Well, going by your logic, that's a pretty naive approach to the gaming market. So you're saying Microsoft and Sony are cutting out an immense portion of the market? Hmmm. Certainly sounds like a bad idea to cater solely to the stereotypical 'hardcore' gamer. If anything, that's the unproven path. A console that purposely limits its audience is one that fights for survival.
Look at the PS3. It has amazing capabilities yet sells poorly for the most part. Its a cutting edge piece of technology and I'm sure there are fans out there loving it- although few judging from sales. Of course it could be the blood-sucking price Sony had to give its console... Maybe. Either way, how will it last when so few are buying it?
The 360 has a lot of merit, it would sell even better than it already does if Microsoft hadn't rushed development and created such a faulty machine. From the rate of hardware failures, it'll only be a matter of time before 360 owners get sick of sending back their consoles. It seems pretty common for gamers on their sixth 360 giving up on the console. But, like Sony, they've heavily restricted their demographic. And a couple of your comments there were were both childish and pointless... "You couldn't pay me to buy a Wii." That statement makes no sense. Do you mean buy the Wii for you? Pay some of it off? Its a declaration without reason. How odd. Heh...

Because we all know how hard it is to get hardcore gamers to play games. It truely requires a $600 console to get someone who's spent their entire lives playing games to pick up a controller.

If Sony and Microsoft hadn't even released a console people would still be playing their old consoles. The so-called "hardcore crowd" didn't need high definition or expanded media forms, they just needed a game to be pushed under their noses. You act like they've really done something impressive here, gotten gamers to game.

And I still recall the attitude of "The Wii is going to get cremed!" being prevalent before they started cremeing everyone else in sales. Now you sound like Wii fans pre-launch.

I agree with the article, but on a deeper level. The video game industry is set apart from the software industry in a few key ways; the largest of which is innovation. Software rarely innovates. Microsoft slaps some gloss on Windows and rereleases it every few years. The latest version of Flash CS3 appears to be little more than a UI recoloration. But video games? Every cool concept in HCI and UI research gets slapped in there first; pie menues, graphics, novel methods for feedback and menu interaction, etc. It is core to the game industry to innovate. I love all the consoles, but in terms of innovation, the 360 and PS3, aside from the obligatory online service, are just slapping a coat of paint on things and throwing a hard drive in. Guess what's better than your PS3? My computer.
Guess what appeals to more gamers? My computer. Guess what has more features, more space, better graphics, better online service, more games, and a longer future? My computer.
...But what replaces the Wii? It's not a tech war for them; their innovation is what makes them a classic.

a machine with outdated technology barely comparable to even the last gen which relies on a gimmick, and games geared towards children is a toy.