for the N-Gage were actually awesome, and the addition of Symbian, which was hip at the time and basically meant "emulators, yay!" and, well, phone capabilities made it a fantastic system. I really weeped after it failed when confronted with the mighty "N".
The DS's hardware is a joke. As much as I like the touchscreen, I find its ammount of RAM and processing power to be at best pitiful. If the PSP and the DS had a baby last generation then I would literally throw all my money at N and Sony and immediatelly buy it - it would be the perfect combination. Yet again, Nintendo was saved by a massive library of games and by the fact that, well, they're Nintendo - it's magic.
The Gamecube was a fantastic system - good CPU, great GPU, compact size, 4 controller ports. Everything was looking great... except some dumb ass at N thought it's a great idea to be fancy and cut down the size of the DVD's to "mini" effectively lowering the capacity of discs by 40%. YET AGAIN Nintendo released a fantastic, strong console that suffered from small capacity discs and, well, developers were not pleased. It died a horrible death, which is a shame. If it had DVD support, a USB slot and a built-in browser (hey - it had a modem slot. Why not use it?) it would have had a fighting chance againts the XBox and the PS2.
The Wii is a retrofitted Gamecube. It's as much behind the times as humanly possible. It's fun to play though, I'll give them that. Still... avalanche of shovelware is quite scary when looking for "good" games.
Now, Nintendo prepares a console that's "1,5 times as strong as the PS3" basically catching up with LastGen and having the audacity to call it a Next Generation Console. Well done.
The 3DS? No comment. Twin core, likely pretty slow, a no-name GPU (people argue it's quite strong, but I would've welcomed the Tegra more >>; )... Hardware-wise Vita eats it for breakfast...
So don't tell me Nintendo doesn't have a habit of being behind the times. They do. Since, like, a long while.
Yes, I have quite excentric tastes. Bite me.
