I enjoy what Nintendo's put out recently (having a blast with Skyward Sword, even though the controller response isn't the best). The thing about Nintendo is this: they know their hardware inside and out, and because of this they're able to put out masterpieces even with weird control setups like the motion and tablet controls. Third-party support on the other hand? Between yet another different system architecture to develop for and strange input methods, the picture there is decidedly grim. My point is that they've pretty much segregated themselves to a niche market or two, even though it's not a very small niche. If you don't fall into either the family/party games niche or the NEStalgia market, then chances are you won't like them much. Unfortunately it leaves out a large number of otherwise willing customers who just want to play some games with a comfortable controller like the Gamecube crowd.
Does this mean I support their more recent trends? Not really: for example, I'd love to play Skyward Sword with Wind Waker controls. I do understand why they're doing this though: we're at a point where photo-realism can be achieved easily with our current tech(look at games like Far Cry 3 for example) and Nintendo is looking for the next big thing. They're probing around the market for ideas on how to improve the experience for all. The wii in this regard was something of both a success and a failure: yes, it made some games more accessible to outside crowds, but at the same time it made core games less immersive due to a rather intrusive UI. Gaming from the start has been a sedate activity for as long as most of us can remember: with exceptions of course, but for the most part gaming usually involves sitting down in the chair and pressing buttons on a gamepad to move things onscreen.
Nintendo has always been about innovating on this front and making some good games to go with it: The Super Nintendo added more buttons to the controller, allowing you to do more stuff. The N64 was the first big console to use an analog thumbstick: an industry standard today. The Gamecube's controller was all about ergonomics, which was a capitalization on what the started in the SNES era. Let's face it: the NES controller was basically a brick, and it was about as comfortable to hold as one. They realized this and helped make gamepads some of the most ergonomic pieces of hardware that we have today. Even the tablet with the WiiU is a win is this regard: it pretty comfortable to use (and that comes from someone with relatively small hands). Right now I'm interested to see what they'll pull off with the WiiU: we've got a relatively comfortable controller, and it also has an additional input method: will it be like the next analog stick or will it be as annoying as the wiimote? We've already seen some pretty cool and immersive things done with the system, and being able to play a full-on console game away from the TV is pretty great. I'm hopeful that someone will pull something awesome out of this, even if it's a one-off. At least now there's a chance we can get a DS/3DS player like our old game boy players.
So in short: I like Nintendo about as much as I did when I was a kid: and like those days, I have some high hopes for them. I'm not expecting a ton, but with what I am expecting, they're sure to deliver on.
