How is it cowardly to point out the flaws in your competitor's products? Gushing about the positives wouldn't exactly be a smart marketing move.
There is absolutely nobody who would deny that Nintendo saved the video game business, but that doesn't make them immune to criticism or failure. Respect has to be earned continually with good products and practices.
Competition is a good thing because it drives all three companies to improve; it's the perfect defense against complacency.
This sort of "competition" reminds me of my Jr. High school days. I moved to small town Ohio from Dallas/Forth Worth Texas, back then it was not common place to have colored hair, a mo-hawk, or anything to the effect. Well I had what later came to be known as MC Hammer pants, though mine were not quite as baggy. I was heavily influenced by the break dancing scene in the early 80's, so I bought or make breaker cloths when ever I could get my hands on them. Likewise I was a skate rat (before there was X-Games) and dressed accordingly. Thrashed pants, batman shirts, skate shoes (for better grip), comed over Nazi mo-hawk hair do, etc.
Well the kids made fun of me to no end, and I was very quiet, very shy, and always polite back them so I just took it sheepishly. Well this was in 8th grade, after summer break and we all came back for 9th grade, MC Hammer had gotten big and baggy pants became a trend in the area, so everyone showed up to school with exactly the same type of pants they made fun of me for wearing the year before, and no one said a word about it, like they all had amnesia about the year before.
Then later, when I had my comb over mo-hawk, the kids used to make fun of me in gym class all the time for it, then no less than a month later, the kid that made fun of me the most, went and got a shorter, family friendlier version of the same hair cut, and all the boys talked him up about how cool it was and again never made mention of the fact that he stood there for weeks making fun of me only to copy me in the end. Lame!!!!
Well when you slam the Wiimote a thousand times over, then turn around and release a product that more or less does exactly the same thing...
...well that goes beyond the point of being competitive, that's just ignorant. That point aside, I do see what you are saying though, but I feel if a company wants to compete with the big N, then they need to do something innovative and not just rip them off. And yes, I know, Sony had their EYE technology and I will give them props for that as far as innovation goes, but the Wiimotes are just plane copying.
Anyhow, we are talking video games here, it's just fun talk, it ain't important, ain't gonna change the world, and ain't gonna help us sleep better at night. I hope you all understand that I just have these arguments for the sake of fun and don't intend any serious ill will. Well I am serious about Sony and Microsoft's (amongst many) attack against property and information, but well that's for everyone to learn as time goes on, sadly.